Team Beachbody Guest

In my life as a young girl, eating everything on my plate and asking for more made my mom happy; which ultimately like most little girls, made me happy too! I was a bookworm so grades meant more to me than going outside and playing. Food was a feel good experience that later in life became a feel bad reality. I remember hearing people call me cute and chubby, which stuck with me for years. I used the fat as a shield to hide behind and focused on my brain instead of my body. Looking back, it’s sad that along with candy and ice cream, I swallowed those little criticisms whole, and year after year those painful labels became real every time I looked in the mirror.

When my family decided to move from NY to Texas, I was a sophomore in high school.
I was away from mom for three months and lived with my aunt. Her cooking habits were quite different and she had no junk food in the house. I missed my family so in the evenings would go out walking in the neighborhood. I lost about 30 lbs then just by eating right and being more active. It was a culture shock and a turning point for me. I decided I wanted to be in pep squad. It was my first time being in anything active and I LOVED to dance and was very good at it. Well family finally came and the old habits started sneaking in. Then the day I will never forget. We were going to have weigh ins and according to my height and weight i was supposed to weigh 125lbs. Well I told myself I can NEVER WEIGH that! So I dropped out and turned to theater and choir instead. Always wondered what if??

I eventually got married and had my daughter and got very sick with preclamsia and could have died .I was put on bed rest and I swelled up like a balloon and my weight shot up to 215. After delivering her by C-section 2 weeks early, I now had the excess weight to deal with. I started reading health and fitness magazines and books and became involved in a body transformation contest. I got down to the 160’s but did not ever finish the transformation. I maintained that for a while. Then eventually I got pregnant with my son and again I had complications and was put on bed rest. He also was delivered by C-section and I ballooned up to 209. Again I had the weight to deal with, but then I had to be rushed to the emergency room a couple weeks later. My gallbladder was failing so I had to have that removed. I was still recovering from my C-section now I had another surgery to deal with and recover. Now my eating habits were affected as well, I had to stay away from certain food because my body wasn’t processing them now like it should.

I became depressed during this time. It must have been post partum depression. Or just my body having to deal with so much in such a short amount of time. Then my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer while I was pregnant and I didn’t care about the weight my focus was on her and my children. My children and husband could not take care of themselves and I was recovering from surgery. One of my husband’s friends came and stayed with us to help. But I felt guilty for not being able to do anything. My son being born saved her life she is seven years in remission. I learned alot from her .Healthy habits. She had a garden where she grew her own vegetables and she managed to get some physical activity in everyday. So then with her in the clear, that gave me time now to remember about my weight albatross that was hanging around my neck.


Like a lot of people, I was convinced that the solution for me was out there somewhere in a magic pill, new diet book, or program that made amazing promises. In fact, I confess that I was one of those Beachbody customers that bought a tape only to park it on a shelf in my room. The big lesson for me was that my weight wasn’t going to change through some outside force, book or pill. It was going to change when I did.

Dec 29, 2006. This was another turning point that I will never forget, and the beginning of a whole new way of life. I became a Coach, and I have to admit, I was a little scared. Not only was I committing myself to a weight loss program, but I was committing myself to coaching other people just like me. I was raising the bar for myself and making myself visible to everyone in our Beachbody community along with my friends and family. I started a picture thread and posted the dreaded “before” picture on the message boards and also started a coaching thread. I also started showing my progress on Myspace and created photobucket videos to inspire friends, family, and strangers alike. For the first time, my success meant more than results on a scale. I was putting myself out there in a big way, knowing that my success would lead me to a coaching career that could ultimately change my family’s life.

So, the first step was transforming my body. I started with Turbo Jam because I loved Chalene’s energy and the music was so much fun. It gave me a chance to tap into my love of dance and music. I added the MDB supplements and my energy jumped into high gear and so did my weight loss! Then just when I was ready for something new, Hip Hop Abs was released; I was one of the first to receive it in February ’07 and have not stopped hip hoppin since. Chalene and Shaun gave me back the love of dance that I had shut out so long ago. And it shows! I am seeing flat abs for the first time ever and am getting compliments. Not bad for a mom of two children both delivered by C-sections! I’ve lost 50 pounds and 73 inches! When you’re only 5 feet tall, that’s almost half a person! So, I guess you could look at me and say, “Yamillie’s lost half a person, and gained her whole self back”. Because it’s true, just ask my family.

I am married to a great man and love being a mom to two beautiful children, ages 11 and 7. My husband Ronnie was born physically disabled and is confined to a wheelchair. So being overweight and depressed did not serve me or my family well. Though my husband can’t work out with me; he is my “life coach” and has taught me lessons that go beyond the physical; perseverance, courage, plus the mental and emotional strength to be the best that I can be.

If you would have told me a year ago that I would have been able to do all that I have done this past year I would have laughed and said” Not Me! I Can’t….”
But now not only has my body changed but my mindset too.
Because now I CAN! And SO can YOU!

By making myself accountable with the message boards, and MySpace,I have met and helped many great people. I have been approached to possibly be in a major health magazine publication as a fitness model as soon as I get to goal. WOW! Me! Pinch me I MUST Be dreaming. Thank you So much MDB/Beachbody ! I have gone back to school and I recently graduated in May with my personal training certification. I also did a week intensive personal Training boot camp in Las Vegas and got to learn from fitness industry greats like Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Ron Williams ”Mr. Natural“, and many others. I scaled a 30ft obstacle course at Camp Lee and overcame my fear of heights for the first time. If I could do that I left there feeling I could do ANYTHING!

So I have decided to go on to fulfill my dream of getting my Bachelors degree . Because of all of my dealings with health ,I decided to go to nursing school and get my BSN . I am also going to get EMT-B certified. These were goals I had put off because of lack of belief in myself. And I look forward to reaching that 125 goal weight real soon and also competing in a figure competition in the near future. The most important gift of my decision to lose weight was the difference it made in my everyday reason to succeed when I became a coach and held myself to a new level of accountability. Now, I can proudly say I did it, I live it, and I can help people just like me do it too. It started with me, and now it’s turned into we.
That’s why it’s worth getting up everyday and pushing play! My ultimate goal is to turn every pound I lose, into a person I reach out and help. So my new target is turning 50 pounds lost into 50 people helped; and with every new pound I lose, it just gets more fun!