April however, had the motivation and discipline to not only lose 15lbs, but rather she lost 101lbs. She didn't get a weight loss surgery or took any prescription weight loss drug, but she did it the right way. She used good ol fashioned hard work and determination along with a workout regimen and healthy diet. This beautiful 6 footer transformed her body in a way most of think may be impossible. I was truly inspired and I would like to applaud her for her accomplishments. Here is April's story:
"May of 2008 I was weighing in at 260 pounds, the heaviest I have ever been my entire life. That's when I finally realized how unhealthy physically and mentally I allowed myself to become.
Before I go any further let me introduce myself. My name is April Dasal, I'm currently 24 years old and I use to be a foodaholic. Food has been a huge part of my life since childhood and it all started with my father. He moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in his 30s where he met my mother, married her, and had 4 children. If any of you are familiar with the Filipino culture, you're aware that the importance of food is right under family. It was branded into my brain as a child that the more I ate, the happier my dad was. He was very difficult to please but because having a large appetite made him proud, I became very good at it.
To give you a better understanding of how much I had trained myself to eat, here are a few examples (and I'm not exaggerating any of it); when I was in 3rd grade our teacher ordered the class pizza, most of the kids had 1-2 slices of pizza, I on the other hand ate an entire large pizza. When I was in 6th grade I would come home after school and cook 4, that's right, 4 packets of ramen noodles. I would also drink the left over soup as well. Another overeating incident that occurred during my 6th grade year is I ate an entire pound of expired turkey bacon. I became sick that evening, threw up all of it, and had food poisoning for a month. I became accustomed to eating so much food that my stopping point would be when I was on the verge of puking. The older I got, the closer I became to food. Not only did it satisfy my hunger but also my boredom, anger, sadness, and depression. Food was the answer to all my problems.
Then, at the end of my 7th grade year, I learned about the sport of bodybuilding. I spent hours looking on websites, reading articles about nutrition, training, and my favorite part were the pictures. All the people in shape inspired me, especially the teenagers that were around my age. I educated myself through articles on the internet and made myself a training routine I could do at home with the few pieces of equipment we owned. This is where my journey towards fitness began. My only problem was food. I understood that I was eating too much and the wrong foods but unfortunately my bad habits got the best of me. I was still able to stick with my training and gain muscle with the little knowledge I obtained. Working out eventually became as addicting as food and was the only thing I had in my life that made me feel good about myself. I kept my love for weight lifting and dreams of making it a part of my future a secret. I wasn't sure if it was possible and I knew my father wouldn't approve if he found out. He had already told me as a child, that I was going to choose a high salary career and suggesting anything other than that would have been ridiculous to him.
My dad never found out about my love for lifting. December 23, 2002 I woke up to him yelling for my older sister. I heard my sister's footsteps, running down the hallway. I came out of my room to see what was going on and he was sitting on the floor, holding his chest, yelling in a panic at my sister to rub his back. I ran into the living room crying, and asked him if I should call 911 but he yelled, "No" at me. My older brother then came into our living room and told me to call 911. I picked the phone up but I couldn't move. It was the most intense and frightening experience I've ever gone through. Finally my brother grabbed the phone out of my frozen hand and called for an ambulance. At that time, my youngest sister had stumbled into the room, just waking up to all the commotion. I took her quickly into my brother's room so she didn't have to see our dad. As she sat on his bed, I stood in the doorway, watching the paramedics come into our house and push my dad out on a stretcher. My mom came home from work and picked us up to go to the hospital where we were brought into a room to wait for the doctor. We sat in the room silently until the doctor came in and told us that our dad had a massive heart attack and couldn't be revived. I will never forget that moment and realization of what had caused his death.... years of unhealthy eating and a sedentary lifestyle. The very same habits I and everyone in my family were practicing.
After my father's death, my family struggled mentally and financially. It was the first time in my life I had difficulty eating food. I began losing weight because I was depressed. I felt extremely alone and my purpose in life had vanquished. Luckily, my freshman year, I had met a teacher who had reached out to me and made me realize the important things in life. My mind made a 180, from negative to positive. My eating habits even improved and I was incorporating fresh fruits and veggies into my diet, as well as controlling my portion sizes. I lost 30lbs, going from 220 lbs my 8th grade year to 190 lbs my freshman year. I even saved up some money to get a membership at Gold's Gym, which soon became my second home. Things were starting to look up and I finally regained control over my life. The next year I purchased personal training sessions from Gold's Gym and my trainer opened up a whole new world of training to me. He taught me many different training techniques and most importantly taught me how to push through pain when I wanted to stop. I made lots of progress and even got down to 179 lbs. I then started hanging out with a new crowd in high school who didn't care about their health. My weight plummeted back up to 200 lbs and my bad eating habits caught back up with me.
My weight stayed around 200 lbs until my senior year in high school (2007) when a friend told me about a new store he got his protein from called Supplement Superstore. I decided to check it out instead of going to my usual supplement store. I went to the St. Peters location where I met Joe Keough. This was the first time in my life I had visited a supplement store and all my questions were answered without a sales pitch. Joe probably spent at least a half an hour with me or longer explaining which protein I should get and dieting in general. I continued shopping at S2 taking Phormula-1 and Ignition for my post workout shake. I noticed a pretty big difference in my strength and was happy I switched over (my bank account was happy too).
After I graduated high school I got a job at Gold's Gym selling memberships then changed positions to the night shift receptionist. I worked Monday-Thursday 11pm-9am, and that is where I watched my weight climb. My irregular sleeping patterns, combined with eating high calorie foods, and inconsistent workouts caused me to go from 200 lbs to 260 lbs in less than 6 months. I remember the day I got on the scale and saw those numbers, I knew I couldn't continue to live like I was unless I wanted to end up like my dad. I changed my eating habits and Gold's Gym luckily changed their hours. I worked from 4 am-10 am instead of covering the night shift, which allowed me to have normal sleeping patterns. I was able to get down to 230 lbs and over the course of the next 4 years my weight fluctuated between 200-240 lbs.
May of 2012, my good friend/workout partner was in need of somewhere to stay over the summer while he attended school at Lindenwood. I told him if he couldn't find anywhere he could stay with my family and I, which is what he did. We decided that since we were living together we would get on a strict diet and training routine. Eating out at restaurants stopped and I cooked all my meals. Breakfast I usually would have 2-3 egg whites with spinach leaves and whole wheat toast or oatmeal. My second meal usually consisted of a lean meat, (like tilapia, chicken, or ground turkey) with a complex carb (brown rice or quinoa) and a vegetable (broccoli, salad, or carrots). I also made sure to include healthy fats into my diet like olive oil, avocados, almonds, coconut oil, and natural peanut butter. I would eat at least 6 meals a day all similar to my second meal except I would stop consuming carbs after 6 pm and my last meal of the day would usually be a Level-1 protein shake (my favorite flavor is ice cream sandwich). As far as training went we completely switched things up. I figured I should since I had been training the same since I was 12 years old. I found a new 6 day a week program. It incorporated power lifting type training as well as the bodybuilding type training. For my post workout protein I continued to take my Ignition and Phormula-1 and started taking 1-DB Goddess and Thyro-Drive. I was able to make great strength gains as well as drop body fat up until I hurt my back and my shoulder at work. I found out I had partial tears in my shoulder and a herniated disk. It was very discouraging to hear but I was determined to change my life and not go back to the lifestyle I was living. It was difficult to not train my injured body parts but because I never gave up things were falling into place perfectly. I was eating right, training right, and had a great support system with my friend that moved into my house. My weight was melting off me and before I knew it I was at 185 lbs 3 ½ months later. As happy as I was about my accomplishments, I still had one thing on my mind and that was competing in a bodybuilding show. It was a dream of mine since I was 12 and I knew I was capable of doing it.
I was determined to do what I once thought was impossible so I signed up for the 1st Phorm NPC Midwest Bodybuilding show 6 weeks out. I entered in the women's bodybuilding, physique novice, and physique open categories. My training and diet changed drastically. During the last 3-2 weeks my energy levels were at an all time low. I wasn't getting much energy from my diet and I was burnt out on all of the cardio I was having to do. I decided to tryout the new BMR Bliss go pack since I was successful with the 1-DB and Thryo-Drive. I'm happy to say that was one of the best decisions I made. It helped tremendously with my energy levels, which helped clear my mind when I was feeling overwhelmed. I continued to take my BMR pack until 2 days out from the show when I wasn't needing to do cardio anymore. The day of the show I weighed in at 159 lbs, 101 lbs lighter than I was in 2008. I placed 1st in women's bodybuilding, 2nd in physique novice, and 3rd place in physique open! I finally did it, what I had been trying to achieve for the past 12 years of my life, when I first discovered this crazy exciting sport!
This is only the beginning for me. I want to inspire and help others change their lives for the better and continue to work harder and compete until I obtain my pro card.
I owe the S2 crew, especially Joe Keough, a huge thank you for the time they set aside to help me grow. Not just physically but mentally as well. Joe really helped me realize that the only limits I have are the ones I give myself. Remember, this is your life and you are the only one that has control over it. If you really want something, do what it takes to get there. Now go out and achieve what you want, and make the changes necessary in order to do so!!!!"
So now go out there and do what April said and achieve what you want. Anything is possible!
XOXO,
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