An inspirational woman has opened up about her weight loss and revealed how she can finally pursue her dreams after losing one hundred pounds.
30-year-old Taylor Ragano from Arlington, Virginia, used to weigh 220 pounds before undergoing a drastic weight loss transformation and turning her life around.
As Ms. Ragano revealed, she lost a total of nearly one hundred pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. This change has helped her become more confident in herself and pursue her dreams of becoming a model and getting a master’s degree.
“I was in special education classes through high school. I have ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, and Sensory Processing Disorder,” Taylor explained.
“I almost dropped out my senior year. My class didn’t even go to a career fair. We went to a workforce class. From graduation until I was 23 years old I was just unmotivated and at the age of 21 I gained about 98lbs.”
While she managed to shed fifty pounds temporarily, Taylor soon regained all of the weight she had lost after returning to her old habits which involved binge eating and massive food orders.
One day, she decided to change her life for the better with the help of surgery in order to fulfill her dreams and feel better in her own body.
“Before the surgery, I weighed 220lbs. Now I’m 127lbs. I eat 800-1,000 calories a day. I eat very little and I’m full. I don’t snack often. A meal might be like half of a six-inch Italian sub or half a kid-sized plate at a restaurant,” Taylor added.
“I also try to eat as much protein as possible because people who have gotten gastric bypass surgery need a lot of protein.”
Thanks to a major confidence boost following her weight loss, the 30-year-old also found the courage to start working as a freelance model and take her education more seriously.
“All the weight was off by 2015 and just losing the weight gave me the confidence I needed. I started taking my community college classes more seriously and applied to a four-year university,” she explained.
“I then went to JMU and graduated on the dean’s list. I then applied for grad school and I’m currently getting my master’s in public administration from Virginia Tech.
“I’ve also had a few internships on Capitol Hill and have been freelance modeling a few times a month. I signed to an agency in Pennsylvania recently, but I’ve been modeling for about two years.”
Following her weight loss, Taylor also found the confidence to return to the dating scene, a decision that allowed her to meet the man whom she believes to be the love of her life.
“He’s super supportive and he’s going to be a lawyer. Guys were really not nice to me when I was overweight,” Taylor said.
“My exes who weren’t nice to me all wanted to get back together when I lost the weight, but I didn’t give them the time of day.”
As for her plans for the future, the 30-year-old hopes to become the first fashion model with a gastric bypass. In addition, she wants to become a congresswoman and help people with disabilities.
“I didn’t think I’d even have a degree, but my goal in life is to work on The Hill, maybe even as a congresswoman, and help pass legislation that helps people with disabilities,” Taylor said.
“I’d also eventually love to go to law school, but I’m just trying to get my master’s first. It would also be awesome to be the first fashion model who lost a lot of weight or has had gastric bypass surgery. People need someone to look up to who has had success losing weight.”
Congratulations, Taylor!
Replaced!