The phone rang at 10 am yesterday morning. It was a New York publicist friend of mine who happened to be online and flipping through Perez Hilton’s commentary on this week’s magazine covers when he recognized the very same body that had lounged around on his couch the week before. “Darls, are you on the cover of the National Enquirer?” he asked.
“Oh that’s old,” I informed him, believing it to be the December edition I had been on, rather embarrassingly labeled one of the worst beach bodies of all time.
“No, this is different. Wearing a red two piece bikini.”
“I don’t own a two piece red bikini.”
“Darl, I swear, it’s you. Running into the water.”
“Is it more a fuchsia color? And look closer….is it actually a one piece that breaks up into a two piece? Can’t you see my face?” I ask, already knowing what the answer will be.
“No darl, the face is covered up with something that says Guess the best and worst beach bodies.”
I don’t for a second think I’ve graduated from worst to best and can’t help but groan. Here we go again!
He tries to buy the online copy so he can look inside and confirm it’s me but he can’t. So he puts the phone down, runs up the street to Walgreens and buys two copies, one for him and one for me, although I don’t think that will make it into the scrapbook I will leave for the grandkids.
He calls me back and says, “Did you go to a water park wearing board shorts?” And the rest is a blur. He mentioned something about them saying I spend a lot of time going to the fridge, blah blah blah, I’m fat, whatever. He sends me the link of the cover and I can’t help but see the positive side of things (it’s in my nature).
- I’m not as fat as the last time I was on the cover.
- I used to be a LOOOOTTTTT fatter (more than 300 pounds, see pic below).
- I’m on a cover next to Miley Cyrus, Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, Coco and Demi Moore even if it is for being fat. Whatever America! I have arrived lol!
- I’m in a mag in the US which means one day I will be on the very same cover (and hopefully others) with my smoking hot fit bod and fabulous life having found my mojo, because if I’m news as a tub o lard, then I will be even more newsworthy when I take back my health and wellness – mind, body AND spirit.
- AND Perez Hilton was sweet enough to not bag me out for it. Okay, I do write for him but he still could have done it.
- AND I have lost 5 pounds since I took my son and his friends to the water park for the first day of summer vacation so I’m not even as fat as those photos so even THAT is history so who cares?
Seriously, it was quite liberating. I’m on my way (and I don’t mean to fame and fortune but taking my health and my life back). My friend then asked me if I had “come out” on www.FitPerez.com, meaning had I shared that I was filming and blogging my new journey from obesity on the site that I write health and fitness tips for?
The answer was no, I hadn’t. It’s not like it was a secret, but I just hadn’t mentioned it. But then, right next to that particular article on Perez’s site was his 4th July shirtless video in which he shared photos of his transformation over the last 5 years. It was so incredibly inspiring, made even more powerful by the fact that instead of dissing on Jessica Simpson’s lack of weight loss a few short weeks after giving birth, he offered her words of encouragement instead. Perez, you have changed inside and out!
And so I sat down and wrote my article for FitPerez, my “coming out” article, admitting I had slipped up but am willing to share it with others in the hope of inspiring them to make the changes they desire and making myself completely accountable for my own transformation. Here it is http://fitperez.com/2012-07-05-ajay-rochester-comes-out
I then filmed my first ever 4th July Perez Inspired Bikini body shots, something I think we should all do, but because I plan to lose approximately 60 pounds by the New Year I will do my bare all bikini body shoot every month to show the progress I am making – no tricks, no gimmicks, real weight loss in real time.
I think the best thing I can take from this is, yesterday is gone, and as long as you are moving forward, making progress and doing the very best you can at any given time then that is all you can do and no matter what happens, never ever ever give up!
This is me eleven years ago
You understand that FindingMyMojo is available for your personal, non-commercial use only. You represent, warrant and agree that no materials of any kind submitted through your account or otherwise posted, transmitted, or shared by you on or through this or any other Service/publication will violate or infringe upon the rights of any party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights; or contain libelous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful material.
Should you wish to use portions of this copy for commercial purposes, publication or otherwise, full credit and link must be given and appropriate permissions should be made in writing to the author.
© Copyright Ajay Rochester 2012
Finding My Mojo, Ajay Rochester and all works and images contained within, protected and governed by the Copyright law of Los Angeles, California, USA.
