After reading mean remarks about her weight loss, she made a powerful statement about her health.
Photo: Prince Williams/Getty Images
Basketball Wives star Tami Roman recently fired back at body shamers on Instagram with a caption addressing negative backlash to her weight-loss.
“I didn’t lose weight, I lost my willingness to die,” she wrote. “DIABETES IS NO JOKE!...So enjoy yourself laughing, leaving negative comments & calling me a “crackhead”...but I have two beautiful daughters and I’m gon’ live for them by ANY means necessary.” (Related: Fit Mom Fires Back at the Haters Who'd Continuously Body Shamed Her)
While it might seem like a blanket statement to internet trolls—the star has been consistently criticized for her weight loss on Instagram—it became clear after last week’s episode of Basketball Wives that the comment was directed at co-star Evelyn Lozada. In the middle of a heated argument, Lozada fired back by insulting Roman’s physique. “You need to worry about your health,” Lozada told Roman. “You’re looking like a crackhead these days. Focus on doing the squats.” She told her to eat more vitamins and compared her legs to candlesticks.
Then on this week’s episode, Roman told Jackie Christie that Lozada’s comments bothered her and pointed out that she lost the weight because she’s diabetic.
“I’m a diabetic, okay? So for me my weight is very serious. I finally decided to take charge of my f*cking life so that I can live for my kids and my man, and so because of that I lose weight. I’m 48 years old. You know what I’m saying? So this is how my body reacts to me making proper choices with my diet.”
For context, Roman first began her weight loss journey in 2012 and ended up dropping several dress sizes. At the time, she credited her weight loss to taking NV Clinical supplements—and was a spokesperson for the brand.
“I lost seven pounds in the first week of taking NV without making any major changes to my life,” Roman told Shape after the weight loss. Sound too good to be true? It probably is. Most weight loss supplements say right on the label that you’ll need to incorporate diet change and exercise to see weight loss. And the fine print on NV Clinical’s site contains a disclaimer: “Tami’s results are not typical.” She’s also been open about undergoing liposuction, and had it filmed on the show.
Other healthier lifestyle changes likely had a huge impact on her weight, though. Tami shared that she began exercising and has never looked back. “I started at 10 minutes of working out. That soon became 15 minutes, then 20, and then it became 30."
As mentioned in her IG post, she also changed up her diet and has been focusing on making healthier food choices. (Here’s how to rekindle your weight-loss motivation when you just want to chill and eat chips)
From the beginning, Tami made it clear her motivations to lose weight were health related. "We're seeing people in their 30s dropping dead of heart attacks," she told Shape. "People really need to make a conscious decision. It won't be instant. It takes you time to gain the weight; it'll take time to lose it."
Clearly, Tami has stuck with it—and the results have paid off. Kudos to her for putting in the hard work to prioritize her health, and shaking off the haters along the way.
