Tags
healthy nutrition, lean muscle gain, weight loss. healthy weight loss, www.giftofhealth.co.uk, www.viinuk.co.uk
Kelvin Santana: “Out of love and frustration, I threw out all my excuses”
Two years ago, Kelvin’s 21-month-old daughter Arianna had fallen face down on the tile floor. He tried to get up from the couch to rescue her but his 320-lb. body refused to cooperate. “I panicked,” Kelvin says. “I tried to get to her, but I couldn’t GET UP! I just kept falling back and my only option was to lie on my side and roll off the couch.” His wife, then 8 months pregnant and resting in the next room, swooped in and grabbed Arianna before he could reach her.
“Thankfully she didn’t suffer any serious injuries,” Kelvin explains. “Yet, there I was on the floor sobbing like a child. How did I get to this point that I couldn’t even pick up my daughter to console her! What type of a husband or father does that? My family doesn’t deserve someone in my condition!”
Finding himself on the long road to weight loss
Like many of those struggling with their weight, Kelvin’s battle stemmed from a deeper, more personal cause. “My wife and I dreamt of starting our family. We had been trying for several years to have children and with each passing month, we were disappointed. We were even tested and told that we couldn’t have children. During this time I kept on gaining weight and becoming even less active. Until one day, the inexplicable happened and our daughter was born!”
Becoming a father was eye opening. “I realized I had never really thought about the consequences my bad health would have on our future,” Kelvin admits.
“The moment my little girl looked into my eyes for the first time, I knew that I needed to make big changes,” says Kelvin. He started playing basketball once a week and then joined a gym. In a span of about 10 months he had lost 25 lbs. and was starting to feel better… but the road to weight loss was a bumpy one.
“One day, I tore my calf muscle in my left leg.” Kelvin explains. With this crushing blow, he stopped exercising and gave up on losing weight. He gained 11 lbs. back and was in his worst shape ever. “I became very sensitive and angry, and I didn’t want to see anything related to weight loss or hear anyone’s comments. I got to the point where I was ‘unfriending’ people on Facebook for posting about going to the gym,” says Kelvin.
Breaking free
After the incident with his daughter, Kelvin went through a downward spiral of guilt, despair and self-pity. “Ever since that day, I would tell my daughter almost every night that I would be there for her—that I would be her hero.” That promise gave Kelvin the strength to build determination. “I decided to stop making excuses, and to fight my weight no matter how long it took. This time I was going to break free and become the husband and father my family deserved.”
Shortly after, Kelvin met Vi Promoter Aileen Alvarez who had lost over 30 lbs. on her first Challenge in spite of having health issues and a fractured leg. “Her personal story was powerful enough that I didn’t even taste the shakes before I ordered my Challenge Kit” says Kelvin. “My leg was still bothering me after going through rehab, and I was scared of really going back to exercise until I had lost some weight first. I figured I didn’t care how the shakes tasted like. If the program worked without exercise, I was going to do it! But I was even more excited after drinking my first strawberry banana shake!”
See the different challenge kits available for your goal at http://www.viinuk.co.uk
“Daddy, where did your belly go?”
Today, Kelvin has lost 117 lbs. over three Challenges. However, losing weight and becoming a Challenge Champion aren’t his only victories. Kelvin’s physical transformation had a tremendous impact on his relationship with his almost 4-year-old daughter.
One day, Arianna asked him, “Daddy, where did your belly go?” Kelvin recalls with emotion, “I immediately choked up and I responded looking directly into her eyes, ‘Arianna, it’s gone because I love you!’” She just smiled, but it appeared that she really knew what her dad meant.
“i LOST it.” means “I LOVE you”
When Kelvin got his first “i LOST it.” t-shirt, he asked his daughter to read the words out loud. “It says, ‘I love you,’” Arianna answered. “I told her she was right,” Kelvin recalls—‘i LOST it’ means ‘I love you.’
“My transformation has dramatically improved my quality of life and the time I spend with my daughter,” says Kelvin. “We share a bond I can’t describe—I call her my Baby Angel and she calls me her prince.”
For Kelvin, it’s that special bond—the driving force behind his ‘WHY’—that’s worth more than his weight loss and champion title combined.
To start your challenge visit http://www.giftofheath.co.uk, http://www.viinuk.co.uk call 01303 241145. 07917733177.
The 100-lb. Club recognizes Vi Customers and Promoters who achieve this remarkable milestone. However, relatively few persons can or should lose this amount of weight and Vi only supports this goal when it is the product of careful consideration and a responsible weight-loss program that includes exercise and healthy eating in conjunction with the tools and products offered by Vi. Persons aspiring to lose 100 lbs. or more should always consult first with their healthcare professionals, more information contact through http://www.viinuk.co.uk.
ViSalus, Inc. is a healthy lifestyle company that is dedicated to Taking Weight Off the World.™ ViSalus markets its products in North America under the ViSalus® brand and in Europe under the Vi™ brand, through the Body by Vi Challenge. http://www.viinuk.co.uk