I guess you could say the one really cool thing about being head Sweaty Betty, is that I get to meet some pretty “awesome-sauce” people. When I got over 200 applications in January to become The Sweaty Betties Ambassador I had my work cut out for me.

Many of the people I already knew, or I had seen online, this this “Namaste” chick, I had never heard of!! I was intrigued! I stalked her page a little bit, and then I knew I wanted her on the team!
I had to know more, so I asked her to become an ambassador and I’m so glad I did.
Mari lives in Queens, NY and in my last venture to NYC in June, I was able to meet her in person and she was just as awesome!

Here is some of her story, in her words:

I have been struggling with PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome) which is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 5% of all women, the principal features are obesity, anovulation (resulting in irregular menstruation), and excessive amounts or effects of androgenic (masculinizing) hormones. The symptoms and severity of the syndrome vary greatly among women. While the causes are unknown, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS. 

I was put on Birth Control which I have been on ever since and was also put on Metformin but that really didn’t do anything for me so I stopped taking it. Having PCOS has really destroyed my self-esteem; I have some problems with my body that is directly linked to this. I won’t get into the gritty details but it’s enough to drive me to tears.

When I was around 21 I met this guy and we moved in together pretty fast. We were together for about 4 years. He was a big guy and I had the mentality “well if HE is big, I can be too”. All we would do is EAT. I have so many memories of us lying in bed eating huge greasy subs and washing them down with pints of ice ream and chips, this was the norm for us. Before I knew it, I tipped the Scale at 220 lbs.

In the 3rd year of our relationship, my ex suggested that we should move near the beach which I thought was a great idea but I hated the fact that I was far from my family. The rent was pretty steep but together we made it work. As I mentioned earlier my ex was a big guy and he was very unhappy in his own skin. He decided that he wanted to get Gastric Bypass Surgery and I supported him on his decision, in fact I am the one that found his surgeon etc. The morning of the surgery he was crying (tears of joy) but by the end of the day they turned into tears of grief. After hours in surgery, he woke up thinking that his surgery was a success but his doctor informed him that they were not able to perform it. They told him to lose 40 lbs. and they would try again but this time with the Lap Band instead. I nursed him back to health and helped him lose the 40 lbs. and after a few months, the 2nd Surgery was a success. He started to lose weight in rapid speed and here I was still in the 200’s. I decided to start working out and did Weight Watchers; I started to lose weight too but nowhere close to his pace.

After 3 months or so, things started to really change between us and we broke up and I went into a depression. I saw what all my antics were doing to my family and I recognized I had to stop but I knew I could not do it alone. The person that saved my life was my niece; I didn’t want her growing up not knowing the best version of her aunt. I started working out and eating better, and in 8 months I was in the best shape of my life and happier than ever. I now live in New York with my kitty, Namaste Zen and I help others as a health coach! 

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