BY CAMILLE BORODEY, Assistant Scene Editor
One could say that 2013 was the best year ever for Central student Sharee Samuels. If getting married in August wasn’t exciting enough, Samuels is featured on the cover of People magazine, and she also appeared on Good Morning America.
“I was just like really excited, and asking myself why they picked me out of anybody else,” Sharee said.
Sharee, a grad student in school psychology, has no reason to be surprised. Her Tumblr, “Funeral for My Fat,” has documented her 121-pound weight loss journey that took her from 256 to 135 pounds, and 2013 marked the first time she has ever worn a bikini. Sharee’s journey is also documented on a Facebook and a YouTube page.
Earlier in December, an editor from People magazine messaged Sharee on Facebook asking if she was interested in being featured in the magazine’s “Half Their Size” issue.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” Sharee said. “I actually Googled her [the editor] to see if she was real.”
Sharee got more good news the day before Christmas Eve when she received a phone call asking if she was interested in having her story featured on Good Morning America.
On Christmas day, she received the call confirming that she would be flying to New York for her TV appearance.
“Our mouths just dropped,” Kandyce Hansen, Sharee’s mother, said. “It was one thing after another.”
On her Good Morning America appearance, 121 pounds of popcorn was presented on the stage to represent how much weight Sharee had lost.
“Good Morning America was terrifying because it’s live,” Sharee said.
Sharee said the nice thing about television appearances was that she got to see the product early while the magazine interviews take longer to hit the newsstands.
“When I landed in JFK, and I bought [People Magazine], I told the cashier it was me,” Sharee said.
Sharee’s story has also been featured on the television programs E! News, EXTRA and OMG Insider.
“I wish everyone that lost weight could get that recognition,” Hansen said, “but I like to think that Sharee represents them.”
Sharee isn’t the only one with weight loss accomplishments. Her husband, Andre, has also lost 93 pounds since Sharee began losing weight.
“Watching her work hard and bust her butt,” Andre said, “motivated me to work out and eat better.”
Andre Samuels teaches physical education at Saghalie Middle School in Federal Way. He and Sharee have been together since before Sharee began her weight loss journey.
“I would never be intimidated by her success,” Andre said. “I’m always 100 percent supportive of anything she does.”
This quarter, Sharee is teaching Total Body Conditioning and Zumba in the rec center at Central. Sharee got into Zumba with her mother, who is also a fitness enthusiast, and they both got certified together.
On her E! News interview, Sharee discussed when she had her revelation about finally wanting to lose weight, and she recalls not wanting to let her parents down. Hansen got teary eyed upon hearing her daughter’s words.
“Even at her highest weight, she never let us down,” Hansen said.
Hansen knows her daughter is destined for a bright future, for Sharee is very gifted in helping others.
“Her spirit just draws the light,” Hansen said. “It’s nice she has such talent to expand her horizons.”
For the future, Sharee hopes to continue to do well in school, and she also hopes to write a motivational book. Sharee is also very passionate about helping others to become fitness instructors.
“Find the fitness you love, and understand that it’s not going to happen overnight,” Sharee said.
Sharee’s website, “Funeral for My Fat,” features both vegan and non-vegan nutrition ideas as well as motivation and suggested exercise routines. Sharee advocates maintaining a healthy lifestyle in a sane way. She is 100 percent against starving oneself or “crash diets” as a method for losing weight.
“You didn’t gain all the weight in two weeks,” Sharee said, “and you’re not going to lose it in two weeks.”
