I Lost 234 Pounds After My Kid Asked If I Was Dying – Now I Do Bodybuilding Shows
WHEN she saw her four children playing outside while she was bedridden, it was the motivation an overweight mother needed to take up bodybuilding.
Alicia Briggs had tried countless diets and undergone risky weight loss surgery before she finally found a way to shed her excess pounds.
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Briggs has amassed nearly 74,000 followers on Instagram since she started sharing how she transformed her body.
When she was at her heaviest, the scale gave an error and she could only weigh 429 pounds.
The 36-year-old from Maryland now weighs between 195 and 210 pounds.
In an interview with The US Sun, she revealed that after losing more than half her body weight, she was able to compete in a bodybuilding competition.
COMFORT FOR CHILDHOOD
Briggs grew up in a family where her father was passionate about bodybuilding and she secretly read his fitness magazines.
But despite being as active as other children, she was often alone and used food as comfort, which caused her to gain weight.
“I was an overweight kid and a lot of stores didn’t have plus size clothes for little girls,” she said.
“My mom had to buy my clothes at Sears in a little section on the corner called Pretty Plus.
“It was very simple clothing and I found it very annoying.
“I was a girl with a very round belly and my diet consisted of a lot of junk food.
Her weight as a teenager was still higher than that of her peers, despite the fact that she played hockey and tennis during high school.
Because she was a size 42 while other girls were a size 38, she started fad diets.
“I lost a little bit of weight, five, nine, and then the scale stopped moving,” she said.
“I would assume I had failed, give up, and go back to eating whatever felt comfortable and good at the time.”
PREGNANCY PROBLEMS
Despite the yo-yo effect during her studies, it was not until years later that she began to experience serious health problems related to her weight.
Briggs weighed about 300 pounds when she got married and starting a family was a “high risk” because of her plus-size frame.
My husband had to accompany me to the bathroom, he had to help me get dressed and wash.
Alicia Briggs
“You’re dealing with extra appointments and extra glucose checks to make sure you don’t have gestational diabetes,” she said.
During her pregnancies, she survived two uterine ruptures and had to stay in intensive care, and a neurologist even prescribed her bed rest.
WAKE UP
Briggs soon noticed that she had difficulty walking and was dependent on her husband to get around the house.
She said he became her “caregiver” and that there was no romance in their marriage.
“My husband had to walk me to the bathroom, he had to help me get dressed and wash,” she said.
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“My children came to my bed and asked if I could play, but I couldn’t.
“And there was fear that I would stand up straight, because if I fell with that weight, it could cause a concussion or even end my life.”
She suffered seizures, believed to be after a fall, and did not fit into the MRI scanner for a proper scan of her head.
“My daughter saw me faint one day and asked if mommy was dying,” she said.
“That was the wake-up call I needed: we have to do something. This has consequences for my children.
All I could do was lie in bed and watch from the bedroom window as my children rode their scooters down the sidewalk with my husband.
Alicia Briggs
“While I was lying in bed, I paid for three different programs that required me to exercise.
“When you’re carrying more than 400 pounds, it’s hard to stand.
“It feels like you have an elephant on your back, your hips and knees feel like they are going to give out.
“So after five minutes I was crying and just frustrated.
“All I could do was lie in bed and watch from the bedroom window as my children rode their scooters down the sidewalk with my husband.
“It felt very low, very subhuman.”
SCARY SURGERY
Briggs scheduled a virtual doctor’s appointment to be considered for bariatric surgery.
Her insurance company wanted her to prove that she had been seeing a doctor for seven years to lose weight.
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She also had to undergo expensive tests, including a health check, an information screening and an ECG.
“I had to undergo a sleep study which revealed that I had severe sleep apnea, which caused me to stop breathing for 30 seconds every minute during the night.
“I wasn’t getting enough oxygen, so I was put on CPAP.
“I was also prescribed medications to help with my digestive problems.
I fell off the treadmill. I was trying to do a deadlift and the weights fell off the side. It was very funny and embarrassing.
Alicia Briggs
“I suffered from severe digestive problems due to complications during birth, which nearly killed me.”
She eventually underwent the surgery, which came with all sorts of complications, but once home she became obsessed with her studies in nutrition.
GYM GOALS
After the surgery, Briggs began eating more protein and drinking lots of water. In a month, he lost 50 pounds.
After losing 100 pounds in three and a half months, she went to the gym even though she had no idea what she was doing.
“I grabbed dumbbells and tried to copy what I saw other people doing,” she said.
“I fell off the Stairmaster and the Assisted Pull-up Machine.
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“I fell off the treadmill. I was trying to do a deadlift and the weights fell off the side.
“It was very funny and embarrassing.
“I cried in the car on the way home, but I went back the next day because I was determined to fix this.
“The more you keep trying something, the more it clicks at some point and I fall in love with fitness.”
TROPHY WOMAN
Briggs lost over 170 pounds in a year and wanted to show off her new body in a bodybuilding show.
She trained in the gym for six months, achieved a daily step goal and practiced posing regularly.
With the help of a coach, she was able to lose another 14 kilos before the competition.
Briggs took second place in the Transformation category of Summer Shredding, losing first place by one point.
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About eight months after the show, she consulted a doctor about the possibility of having her loose skin removed.
She discovered that she had a heart condition for which she might need a pacemaker in the future.
“I was wearing the skin of a 400-pound woman on a 190-pound frame,” she said.
“[The doctor] said this was causing unnecessary stress on my nervous system and he advised me to have it removed.”
Briggs said removing the loose skin did not improve her heart function, but did benefit her athletic performance.
We don’t gain 100 pounds overnight, so why do we feel like we have to lose 100 pounds overnight?
Alicia Briggs
However, due to ongoing health problems, she prefers to train at home rather than go to the gym five days a week.
“I haven’t given up and I’m still going to keep going and keep moving my body,” she said.
“I have become a certified personal trainer and now coach women to get healthy through my company Butterflies and Dumbbells Fitness.
“Not being able to compete in a bodybuilding competition this year is tough, but I’m not giving up.
“My dream is to one day have a pro card in Wellness and I still train as if I am going to compete.
“I don’t know if that’s possible, given my heart condition and the extremes you have to go through to compete in bodybuilding.”
SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
Briggs said that anyone who wants to improve their body should be patient with themselves and incorporate weightlifting into their training.
“In our society, we often think that if we want to lose weight, we have to lose 100 pounds by next Friday, otherwise this program won’t work,” she said.
“But we don’t gain 100 pounds overnight. So why do we think we have to lose 100 pounds overnight?
“Don’t compare your journey with someone else’s.
“Seven times out of ten you resemble a member of your family.”
Copying someone else’s workout routine will not produce the same results due to genetic differences.
“She has a big old badonkadonk and we do the same exercises, but you might be more quad-dominant or maybe your foot placement is different,” she said.
“Don’t compare your journey to other experiences, give yourself time to fall in love with the process.
“Losing weight doesn’t mean I’m going to do this and then I’ve lost weight.
“You have to stick with those habits long term, really put them into practice and make them part of your lifestyle.”
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