Meet Sharron Rogers. Sharron is a 64 year old woman from Titusville, Florida who has been sick 45 years of her life suffering from Sarcoidosis, Diabetes, Pulmonary, and Cardiovascular issues and decided one day she would help herself to become well. And she did. There are so many incredible people in this world who have ​overcome almost impossible situations in order to live a better quality life. For Sharron Rogers, her life story was nothing short of a miracle.
​

At age 26, Sharron was the picture of perfect health. She was a size 5 with 2 children and a husband. She had been training for a marathon when she injured herself at the mine where she worked. She fell and bruised her right rib cage. On her visit to the doctor they discovered spots on her lungs after routine chest x-rays. They originally thought it was lung cancer, but after many tests, on April 23, 1984 her doctors diagnosed her with pulmonary sarcoidosis, and at this time this illness was new, so there was not much information available on how to treat it. She was immediately placed on Prednisone which began her battle with weight. She joined weight watchers then lost her goal weight and maintained it for 4-5 months, then the weight came back.  She then started to develop other illnesses like fibromyalgia. 

Her heart issues did not start until about 8-9 years later. She started having pulmonary hypertension and was placed on Oxygen. The doctors thought she was developing blockages in her arteries. The pressure in her heart would drop. Then she started to develop diabetes. She's had doctors who would not treat her because she had so many illnesses. Another doctor would always have her crying when she left the office. He would tell her to get her final affairs together because she would never live to see her children grow up.

In addition to the negative treatment from her doctors, her home life began to deteriorate. Now that she was fully disabled and unable to work, her husband became violently abusive mentally, verbally, and physically. He would beat her in their home in front of the children. Her daughters told her to leave him or he was going to kill her.

In 1993 she made an attempt on her life with suicide. When her daughter came home she told her daughter she overdosed with prescription drugs, drunk some alcohol, and made a recording. She was admitted to a mental hospital that night after they pumped her stomach. To everyone's surprise, the pills did not begin to digest. She believed this was her miracle and sign to keep fighting. She was released and went back home to the abuse.

Her turning point came in 2000 when her husband beat her with a belt while she was naked and left her in the closet while her best friend was visiting her. At this time her daughter left the military to come help her. She did not have an income and her credit was poor. In January 2001, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. While in the hospital, she made up her mind to leave. In March she started packing her belongings. The beatings got worse until she finally left him in May 2001. 
​

Her gains started to stagnate once she moved to a new city and started taking classes at the University. She remarried and had to stop taking classes to care for her sick mother and husband. For the next ten years all of her gains were reversed. She had to start taking oxygen again. The doctor visits and surgeries for her pre existing conditions started to multiply. She was now taking a daily cocktail of new prescriptions. She thought she would not see great health again. ​

Soon after the pandemic hit, social media was lit up with all sorts of online fitness challenges. About a month ago, I was tagged by who I consider now to a one of my new fitness accountability partners, for a 25 Day Push Up Challenge. As a part of her obligation, she needed to nominate a new person everyday of the challenge to do 25 pushups a day while raising awareness for mental illness.

​For those who know me, I'm always up for a challenge. And at that point, I had fallen into another episode of stagnacation (a stagnant vacation) and needed a quick boost into my next level of fitness. It took about a week for me to prepare my mental, but I eventually got started. (Tauruses have to take a moment to change course, but when we do... we get results!)
​
At the end of the challenge, I'd actually gained a few new friends who cheered me along with comments on my posts. I call those friends my new accountability partners. We still continue to push each other just like we did in the challenge. Overall it was a rewarding experience and it inspired me to start a new challenge with a new direction.

Starting October 1, I'll be hosting my own #AAAChallenge and anyone who would like to participate can let me know by tagging me everyday on social media so I can comment, like, and share your posts. This challenge has 3 parts to it to keep you focused.

Affirmation- These positive statements about yourself, whether you believe them or not, will start to reprogram your brain at a subconscious level. (As a man thinketh, so is he.) Say these statements out loud every day. Feel free to make adjustments to the affirmations as you feel the need.

​Action- Choose an exercise or activity you would like to perform everyday for the next 25 days and post a video or picture of you performing it. Theories suggest it takes 21 days to form new habits... I give you a few more days for errors.

Accountability- We fall off because we don't have the support. Tagging me and other friends along this journey will make the journey that much more exciting. Seeing the progress of others will usually inspire and keep the desire fresh and new. We support each other by commenting and giving positive words of support.

Copy and paste this next section as the text for all your posts. Add and make adjustments to the Affirmations, Actions, and Accountability sections as you feel necessary.

Today is day 1 of my new 25 day #fitnesschallenge for October. My #AAAChallenge is about Affirmation, Action, and Accountability.

Affirmation | Everyday I tell myself 
•I am beautiful 
•I am 10 pounds lighter
•I am a weight loss success story

Action | Everyday I perform
•25 pushups 
•a 45 minute fat burning activity (heart rate in the fat burning zone)

Accountability | I’ve got an amazing set of fitness friends that inspire me to keep striving on the daily basis. Thank you @bigbonedfitness

I am looking forward to seeing my results on day 25.

#weightlossjourney #weightlossstory #thickandfit #fattofit #plussizefitness

I am looking forward to interacting with all my new accountability partners by commenting, sharing, and liking your posts!!! Good luck!

If you make a purchase after clicking on a link in this article, I may earn a commission. [Details]

I was inspired to write this article after I ordered a pair of tights online that were too small. I'd waited over a week to get them, only to be disappointed when jumping to get into them did not work for me. Because I loved the tights so much, I now had to send them back, wait for reimbursement, order a new pair, and wait another week. Too many spontaneous disappointments begin to eat away at time and money you could be using to enjoy your best life!! So here are a few good points to consider when shopping online.

The easiest way to find your measurements is to measure yourself. You will be amazed at how easy it is take your measurements. Most people do not own a tape measure. But here's great news... They are cheap and inexpensive! If you do not own a tape measure, please visit Ebay and grab one for  less than $4 with free shipping. This is the same exact one I've had for over a decade. It has never faded or frayed. I simply roll it up and put it away in a drawer until the next time I need to measure myself. Tape Measure from Ebay.

How To Measure-- There are three main measurements you will need to grab; the bust (chest), waist, and hips. Wrap the tape measure around all three areas (one at a time) and wrote those numbers down on a sticky note somewhere. Whenever you lose weight (or gain weight), you will want to measure yourself again.

Size guides are charts or graphs that will help you to decide the size of the garment that will fit your body best. Unless you are familiar with how a particular brand or label's clothes fit, it will be helpful to compare your measurements with the measurements listed on the size guides. And now that you know your personal measurements, you can plug those numbers into the size guides posted with virtually all retailers online. For example, if your measurements are Bust (44inch), Waist (36inch), and Hip (49inch), you will see those measurements fall into size 1 for this company.
Just one thing to remember, although these guides are very helpful, they are not always perfect. You may have to make adjustments to the size if your hips are very large in proportion to your bust and waist. In this case you will have to account for other factors not listed in this article to find a good match.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual dressing room is becoming popular again. Most retailers have closed their fitting rooms until conditions are better. As a result, many of the larger retailers have teamed up with third party developers to create online virtual fitting rooms and 3D avatars to help you select the best size. This also helps retailers by cutting the costs associated with returns from clothes that don't fit.

So with that information I hope your shopping experience will be a more productive and less frustrating when you receive clothes that fit the first time around!!

We are so pleased to announce that we offer Weight Loss Bracelets in our new Etsy store. Whether you need energy for everyday living or to take your endurance to the next level, there is a bracelet for you. And to make sure you get optimal results, we have suggested a few Weight Loss Affirmations for daily motivation!!

All bracelets are $10 for the month of September.!

Our bracelets begin with the Hematite mineral stone. The Hematite stone has a reputation for boosting self esteem and confidence while keeping your mind focused. The naturally occurring iron composition within the stone helps to promote nerve pain regulation, oxygen transport, and healthy liver and kidney function.

Our first line of designs use the Lapis Lazuli, Chrysocolla, Amethyst, Citrine, Carnelian, and Multicolored Tourmaline gemstones. The synergy from these gemstones transform your energy into positive productive energy you’ll need for weight loss.

So get your energy up! Get ready for your next level! Visit our Etsy store to find a Weight Loss Bracelet to suit your needs!

If you make a purchase after clicking on a link in this article, I may earn a commission. [Details]

One of my biggest fears about pregnancy was the stretch marks that I would receive during my pregnancy. I have enough stretch marks on my hips from when I was young. I was not interested in anymore. I heard women say that stretch marks are the battle scars they embrace from child birth. I've seen the images of the stretch marks and I just could not accept that there was nothing I could do to prevent them. So I researched and found a recipe that I used from the end of month 5 until I had my son. As a result, I had one teeny tiny little stretch mark. I am a satisfied customer.

​But nonetheless, I decided to go public and make this serum available to anyone else who would like to prevent stretch marks. My thoughts while I researched was, hey, it is worth the shot... if it works then whoo hoo!.. If it doesn't then I will wear my battle scars with pride as well... either way, I had to try something. And it paid off, AND it was less expensive than plastic surgery.

There are there main ingredients, neroli oil, lavender, and mandarin essential oils. The magical ingredient is neroli oil. It has properties that help to improve the elasticity of the skin. 

The best time to start using this serum is about month five of your pregnancy.

1. Spray the oil with 3 pumps around your belly.
2. Massage the oil in round circular motion until the belly is covered.
3. Do this 2 times a day.

Your unborn fetus will love how this massage feels. By the time your baby arrives, he or she will be ready for the world! I know my son came here ready to cuddle!