Shrinking Guest Contributor::Jennette
When we put our our call for new contributors here at the Sisterhood, Jennette was one of the first to respond. She had stumbled on our EA Sports review and was excited by what she found here. She really wanted to share her story with us, and I am excited to bring it to you!
Meet Jennette!
I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. I’ve tried every diet that you could think of and even checked myself into a weight loss facility for a month at the beginning of 2008. Nothing ever worked for me. I used to travel on concert tours for work and life on the road isn’t easy when you are trying to watch your weight. You are fed 4 meals a day at the venue (yes, 4 – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Bus Food at Midnight) and it’s hard to control what you are eating and since my main problem has always been portion control, I was completely at a loss. I quit my job, a job I completely loved, at the end of 2007 and took a month off to try and get my weight loss under control…I thought it was my job that was causing all of my stress and weight issues. Truth is it was my own issues and I can’t blame anyone but me. I had to take control of my own responsibility first before I could do anything to change my habits.
I started a new job in February of 2008 and once again, found myself on the road on 5 different tours during 2008 from Mary J Blige to Day 26 to Matchbox Twenty and finally Lil Wayne in December 2008. On Christmas Eve 2008, I had my “Ah-Ha” moment. I was done with the tour and made it home in time to spend Christmas with my family. I didn’t want to go to the church service with my family for the first time ever because none of my nice dresses fit and I ended up going in jeans to the service. It was embarassing but I had no other clothes that fit me. I just hit the end of my rope. I was depressed and I was tired of having no energy not to mention being in such a public role with such popular musicians and yet being embarassed of the way I looked. I thought I had “Ah-Ha” moments before every time I tried another diet —- and looking back, I’m not sure what made this one so different….other than the fact that I just seemed to want it more than ever. I was 30 years old and I just hit that breaking point. I want to find love and have kids and raise a family. I want to have energy to go out and maintain the very active social life that I’ve always had.
Therefore, I called my boss up on Christmas Eve and told him that while I loved my job, I needed to have an office job and not travel so much as I needed to get my health under control. He actually agreed to let me run the program from the office and hire contractors to go out on the road for me. No more traveling, except an occasional 1-2 day business trip. No more 6-8 week tours that would completely disrupt my entire focus on my diet.
After getting support at work, I made the decision to make a new years resolution that I had every intention of keeping this time. In fact, I was so pumped up about it that I decided to not even wait until January 1. I started on December 29, 2008. My starting weight was 272 lbs. I remember actually being pleased with this weight because the year prior when I quit my job I was at 282 lbs – so I felt like losing 10 lbs in 1 year was actually fairly good for me. I was determined to eat right and add in a good regular exercise program. My best friend Betsy recommended a program that her boss used called Isagenix. To be honest, I thought I had tried everything that there could possibly have been on the “diet market” but my best friend was so convinced that I should try this that she agreed to do it with me for a month (even though she didn’t need to lose weight – she’s a size 10). So I started on Isagenix in early January. It’s now mid-August. I’m sitting at 198 lbs (currently in the middle of a plateau which I’m hoping to break through soon). 74 lbs lost. I’ve been losing an average of about 10 lbs a month since I started this program. I think it has been a combination of this program, which I find extremely easy to stick to and flexible enough for my busy lifestyle, as well as a support system of family and friends who have been helping me stay on track and target just by being there.
I made myself a deal when I started that if I was good and stayed on my diet for 2 months and was still losing weight, that I would treat myself to a Wii Fit (which would mean that I would have to buy a Wii System as well). I got the Wii Fit in early March just as I promised myself I would and have been using it daily ever since. I’ve added the Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout as well as the EA Active Sports to my workout routines. I love the “30 Day Challenge” program on the EA Active Sports. I’ve always been into games and find that it keeps me motivated to workout when I know that I’m getting “credit” for it in the game. I can’t believe how much I “sweat” during a video game. I always think I sound crazy when I say that to people. I also try to get outside and walk/run at least once or twice a week. I don’t want my workouts to all be video game related.
I never thought that I could actually do it. I just thought I was going to have to come to terms with the fact that I was meant to be overweight my entire life. I’ve gone from a size 26 (close to a 28) down to a 16 now. If I stay on target, I’ll hit my goal weight of 152 lbs around the end of the year. 120 lbs lost in 1 year…that’s my final goal. I made my resolution that 2009 was going to be my year for change and so far, it’s actually turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I dont have a “size” goal as the size of my clothes has never really mattered to me —- it’s actually completely about my health and well being. If I had to guess, I would probably say that my goal weight is around a size 10-12.
The one thing I want to say to anyone out there that is trying to lose weight, is that you have to stick with it. I cheat. I have bad days. The scale doesn’t go down even when I’ve done everything right or maybe it goes up even after I worked out and had a salad for my “main” meal. The human body I’ve come to learn is very complicated and when I hit a plateau, usually if I can stick with it, when I break through I can see a big difference. I allow myself to be human which means that I dont get mad at myself or give up when I decide to have a cupcake to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I just stick to this saying…..”My only goal is to never weigh more than I am today.” Every day I wake up with a new goal and every day whether I make my goal or don’t, I still have a new goal to reach. It keeps me on target on a regular basis. While I did set an overall goal, I’ve also set many small goals usually revolving around reaching a certain weight by “X” date. It helps keep me on track.
If you have questions for me about my diet or workout program, feel free to email me at dc3fanclub@hotmail.com. If I can help just one person stay focused and on track with their diet, I’m happy to do so.
Jennette (aka “FanClubLady”)
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Category: Shrinking Guest Contributors
