Asia Ford of Louisville, KY has struggled with her weight for her entire life — but she refuses to give up. Anyone who has struggled with weight loss knows just how easy it is to throw in the towel, but Asia is no quitter.
Whether you are just looking to trim down a couple pounds for swimsuit season, or you're looking to lose 270 pounds like Matt Diaz did, you know that the struggle to lose weight can be stressful and disheartening when the results don't come as quickly as you'd like.
Asia knows the struggle all too well, as she recently lost over 200 pounds. When she reached her highest weight at 474 pounds, her husband also lost a limb to diabetes. She knew she had to make some major changes in her lifestyle to be there for her family, noting, "That is when I woke up and I couldn't allow them to be on this earth without my help and the only way I would be able to help them is if I helped myself first."
Through diet and exercise, she has already made an amazing transformation, and she still continues to push herself further.
She recently decided to enter a 10K (6.2 mile) race in her hometown, and friends and family came out to support her. She was proud of how she was doing, until around mile four when Asia noticed something was wrong…
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This was a big day for Asia. It was another milestone, and it was proof to her — and to her loved ones — that she really could do anything she set her mind to doing.
She said these 6.2 miles meant more to her than any race before. She didn't even care about coming in first. In her eyes, anyone who doesn't give up and works to finish the race is still a winner.
Asia was able to handle the first four miles with no difficulty, but around mile four she realized she was having problems breathing. She had to slow down and, eventually, she noticed that she was at the very back of the race.
EMS workers came to Asia to ask if she was ready to stop, but Asia insisted that she was not going to give up.
Inspired by her determination, Asia's son came to walk with his mom and hold her hand. He was proud of his mom and wanted to make sure she knew that she wasn't alone.
A kindhearted police officer, Lt. Aubrey Gregory, saw Asia attempting to finish the race and he came up and let her know that he'd be there to support her as well.
"I'm not going to let her quit, so I got out and she immediately grabbed my hand," Lt. Gregory said.
She insisted that she wouldn't stop until she reached the finish line.
Likewise, her son and Lt. Gregory held her hands and refused to let go until she crossed the finish line.
The trio walked on steadily, and eventually the finish line came into sight. There were still many spectators waiting there to cheer her on.
Lt. Gregory said, "When I watched her approach and I started to hear people scream and I let her go right there before the end and to see her raise her hands, there aren't words to express the way I felt seeing her be successful." [sic]
Asia wasn't the first to finish the race, but she completed the objective she had given herself. Crying tears of joy, she crossed the finish line in victory.
Asia posted this photo comparing her heaviest weight to the day she completed the race on her Facebook page to remind herself of how far she had come.
The mayor of Louisville heard Asia's story and will be honoring Asia and Lt. Gregory at an upcoming event.
Asia hopes that her story encourages others to never give up hope. It's not winning the race that matters, it's completing the race.
Please SHARE if you agree with Asia and feel inspired by her story!
