Rough Draft Feature Story

Shaneika Lopez sat in her room, crying, wondering why her mom would say such horrible things to her. She was only in elementary school, and certainly she shouldn’t be thinking about her weight at such a young age.  Her mother telling her, “Stop eating so much, you’ll get fat”, and other things that would only lower Shaneika’s self-esteem.

Little did her mother know, these discrepancies only made Shaneika stronger, allowing her to become the young woman that she is now.

Shaneika Lopez began her healthy lifestyle once she began middle school and was old enough to cook her own meals. Being bullied by her own mother caused her to change her eating habits and pick a lifestyle that would change her life for the better. Cooking healthy meals and staying on top of her workout 5 days out of the week.

“Ever since I was in elementary, my mother always told me that I needed to lose weight so that I could look like the other girls in my grade,” Lopez states. “With that, I decided that when I was old enough and could cook for myself, I would eat better foods in order to lose weight and tone up.”

When Shaneika was in middle school, she decided to become vegan; this allowed her to cut many unhealthy foods out of her diet and lose weight quickly.

“My version of a healthy diet consists of no red meats, as much veggies and fruits as possible, and as little processed foods as possible,” Shaneika says. “I cook as often as possible so that I do not go out and get fast-food.”

Although Shaneika is not vegan anymore, she still limits the amount of meat she consumes. Cooking as often as possible allows her to eliminate the food that she tries to avoid on a daily basis.

When asked is she ever has the urge to eat unhealthy food, she replied, “Of course, who doesn't? It's hard when you really want those Oreos and a milkshake, and I'm not saying I don't cave in sometimes, but I try to fight that urge most of the time."

Shaneika is honest, she still craves those foods that aren’t considered healthy and sometimes she caves in. However, some cookies won’t hurt someone who eats healthy 90% of the time. The honest truth is, who eats healthy all the time?

“The amount of energy I have versus the amount of energy I had when I was eating anything that looked appetizing to me. Healthy eating has made me so much more productive; I feel great and I look great,” is how she replied when asked what motivates her to stay healthy.

A healthy lifestyle has led Shaneika to become more confident in her body and maintain fit. Healthy eating is more affordable than going out to eat everyday and it allows you to know what is going into your sacred temple. Shaneika encourages everyone to reevaluate what they are putting into their body and start their new lifestyle now!