Featured Fitale – India Collazo

Please introduce yourself to our readers (i.e. your name, occupation, hobbies, etc.).

My name if you don’t know is India Collazo. I am a 34 year old mother of 3 and married for almost 15 years.  I have been on my journey to fitness and self discovery for 7 years now once weighing 280 lbs I am now 160 lbs and still going strong.

What sparked your weight-loss transformation journey?

I was not always heavy after having my 3 children and having 5 miscarriages the weight just stayed on even after the babies left. My hormones were out of balance and my body gave…. NO!

I gave up on myself.. many will say their body gave up, but my body carried me even on days my mind wanted to quit. In the beginning it was all about losing weight and being better for my husband. Our marriage was falling apart & I “convinced” myself to believe if I looked better he would love me more. But later I realized I didn’t even love myself and I just was trying to no longer hate my reflection. I cut a lot of corners and even became bulimic and a late binge eater (its easy to hide your flaws when no one is looking).

I did all the diet pills, shakes, crazy drinks and worked out so much I became obsessed and addicted. I lost 60lbs and still it was not enough. I ate less, worked out more. The more I did the more I still hated myself. I eventually gained all the weight back and more the moment I slowed down. I had to stop & finally look at the woman in the mirror.

The woman drowning in hidden fears & chains holding me to my past.  I had to realize it was more then losing weight, I had pain, insecurities, unreachable expectations, doubt, worry and I had lost myself. India the mother and wife could do it all, but if I stripped those titles away who was I? Its so easy to get caught up in a certain image we have to chase or a life that is required for us to be happy and feel whole. Its easy to be conformed to what this world says is beautiful and expectable. But whos rules are we following? Who gets to say what happiness looks like, what sexy looks like, what confidence looks like? I was ready to dig deeper and get fit mentally and physically for me, because I am worth it. Even if I didn’t believe it yet, I DECIDED I was important and my life was worth fighting for.

How did you get started?

I started off small holding myself accountable to take 10K steps a day minimum (for heart health). I gave up all sugary drinks and only having coffee every other day. Within 10 minutes of waking up I would have 8 oz of warm lemon water. I drank 3 cups of green tea a day, at least 2 liters of water a day. I would walk a mile a day and workout for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. After a month I slowly added in resistance training and then weights. Yoga helped me with balance and muscle and body connection. This was important especially because I suffer from ADR- Abdominal Diastases Recti so I am not able to do any type of core work.

Small changes made a big difference and my mind set (my why had changed). I was doing this for me, for my future self. The woman who wants to one day run with her grand kids and not be on medications. I fought for my life and started to LEARN yes I had to learn to love myself and see I am a warrior. I still have tough times but there is now beauty in it. Getting fit is not easy and not comparing yourself to others is HARD! So many people on social media only show the good stuff. The great bodied, workouts, meals and everything that can make you feel like a failure or weak. I’m going to tell you.

IT IS HARD & IT HURTS! Change is HARD. Working out is HARD, always eating right is HARD! But I’m the kind of woman who realized I was made for HARD shit! (excuse my language) But I don’t want easy. I want to earn and be the best version of myself, for myself, even if I have to stand by myself. I still eat treats and I go days without working out sometimes. But that’s ok. My life is not all about ME!

Which physical activities did you participate in during your journey?

I love doing HIIT, Lifting weights, Yoga and doing at home workouts.

How did your eating habits change?

I eat 3-4 times a day I make sure I work out 4 times a week always being in a calorie deficit. People think you can just workout and eat right and lose weight. THAT IS HALF TRUE! You must burn what you eat and eat well balanced nutritious foods.

What do you typically eat for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner?

Homemade shakes, egg muffins, breakfast tacos (yes I said tacos for breakfast)! Good salads, chicken, fish, veggies and not taking away treats. If you take it all away binge eating or falling off the wagon is going to happen. DEPRIVATION is not the key to success in weight loss.  Just remember if I can do so can you and the only person getting in your way is YOU!

How can readers learn more about your transformation and journey online (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)?

You can follow my journey on Instagram not_done_yet_india I share at home workouts and just my life in a nutshell. We are all capable of doing great things lets go for it and live this life and not just exist.