MAYRA ROSALES HAS LOST 800 POUNDS SINCE THE TLC “HALF-TON KILLER,” STAR PREVIOUSLY WEIGHED 1,000 POUNDS, ACCORDING TO TV STATION KTLA.
“I was dying,” the star told the media outlet. “I don’t know if you had seen pictures before – you could see it in my face. I had given up in life. I was alive but not living a life.”
Rosales first came to the public’s awareness after being accused of accidently “crushing” her eight-year-old nephew to death, which was reportedly “a lie to protect her sister,” KTLA reported.
Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Rosales after determining she had lied to protect her sister.
Rosales explained that at the time, she had given up on life.
“I was dying. I don’t know if you had seen pictures before you could see it in my face. I had given up in life,” she told the television station. “I was alive but not living a life.”
But about 7 years later and 800 pounds lighter, she has a much different outlook on life. She was able to lose the weight through multiple surgeries — including a lap band procedure — and dieting. She is 30 pounds away from her goal weight, the station reported Wednesday.
Whereas she once lived to eat, Rosales told KTRK her perspective has completely changed. “Food to me is I have to eat to live … it’s just something normal,” she said.
Rosales hopes sharing her story will encourage and motivate others who are struggling with their weight like she once did.
Her advice to them: “Do not lose hope and keep fighting because we only have one life, and it’s well worth fighting for it.”