Take ACTION: Jen

I have so much respect for Jen. She's one of those people that might ride the sideline longer than some but once she's in, she's ALL. IN. When she makes up her mind, she is unstoppable. She lives in the arena and gives 100%. 

To me, I think she perfectly embodies what it means to Take Action. You can't lose 156 pounds in a year without taking ownership and action. I can't wait to see where she goes from here. 

One year ago, when Jen started DBC

How did you feel before you started this journey?

It’s been a little over 365 days since I started my journey.  If I look back on a year ago, things were totally different and I was definitely a different person than who I am now.  I will never forget the person who I was because that is the person who got me to where I am now.  

Looking back on my 395.6 pound self, I see a person who was depressed, alone and someone who was not happy with the life I was leading.  I see a person who had to sit down every time I tried cleaning my house.  I couldn’t walk a mile or up a flight of stairs without getting winded.  I was not living; I was just watching the world go by while sitting on my couch.  Life sucked at 395.6 pounds and I was scared every day of the scale reaching that 400 mark.  Just before I started this journey, I knew that I needed to change my life or else I was not going to be around to watch my nephews and niece grow up.  I didn’t want to die because I wasn’t living my life to the fullest.  I WANTED TO LIVE!  

I wanted to live a life where I felt happy, excited to be around and not always depressed. I wanted a life where I felt confident and proud to be who I was.  I wanted to be able to get on a plane and not have to ask for a seatbelt extender or feel ashamed of myself if the plane was full and no one wanted to sit next to me.  I wanted to be able to do things with friends like going hiking, swimming, ice skating or an amusement park. In all actuality I really just wanted the friends.

One Year Later

Going into this, what were your expectations?

I chose to do Destination Boot Camp because it was a week-long program and I felt that this would be something to really jump start my weight loss journey.  I hoped I would leave after the first week motivated to continue with the program.  Plus, the program would last for an entire year and I was hoping that if I did the entire year I would meet other people in similar situations and I hoped that within that year we could become friends and we would be able to be a support to one another after the year was up. What I really wanted was to find a program that was going to help me lose the weight, but more importantly, a program to help me continue my journey and keep the weight off.  

You have to start somewhere

How does your weight loss journey now compare to what you thought going into it?

This journey has been more amazing to me than I could have ever expected it to be.  I am thankful every day for having had the opportunity to start.  This journey hasn’t been the easiest and I have had to overcome some obstacles but I have met some great super friends who have been there for me at the times where I have been struggling and who have celebrated with me when I have hit milestones.  

My super friends also inspire me daily by the way they live their lives and share their journey with me. It is what helps me to keep going.  These friends are more than just friends, they are my family and I know that we will remain on this journey together for the rest of our lives.  This journey has also given me a new found life where I enjoy getting out, doing things, not just sitting on the sidelines watching the world go by.

At the One Year DBC Reunion! Make Your Fat Cry!

What has been your biggest “Aha” or break through moment?

Having been overweight most of my life, there have been many things that I have tried to do but because of my weight those things were hindered.  I went through life with some people telling me because of my weight, I can’t do things. When someone tells me that I can’t do something I will do everything in my power to prove them wrong.  What I didn’t realize until now is that one of the main persons that will tell me that I can’t do something is really just me.   

Let me give you a little example. A few months ago, Dr. Holly signed me up for Chase the Moon, which was a 12 hour endurance trail relay run that was from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., with her and 3 other friends. Now let me tell you that over the past year I have come to love running and have enjoyed trying out new runs.  But I have to say that this run scared the hell out of me and was definitely way out of my comfort zone one because it was being run at night and second it was on a trail.  When I first heard of this run, I had never run a trail run and in all honesty when I did the actual run I had only run once on a trail.  Now, getting out of my comfort zone has gotten a whole lot easier over the last year so I definitely was going to do the run, no question. 

For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Holly is a planner and always has a plan and so I remember one night where she was planning the running order and calculating the times it would take all of us to do our loops and she told me that night in order for us to get all the loops in, I would have to run a 3.5 mile loop in under 52.5 minutes.   I remember first laughing at this and then freaking out because there was no way that I was going to run two 3.5 mile loops, in the dark and on a trail both under 52.5 minutes.  Add on to that, I would have no sleep because I would be running at 10:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. and my previous 4 mile run on a flat surface in the day was 55 minutes or so, which I told to Dr. Holly who of course told me, it’s not a problem and I’ve got this.  What I kept telling myself was there is no way in hell I was going to do these runs in less than 52.5 minutes.  I would say that this thought kept going on in my head even while I was running that first loop. 

I ran the first loop in 48:49 and the second loop in 51:05 (my best times yet for any race).  This surprised me more than anything. For the first few days after running these times I couldn’t fathom where they came from and my friends had to keep telling me that it was me.  I know that I was the one to run those races (because I definitely felt it the next day) but I realized it’s me who needs to stop telling me that I can’t do something because of course after I keep telling myself I can’t do something, I prove myself wrong.   

At Chase the Moon with her Super Friends!

What are you most proud of so far?

Well if I wasn’t proud of losing 156 pounds or 39% body weight loss, then there would definitely be something wrong with me.  But there are so many things I have to be proud of since starting this journey.  

I am proud of having been on this journey for over a year and I haven’t given up on myself even when it’s been hard.  I am proud of the fact that in the middle of February I had foot surgery and this didn’t keep me down and I was able to continue losing or maintain my weight while my exercise was literally non-existent for about 4-5 weeks. I am proud that when I have fallen off plan, I have chosen to get back on plan.  It may still be hard to get back on plan but it’s definitely gotten easier over the last year.  

I am proud of my group of super friends.  I am proud of all my mini milestones (no longer wearing a seatbelt extender on a plane, being able to put the arm rest down on my seat in the plane, going from a size 28 to a size 16 or an XXXL to a Large, moving the seat up in my car, running my first 5k without walking, all the times that I beat my previous time on my races).  I am proud of all the times I have gotten out of my comfort zone.

It's always fun when your clothes don't fit and you need a new wardrobe...

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering losing weight or just starting out, what would it be?

Trust the process and while you are doing this, embrace the falls that you will have.  Yes, you will fall off plan and at times you will stall but if you trust the process you will get back on track and you will get over this stall.  There are going to be the days where you choose to get off plan and you choose to eat everything and anything you want or you choose not to do a workout. I know this because I too have days where I am struggling to make the right choices.  When I have those types of days is when I reach out to my super friends.  

I have learned to acknowledge these days, then I will confess that the choice was not a good one and then I look at why I chose that way and then I take the action (which is usually getting back in to my routines because when I am not following my routines this is when I struggle a lot more) to get me back on plan.  In the beginning of the year this was definitely a lot harder than it has been a year into the process.  The falls off plan will just make you a stronger person and it will be easier to reassess and recommit to the process.

Living Large!

How do you feel now?

I love my life.  I love who I was but more importantly I love who I have become.  I love that I no longer get winded cleaning my house or walking up a flight of stairs; in fact I love just being able to run up a flight of stairs.  I love that I feel athletic and enjoy getting workouts in and finding new workouts to challenge myself.  I love that I will just randomly start dancing or roll down a hill.  I really love my calves (my lower legs that is). But I can’t say it enough, I LOVE LIFE!

Living in the arena!

How has this journey changed your life?

I love this question because this journey has changed my life in so many ways that I will never realize how much it has changed my life until later on.  But for now I would say that this journey has made me HAPPY.  

In all honesty I can’t remember the last time before this journey started when I was extremely happy.   I know I had happy moments but to be constantly happy with my life and with myself was something that didn’t exist.   Before this journey I felt that I led a very boring life and in all honesty it was a depressing life.   I pretty much woke up, went to work and went home and sat around watching television.  Every once in a while I would throw in some quality family time but really it was a lonely life.  

Now with having been on this journey, I have a life.  I’m rarely home on the weekends and most of the time you will find me out at an organized race and getting out of my comfort zone.  I love talking about my life and the things that I have been doing with anyone who I come into contact.

With her family at her 1 year reunion!

What’s next? Where do you want to see yourself in a year from now?

Over the last year, I have come to realize that my weight is going to be an issue for the remainder of my life, but unlike other programs I have tried, I know this one is going to work.  I know that I will at times struggle and get off plan.  

I know that the scale will go up but I have the confidence in myself and I believe in myself and in my new life style that if I struggle or get off plan I can call on one of my super friends and I will be able to confess where I am at.  I will then be able to assess why I am struggling or how I got off plan and then I can get back into my routines and the actions needed to get myself back on plan.  

In a year from now, I see myself at goal weight and in maintenance.  I see myself continuing to run and finding new ways to challenge myself physically.