It's been nearly four years since makeup artist and dancer Brandi Mallory was on the hit weight loss show, Extreme Weight Loss. During the show, she lost over a 150 pounds and looked great. Only thing is, she said that with her weight loss came pounds of excessive skin, which made it difficult for her to initially stay positive about her new body.
But recently, in a video of her dancing, you can tell that Brandi isn't about to let her loose skin get in the way of her love for dancing. Her dance video is going viral for unabashedly shakes what she's got while performing a choreographed routine, and it's inspiring as hell. Like, for real.
She may be bigger and have more loose skin than most, but she's dancing like none of that even exists.
She's dancing like Janet Jackson. Like "Rhythm Nation" Janet.
She's dancing like Usher and Omarion. You know, like "Yeah" Usher.
You get the picture (see the video below).
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And she's learning to appreciate each curve and jiggle with every move.
"When you appreciate it all...even the jiggle," says Brandi on her Instagram. "Because that once was solid FAT...as in DIDNT MOVE WHEN I️ DID....lol! I was, “Heavy....real Heavy”! “Light on my toes”, has always been my descriptive....oh but now! Now...Proud of Myself is an understatement! Can’t think of any other word in the English dictionary to describe how I️ feel about my life or God’s amazing grace and favor over it!"
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"Once you’ve beat your self up enough on a subject you’ll NEVER allow an outsider to penetrate your emotions in that same manner! Society has unrealistic standards," she explains. "You better find out what makes you a unicorn and ROCK THAT SHIT!"
Growing up in Georgia, participating in beauty pageants, Brandi was her parents' pride and joy. They shared a love for each other and many times, that love was shown through food.
“My mom taught me, even when cooking, cook with love,” Brandi said. “That's how she showed love to her husband and kids.”
Slowly but surely, Brandi began to gain weight. She said there was no specific event that triggered the weight gain. She just liked to eat.
“I just was just sneak eating. I wanted more. It was good,” she said.
Pageant judges eventually noticed the weight gain and didn’t hold back in letting her know it. Brandi went from winning pageants to receiving participatory trophies.
She said she was an investment to her parents and said her mother would spend thousands of dollars trying to...
...figure out what was causing her to gain weight. But it all became too much for Brandi. She told her mother she couldn’t take it anymore and the pageants stopped.
As years progressed, so did the weight. Brandi said she realized she was her worst enemy and decided she had had enough.
“At the end of the day, I want to live a long, full and healthy life. So I said, ‘Let me just try,’” Brandi said.
During her "Extreme Weight Loss" episode, Brandi quickly showed that she was in it to win it. She even competed in and completed a Half Ironman Triathlon. Brandi said it was her Sunday fun-day’s, where she was allowed to eat whatever she wanted, that helped her get through all those years of unhealthy living.
“I mentally told myself, ‘If I can get through the week eating this bland food, I have my Sundays to look forward to. If I can go extra hard in the workouts, I have my day of rest to look forward to. That’s what held my integrity out the week, to not sneak,’” Brandi said.
During her ups and downs of the show, Brandi finished strong and successfully lost 151 pounds.
She is still working out and invites friends to workout with her twice a month. She now has the tools and knowledge for a healthier life and want to share it with others.
"This is the beginning… A day that I will remember for the rest of my life," Brandi said. "It was the day God along side Chris Powell and my own ability to WORK, decided to chose me for the transformation of a lifetime and together we pressed: RESET!"
"There was a time when, I was completely ashamed of the person standing on that scale almost 6 months ago…I’ve come so far and feel so great, that I hope to inspire those I’m connected with, to do the same. Your transformation could be totally different from mine, but whatever it may be its never too late to start."
