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Home · News

I Lost 90 Pounds: Rasheeda James' Weight Loss Story

Learn how one woman's near death experience inspired her to live a healthier life.
I Lost 90 Pounds: Rasheeda James’ Weight Loss Story
By Rasheeda James · Updated October 28, 2020

Name: Rasheeda James from San Antonio, Texas

Weight Lost: 90 lbs

How She Did It: By joining Black Girls Run

Throughout my life I’ve had a love-hate relationship with food. I worked a lot and I was dating chef who cooked soul food all the time. Fast food was my staple and the only workout I did was getting up to go to the table or lifting my arm to hold a book. In June of 2011 I had a mild heart attack and as I lay on my couch in pain drifting in and out of consciousness I told God, “God if you allow me to live, I promise I will eat healthy and exercise!” True to my word, after I recovered, I started thinking about how I was going to change my life with the second chance I had been given.

I started out by changing my diet. I cut out sodas and coffee and instead drinking only water every day. I stopped eating fried food and eating out at restaurants for lunch every day. I started eating breakfast because I didn’t know what that was. Now, I bake all my food and I cut out pork and beef.  I eat a bowl of fruit almost every day and I love salads, too. For exercise, I started walking 30 minutes to an hour each day. At first, It took me 45 minutes to do my first mile, but by February of 2012 I had lost 65 pounds and was walking a 12 minute mile!  My sorority sister said to me “You walk as fast as some people run, so you should start running. You should see if they have a Black Girls Run chapter in your area.” I joined the group and watched these ladies for two months talk about running 13.1 and 26.2 miles and I thought they were a cult and had serious issues! I finally went to a meeting in April and did some speed work, sprinting the long parts of the track and walking the curve. After the first meeting, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe my body could do what it was doing. I had my first official race with Black Girls Run in May 2012 where I ran a 5k in 33 minutes!  Since then, I have completed four half-marathons, a triathlon and over 25 5K or 10K races.

I had a physical this past December and the nurse tried to find my heart beat three times. She said something is wrong then she asked me if I was a runner and I said with my chest puffed up, “Why yes I am!’ She then told me that I have a runner’s heart! That was amazing to me because of what I’ve been through.  I am so thankful that I made changes in my diet and my exercise regimen. Now, I love to run, bike, swim, and have even adventured into Insanity, Crossfit, Birkram Yoga, and kick boxing. I love the new me and I couldn’t see my life any other way!

READ MORE INSPIRING WEIGHT LOSS STORIES FROM OUR READERS!

Nekita Lost 140 Pounds

Jennifer Lost 104 Pounds
Christina Lost 52 Pounds
Danielle Lost 52 Pounds
Lindsay Lost 110 Pounds
Stephanie Lost 60 Pounds

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