Dance teacher finds her groove

By: Ginger Gadsden

Tampa, Florida - It was just over two years ago when dance instructor, Sandra Sears, saw a photograph that saved her life.

It was a picture of a woman with beautiful eyes and a bright smile who weighed 274 pounds.

The woman in the picture is Sandra. Sandra says she thought the image was distorted because she didn’t feel like the woman she was looking at.

But the student standing next to her in the picture looked just fine.

That’s when Sandra realized she had to do something to lose weight.

And she did.

She tried just about every diet out there.

Nothing worked.

So what did work? Sandra says good old fashioned eating right, exercising and drinking lots of water.

I asked Sandra how someone who teaches dancers and is in front mirrors every day how she could gain the weight and not know.

Sears says she wasn’t oblivious to her weight gain but that it happened slowly over a period of 12 years.

She also knew that slowly was the best way to lose the weight.

Sandra says she tries to work out six days a week for 45 minutes to an hour.

She also knows her limits. She says she will not allow herself to have Haagen Dazs ice cream because she will finish the entire carton.

She will allow herself to enjoy lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

So far she has lost 125 pounds and wants to shed 20 more. She knows it won’t be easy but she also knows it will be worth it.