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Her Mom’s Near-Death Experience Was the Wake-Up Call That Helped Savannah Lose 100 Pounds

It was the tragic near-death of her mother that helped Savannah realize her own health was at risk. During Savannah Ortiz’s senior year of high school, her mother was hospitalized for three months because of diabetes.

A woman who tipped the scales at 243lbs (17.3st) has shed more than a quarter of her body weight after watching her mother lose her foot to diabetes.

Dental assistant Savannah Ortiz, 23, from Austin, Texas, was labelled ‘Cookie Monster’ by bullies and found dating impossible after years spent bingeing on fast food and take-aways.

But when her mother had to have a foot amputated as a result of the diabetes she developed due to obesity, Savannah was shocked into dropping 83lbs (5.9st) thanks to a high-protein diet and daily four-mile walks.

She fell into depression and found it hard to love herself – and at times she wished she could ‘cut the fat off’
When her mother lost a foot to obesity-related diabetes, Savannah (above after weight loss) realised she could be next if she didn’t change her lifestyle

Savannah piled on the pounds during her teens, as she and her siblings cooked their own dinners while their single mum worked late.

Years spent eating microwave meals, chips, candy and soda took their toll, and Savannah was soon subjected to the taunts of cruel bullies at school, plunging her into a depression that left her longing to ‘cut the fat off’

Then, when Savannah was 18-years-old, her mum was hospitalised for three months with diabetes, leading her to need a foot amputation.

Savannah said: ‘She was basically on her death bed and all I could do was sit there and watch.

‘Something clicked like never before, that I could be next.

‘I was killing my body from the inside out and my heart was working a lot harder than it should be for a person of my age.’

[Related: Deepthi Vasishta’s Fitness Journey: Lost 30 lbs With a 9% Loss In Body Fat]

Savannah started a Keto diet – a low carb, high protein meal plan and began walking for four miles a day.

She said: ‘I started exercising daily – nothing heavy just walking on the treadmill.’

Her new lifestyle quickly had an effect, and soon the same boys who had teased her for her size were asking her out on dates.

Because of her curvaceous frame, the dental assistant was constantly bullied, labelled a ‘Cookie Monster’ and found dating impossible (pictured above as a child)

Savannah said: ‘Sometimes I can’t believe that it is actually me in photos.

‘They can still put tears in my eyes because it brings back flashbacks of the depression I was in.

‘Standing in front of a full length mirror I became disgusted. There was nothing about my body that I liked. I just wanted to cut the fat off.

‘Kids are mean. I could probably recall 95 per cent of the people that have ever called me fat or made fun of me – calling me the cookie monster, telling me I needed to go on a diet.

[Related: Gwilym Pugh: Overweight Businessman To Top Model Working With David Beckham]

‘So many times I was judged for how big I was and not the person I was.

‘You constantly hear it and come to learn that society does not accept ‘fat’ people at such a young age.

‘Now I’ve lost weight those same people email me asking me out, but there’s no way I would date them.’

Savannah’s struggle with her waistline began as a child when she and her siblings prepared their meals while their mother worked late.

Savannah said: ‘I was always a bigger kid, not necessarily fat but not as small as the other kids.

‘One of the factors of weight gain for me was growing up in a single parent household.

Savannah said: ‘I was always a bigger kid, not necessarily fat but not as small as the other kids. One of the factors of weight gain for me was growing up in a single parent household’

‘My sisters and I had to make dinner so processed foods and desserts were on the menu every night because we didn’t have anyone telling us otherwise.’

By the time she was a teen, Savannah had reached 243lbs.

She said: ‘I was very depressed. I held back from doing a lot of things in life at such a young age.

‘It got to the point where I would rather stay at home instead of being active or going out with friends.

[Related: Harshi Suraweera’s Tremendous 42KGS Transformation and That Too in Just 10 Months!]

‘Being overweight made me feel very alone.

‘Especially when it came to boys, I was always the good friend but never the girlfriend.

‘No guy during high school could look past weight and date a girl because she had a good personality, life doesn’t work like that in high school.’

But Savannah’s new regime inspired by her mum’s ordeal turned her life around.

‘I cut out fast food completely and kept my meals very simple – grilled chicken and oatmeal was all I ate for the first couple of weeks because those were things that I knew at the time to be healthy.

‘As time went on I researched healthy foods and smarter choices I should be making in the kitchen.

‘I think half the battle of losing weight is the lack of education people have when it comes to knowing what is good and what is bad. With healthy eating and exercising weight started to drop off of me.

Savannah said her weight loss changed her life.

She cut out fast food completely and she says the weight loss has changed her life – with her self-esteem and confidence having improved majorly

She added: ‘I am so much more outgoing now. I love to meet new people and try things that I would have never done before because I was too scared of being judged for being a ‘fat girl’.

‘I take chances and I no longer feel that everything is based around my weight.

‘My self-esteem and confidence have improved majorly and I am truly learning to love myself.’

Written by Damn Ripped!

We Here At damnripped.com Are Dedicated To Providing You With The Best Fitness Tools & Articles On Everything Related To Fitness. Including Thoughts On Training, Nutrition And General Well Being.

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