Alicia Victoria

Hey everyone, my name is Alicia. I am an African- American, Caucasian and Hispanic woman. I grew up in a predominately white area in Washington state. I was raised by two young, strict parent’s. Growing up I battled with my weight, body image, anxiety and health issues. When I was a child I was constantly bullied. I wanted so badly to belong with my peers by changing my outward appearance. In middle school, I struggled with severe migraines, anxiety, insomnia, and IBS. During high school, I discovered that I was gluten intolerant. Restricting my diet was not easy, but I learned many fun and tasty recipes. It was not until college that I began to see myself in a positive way. I began to love my natural beauty and curves. I started wearing clothes that accentuated my figure and that made me feel sexy. Two years into college I experienced unintentional weight gain, I literally gained 40lbs! I was sick all of the time and my insomnia became worse. I had many tests done and found out I was calcium and vitamin D deficient. On top of that, I developed acid reflux disease. Currently, I am taking action to lose weight, improve my sleep and become a healthy 21-year-old. I recently took up hot yoga. I am not good at it, but I have defiantly seen a change in my body. I workout at least 5-days a week and after trying various diets, that did not work, I started calorie counting. So far I have lost 5lbs! In addition, I started a new Instagram account where I can promote body positivity and motivate others who may have faced the same challenges as I did.