KATY, Texas — Betsy Ayala needed to make a change in her life.
"Your circumstances right now do not define your future," Ayala told NewsFix.
That statement helped the 34-year-old from Katy lose more than 100 pounds over the last three years.
After having struggled with her weight throughout her 20s, Ayala maxed out at 262 pounds while pregnant with her daughter. After giving birth, Ayala battled postpartum depression, and things took another downward turn during the holiday season.
"Two days after Christmas, I found my husband at the time was being unfaithful and it kind of turned my world upside down," Ayala said.
While the couple tried to make it work, ultimately they got a divorce. By that point, she'd already started working out and using Herbalife Nutritional Shakes. Eventually, what started as a goal to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight turned into a 103-pound weight loss.
"I didn't do it to get back at him," Ayala said. "Initially of course, when you're angry, you're like 'Oh my god, just watch what I'm gonna do,' but I think I did it for myself and for my daughter."
Ayala hopes her journey teaches her now 3-year-old daughter about persistence.
"Going through the struggles, you come back stronger than ever, because those things that happened to you, happen to you for a reason — for you to grow and learn. I want her to know more than anything that resilience is in you."
Ayala said she has a good relationship with her ex-husband and that he is a supportive father to their daughter.
