Two years ago, March, 2011 to be exact, I incurred my first bald spot. 5 months later I was completely bald. I had never heard of Alopecia…now Alopecia was controlling my emotions, actions and my entire life. I did not want to venture out in public with my condition and taking pictures was a no-no. And when I did leave my home, I did so in complete fear of people staring at me and whispering under their breath about me. I tried to smile but I didn’t mean it… I was too heartbroken. I was tormented by this disease and I felt helpless with no recovery in sight. Worse yet, I suffered with two ills…being bald and obese; I was over 200lbs and stood 5’4 inches. I thought, “What’s the point of living?” To look like this wasn’t worth living. I identified the areas of stress in my life and I eliminated the biggest one by resigning from my teaching position May 2012. It was a hard decision but I believed my life depended on it. Then I heard a voice say, “Lose the weight.” I believed it was the Lord ministering to me in my weak place. December 3, 2012 I began exercising and I adopted a clean eating regiment. I trained twice a day for an hour and boy did I sweat. I entered a weight loss challenge in January 2013 which lasted for 12 weeks. I was determined more than ever. I stopped worrying about my disease and learned all I could about weight training, and eating G-d made food vs. man made foods. I put the potatoes chips, processed foods and sweets away and picked up apples, peanut butter, spinach, fresh fish and broccoli. On April 8th after only 4 months of eating clean and drinking a gallon of water a day I lost 51lbs! I went from a size 12/14 to size 4/5. Out of 40 people who entered the challenge… I won! Yes, I won a trip for me and my husband to the Bahamas this October.
The most beautiful thing about this was I did not notice what was happening to my hair. I had completely stopped worrying about it and lamenting over it during the time I began training. My thoughts of despair and depressions were replaced my sheer determination and purpose. Once I paid attention to my hair I noticed it stopped falling out and I had 4 months of new growth! As of today, August 8, 2013 I have a full head of hair…and growing still…thicker and stronger than ever. As I focused on my needs to become a healthier person I gained me back. I continue to exercise and eat clean daily with only Sundays off. I am teaching myself how to swim as I plan to enter a triathlon sometime next year. Currently, I am training for my 1st bodybuilding competition March of 2014. I allow myself one cheat meal a week where I eat whatever I’m craving. When I took my life back my body and my hair came back to me. I praise G-d!
Very Humbly submitted,
Theresa Spiller of Pearland, Tx

Views: 595

Comment by Kat on August 15, 2013 at 11:12pm
Thanks for your story, Theresa! That was inspiring! I am ten days into gluten free (I did buy corn chips but made sure they had no wheat, but nothing In my cart was boxed). Did u do gluten free, or just generally meat, fruits, and veggies? I hope I can lose weight too as I am at 170 lbs now and I hate it! I am 5'4" also! That is lovely u won the trip - I bet u were in front of the camera then! I would be in size four jeans! Thanks again for sharing, fellow Texan. I am in Dallas. :)
Comment by Johanna on August 18, 2013 at 1:40pm

Thank you for sharing your story. Very inspiring indeed!! The best of luck with everything :)

Comment by Jason on August 18, 2013 at 3:57pm

Hi Theresa, do you have an email address that I could reach out to you about? I have a few questions about diet/lifestyle and would love to hear your thoughts on my regimen. Thanks for the help.

Comment by Theresa on August 19, 2013 at 7:13pm

@Kat & Johanna...thank you. I did not focus on gluten free items as I have just now learned about them and will be incorporating them into my diet. I did however eat all types of veggies, white meats and drink plenty of water. I enjoyed berries, peanut butter, rice cakes, walnuts, almonds and yogurt(the only dairy allowed) as a snack. I would eat every 3 hours and was done with my meals by 7 or 8PM. Eating clean surely makes a difference in my life and my immune system is back on track.

Comment by Theresa on August 20, 2013 at 12:51pm

Leonora...you are welcome!

Comment by glowgirl on August 20, 2013 at 2:47pm

What an inspiring story Theresa!!!! Congratulations on reclaiming your life!

Comment by Theresa on August 22, 2013 at 12:00am

Thank you Glowgirl!

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