Eden Sanboeuf, a 28-year old woman from Pennsylvania, has committed to getting back in shape after seeing her wedding photos.
When she got married to her husband Rick Sanboeuf in November 2014, Eden used to weigh 305lbs.
A friend took photos of her wedding, and even though she was happy about the wedding itself, the way she looked on her wedding photos upset her.
Eden said she used to eat pizza and pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream every day. But she also said she became fed up with her body, particularly because some simple tasks became hard for her to do.
It was a wake up call for her and that’s when she decided to live a healthier life. As her New Year’s resolution for 2015, she wanted to shed some weight.
Eden stopped eating junk foods, started doing zumba, and monitored her progress with MyFitnessPal.
Image: Jennifer L Hance
She got pregnant in October 2015 and by that time, she has already lost 135lbs.
However, her way to getting back in shape was halted by a sad news: at 12 weeks, she and her husband Rick were informed by the doctors that their son has anencephaly, a condition where parts of the brain and skull of a baby weren’t fully formed.
Eden had to deliver their son, Wyatt, on January 27, 2016. She said to Love What Matters that “That was the best worst day ever. I met and lost my son on the same day.”
Grieving the loss of her son, she was tempted to go back to her old ways and comfort herself with food, but she realized that she wanted to live her life to the fullest for her son. She decided to continue with her way to fitness.
Eden said “I would enjoy everything to the best of my abilities for him and I would help others who were struggling in life. I pride myself in helping people who have lost children and also people who are looking for help with their health.”
“Helping other people helps me to cope with the pain of losing my own son, and also helps keep me on track for my own health journey,” Eden added.
And, in May 2016, she and her husband received exciting news – they were expecting again!
The mom-to-be was both excited and worried upon learning the great news, but things went well and she gave birth to a healthy rainbow baby named Joseph William on February 3, 2017.
Now, this little child has become her new fitness buddy and a great motivation to getting back in shape.
Just recently, Eden took a photo to see her progress – a photo of her in her wedding gown. She said she was in shock to see how far she’d come. She has currently lost 145 lbs.
“When you lose a ton of weight sometimes it takes time for your perception of yourself to catch up with what your body actually looks like. This showed me in-person how far I have come. I could fit two of me in the dress, I was in utter amazement.”, she said.
Eden decided to donate her wedding gown to Anencephaly Hope, a group that offers packages and gifts to families that have children with anencephaly. Her gown would be turned into little angel gowns for babies with the condition.
According to National Center for Biotechnology Information or NCBI, maternal obesity can be dangerous to both the mother and the fetus.
The mother can develop gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, while the child is at risk of congenital anomalies and stillbirth.
Eden set her mind on to something that’s not easy for everyone to achieve and made it happen. In doing so, she didn’t only made her life better, but she saved Joseph William’s life, too.
She continues to inspire and motivate people to getting back in shape on her Facebook page, Getting Healthy with Eden. She wants people to believe that if she can do it, they can, too.