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Jennifer (Jennibee) : Success Story
 
Jennifer says she was "sick and tired of being sick and tired!" She was out of shape, making housework or even walking around the store a major challenge. At 35, she felt much older than she should and unmotivated to do anything. Jennifer was also worried about the health risks associated with carrying so much extra weight.
Jennifer started by cutting down on her soda intake, which was typically 7-8 cans per day. Gradually she replaced the soda with water and diet green tea. Her next step was to stop eating out so frequently (typically 3-4 times per week). Now she only eats out once a week.
Jennifer also started exercising. At first she could only go for 5-10 minutes at a time. But she kept at it and eventually worked her way up to 60-90 minutes a day. She also started strength training which she believes has made a dramatic difference in her body composition. She's got some muscle to show for all of her hard work! The scale says she weighs 150, but people always guess that she weighs much less.
"SparkPeople was VERY important to my success, and still is very important now that I am trying to maintain my loss," says Jennifer. She still uses the Nutrition and Exercise Trackers every day to gauge how she is doing. The Message Boards were also a big help on those days when she was having a hard time. She would go there to read about people who were experiencing similar struggles, and it helped to have that extra support. She also appreciated that she could ask the Resident Experts for help and would receive a response very quickly.
In about a year, Jennifer went from a size 22/24 to a size 6, and her body fat went from 44% to 21.6%. She feels like her whole life has improved, and now has a tremendous amount of energy. When she was obese, Jennifer says she was not a fun person to be around. Now she no longer feels tired and depressed all the time. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be jogging now, she never would have believed them. Not long ago, she went roller skating with her daughter for the first time. That is something she never would have attempted at 241 pounds. Her family is very happy that they have their lively mommy back!
For anyone just starting out, Jennifer says that patience is very important. Start off with small goals and remember that this is a lifestyle change. Jennifer believes that if people follow the SparkPeople recommended calorie ranges and start an exercise program, the weight has no choice but to come off!
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| Weight Before: |
241 lbs. |
| Weight After: |
150 lbs. |
Are you interested in being featured for your success? Tell your story on your SparkPage and other members can vote for you to become a " SparkPeople Motivator!"
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SparkPeople's 500-Calorie Thanksgiving Feast
