ORM presents the series of stories on OCR Transformations. Runners and athletes whose mind, body, and spirit have been altered through obstacle racing.
This week’s OCR Transformations features a young lady by the name of Kerri Davis. Her struggle is unlike any we have featured so far. Overcoming a rough home life, mixed with having children at a young age led her to obesity. After several food addiction relapses…Kerri has come out stronger than ever and her determination motivates others daily.
FORMING HABITS
Kerri Davis has gone through what seems like a life long battle with her weight. Her trouble began when she became a mother at an early age. Being a teen mom wasn’t easy for Kerri, she was only 15 years old and was at 200lbs. Kerri’s life dramatically changed from becoming a young parent. She had to quickly grow up—no proms or senior year for her. Instead senior year for Kerri was consumed of being a mother with another on the way. Not only did Kerri have the extra stress of caring for two young ones, but she was forced to live alone at a young age too due to running from an abusive home life.
Kerri never really faced her fears. Instead she would continuously run from the things that troubled her and she would replace her fears with food. Sweets and junk food were her substitute gratification for the troubles in her life. Food was the one thing she felt like she could actually control. This terrible habit continued on for years as she gained more and more weight with every bite. By the age of 25, Kerri began to show signs of health issues and she became less active and more overweight.
CONTINUOUS SPIRAL
Realization hit Kerri hard the day her mother passed away. This was her wake-up call to get fit and make a change. Kerri was on a mission to change her life, however; she took it to another extreme. She was able to lose 80lbs by exercising nearly every day. What was once an addiction to food was replaced with an addiction to working out. Kerri did not really change her eating habits during this transition, but because she was way more active than before she thought she was at her healthiest.
Replacing one addiction with another will eventually catch up to you. That is exactly what happened to Kerri. She began experiencing migraines and pain related symptoms from her work outs. After taking advice from a peer, Kerri slowed down her workouts and gave her body a break. Kerri seemed to have her routine together, until her husband’s injury. The extra stress caused Kerri to relapse. She dove back to the only thing she knew that could comfort her…food.
The vicious cycles caused Kerri to gain back the 80lbs she had worked so hard to lose, plus 30lbs more. Now at 280lbs, Kerri sunk into a depression and she began to close herself in. She could only blame herself. Kerri felt humiliated because she allowed herself to spiral out of control. Later that year, Kerri’s world was rocked yet again—her sister overdosed and Kerri was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. She sank lower and lower resulting in even more weight gain to 367lbs. Kerri’s weight caused her to not even be able to walk a flight of stairs with experiencing intense pains. She had become extremely overweight and she refused to leave her home…even her bed. Kerri’s actions had become her death sentence. Her body became weaker and weaker from little to no activity and her unhappiness ruled her life.
BLESSING IN DISGUISE
Her diagnosis with Fibromyalgia became her blessing in disguise. In order to fight her flare ups, Kerri had to learn how her body reacted to different foods. Kerri took it upon herself to gain more education on her condition. She began her “Fibro and fat food fight”! At this point, Kerri knew that in order to change her life she had to do life changing things. Her diet began to change drastically. Instead of taking in too many sugars she tried green smoothies to take in her veggies. Kerri began to incorporate more of a plant based eating plan into her diet which resulted in a weight loss of nearly 110 pounds. With the help of walking and yoga she was now able to control her Fibro flares better. Kerri still treats herself to foods she once enjoyed, but now in moderation and to not overdo it.
PHASE THREE
Kerri now considers herself in “phase three” of finding herself. She has incorporated exercises with more intense cardio and she has begun circuit training. Fitness and health has never come easy to Kerri, but instead of taking a backseat to her life she finally feels as if she is in the driver’s seat. She now understands what it will take to get her to where she wants to be and she is finally ready to work for it. Focusing on the day at hand instead of focusing on the past helps her move forward. Kerri knows herself better now more than ever…she is no longer “Alice stuck in a weight loss Wonderland”.
Kerri is currently 268lbs with 135lbs of muscle weight. Her goal is to be healthy and fit at about 145lbs to 150lbs which gives her about 97 more pounds to lose. She uses outlets such as YouTube for exercise inspiration along with her walking regiment. Her journey through her recent weight struggle has taught her that perseverance and hard work can pay off. Although, her last 97lbs have been more of a challenge to lose, Kerri has been able to dig deep and keep pushing forward.
OVERCOMING
Kerri has since created a transformation page for herself and created a nickname that describes who she is…Kerri Strong! Her page features healthy habits and tells her story of overcoming obesity and Fibromyalgia. Creating this page has opened many door ways for Kerri. She has been able to meet amazing people, but the motivation she receives daily helps give her strength and courage to continue her journey. Kerri enjoys helping anyone who asks and she has been inspired helping others that she is planning on getting her personal trainer certificate. Ultimately, she wants to reach her goal weight first before she takes on this next task. Kerri wants to continue to share her story to help motivate people and make them aware that they can battle obesity and win, they can have something like Fibromyalgia and overcome it, and more importantly that staying strong will help you along the way. One of the most important messages that Kerri wants her followers to have is that there is more to life than short term gratification…goals are bigger than that.
CURRENT WORKOUT PLAN
Kerri’s current workout program is treadmill walking, pogo yoga, and a paleo based food plan. She will be incorporating circuit training again soon now that she is working with a personal trainer. Kerri’s biggest weight was 367lbs and she is currently 268lbs. Her goal weight is between 145lbs and 150lbs. She has only 97lbs to go and she is fighting ever day to get there!
Follow Kerri on Facebook and Instagram.
*Kerri’s story is nowhere close to being finished. She is still pushing every day to reach her goal weight. We will be checking back in with Kerri once she reaches her goal weight to see her progress. Be sure to follow her and cheer her on along the way! Photo credit to Kerri Davis.
Allison Dacus
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I just want to thank you for the opportunity to share my story . I hope it inspires each of you whom Have battles they face daily , to know Your not alone and that anything you want to ACHIEVE is attainable. You simply have to BELIEVE in you and then put one foot in front of the other . Baby steps are steps too 😉 Step into your HealthyHabits the STRONG way .