JESSICA SHULTZABERGER’S REASONS FOR BEING (Pt. 2 of 4):

The biggest surprise or lesson was figuring out why I gained my weight. I gained weight all my life due to a variety of root causes but the one that surprised me was to protect my heart from ever being hurt and to push people away especially in intimate relationships. I knew I had childhood eating issues but didn’t realize the fact my mom left me at age 4 to start a new family had broken my heart and I had been guarding it ever since. It is quite ironic to think I was trying to protect my heart with being fat.  I had always known we have to heal ourselves emotionally but didn’t realize this strong connection of the heart, body and mind for complete health.

For the first time in my life, I am learning to keep my heart open to love and intimate relationships. I even went out on a few dates with a guy from the Crossfit gym. It didn’t work out but we are still friends. But for this former “fat girl” to ever think she would meet a guy at the gym and go on a few dates was a pretty big shocker for me.