This is my story

 

 

My name is Jenn and I lost 71 pounds in 6 months by changing ONE thing that I’ve never tried changing before.  The negative attitude that I had towards the person I ignored for a very long time - MYSELF.  After I was able to conquer that, everything else started to fall into place.  The unhappy, unhealthy person I was carrying around for over 20 years started to fall off.  Once I finally found my inner Happy Girl, my outer Happy Girl came easily.

 

 

I believe that I was put on this Earth to make a positive difference in the way women think about themselves.  Everything that I have been through in my life has been worth it because it led me to this.  My Happy Girl life.  I’ve spent decades on weight loss pills, crazy workout regimens and fad diets - fasting diets, shake diets and basically every other diet you have seen on TV.  I have tried them all and was never truly Happy with the results.  It was only when I realized that I had to change the way I felt about myself on the inside that I was able to start seeing results on the outside.  When you clear your mind and spirit of all the NEGATIVE, the goals you want to achieve in life become so much easier - including your weight loss!  I spent YEARS wasting time being depressed, angry, frustrated and most importantly unhealthy because I didn’t have the right attitude.  I hated what I saw when I looked in the mirror.  I can’t even count the number of times I wanted to throw in the towel and just give up on myself.  I was a pro at putting on a smile and did a great job of being “Happy” as far as anyone could tell.  Since I’m being honest, I was never actually Happy and I almost died a couple of times on the inside I think.  Then one day I finally had the courage to stand up to my worst enemy - MYSELF.  I have always been my own worst critic and decided to turn the tables and go from critic to cheerleader.  I have been in your shoes.  I know the feeling of defeat.  I have struggled with the ups and downs of dieting.  The highs and lows of accomplishing a weight loss goal only to see all the hard work disappear right before my eyes.  I have learned that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to be healthy.  Your weight loss journey starts the second you decide to change your mindset on how you feel about yourself.  It’s time to look in the mirror and hold yourself accountable.  It’s time to start living your Happy Girl Life!

 

My earliest memory of being heavy was during my Sophomore year of high school in 1996.  From that moment on, my weight loss journey was full of ups and downs, highs and lows, great successes followed by inevitable failures.  I have been married.  I have been divorced.  I am a survivor of domestic abuse, both physical and mental.  I have been knocked down and left with nothing, only to start over from scratch as a single mom with my 2 beautiful Happy Girls and all 248lbs. of me in 2012.  Over the next few years I fell back into the dieting cycle.  Down to 180lbs., back up to 240lbs.  Down again to 190lbs., back up to almost 250lbs. 

 

Even as my life fell perfectly into place in 2016, I still hadn’t found my Happy Girl.  I met the love of my life and man of my dreams a few years prior and we were married in 2016.  I became pregnant with my 3rd beautiful Happy Girl and our amazing blended family of 7 soon became a party of 8 at the end of 2017.  Fast forward a few months and THE EAGLES WON THE SUPER BOWL!  If that isn’t enough to make you smile, I don’t know what is!  I found myself watching and re-watching highlights of this amazing victory for our city.  I was so motivated and inspired by how they overcame all challenges and managed to bring it home against all odds.  I am also a huge Ellen fan.  She made me laugh when I needed it the most.  Being a mom of 6 now, I needed all the inspiration I could find!  Sometimes you have to look for others to find that inspiration when you can’t find it in yourself.

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By late winter my oldest daughter, who was 7 at the time, asked me if I was going to lose weight since the baby was getting older and I wasn’t nursing anymore.  I was honestly a little hurt at first but quickly I felt like I was almost being tested by her.  My first reaction was to call for a consult to get a tummy tuck.  Maybe that would help me get on track.  After learning that I would need to lose 80lbs. before even being considered as a candidate, I laughed for a while then decided to explore another avenue.  You read that right - I would need to lose the weight of an entire teenager before I would be considered for eligibility.  A fire instantly turned back on inside.  Is this what I needed to get myself where I have wanted to be all these years?  Could this really be it?  Is it finally my time?  I started transforming myself day by day.  I knew I had a long road ahead of me.  This body has been both mentally and physically abused in the past.  I grew and gave life to 3 amazingly perfect Happy Girls (all C-sections).  I have put my body through years of crazy fad diets and tried all of the weight loss pills you can think of.  Most importantly,  I never loved myself.  I was never Happy with who I was and because of this, mistreated my body for as long as I can remember.  I started looking in the mirror and trying to figure out why I could never tackle my weight loss in the past.  I would hold my stomach up to see my potential.  Lifting my inner thighs up, I would catch myself smiling at what I was seeing.  I FINALLY made up my mind that I would either be happy with the Jenn that I saw at 244lbs. or I would transform myself into what I wanted to feel and look like.  I was ready to do this for myself and by myself, once and for all!  Plus, after my husband told me without hesitation that I looked like I weighed around 180lbs., I wasn’t mentally ready to admit out loud that I was over 240lbs.  Then I realized nobody will ever be a better coach for me than ME!  After all, I know myself better than anyone.

 

It took me 90 days to fall in love with myself again.  To finally become my Happy Girl.  I decided that in addition to transforming my body and mind, I wanted to document my journey so that I was able to share it with as many women as I could.  I started a journal.  I took monthly pictures and videos to track my progress.  I put a plan together that allowed me, a working mom of 6 amazing kids - 9, 8, 7, 6, 6 and 3 month old, to finally be successful in my weight loss venture.  The goal was simple.  My plan had to be easy to follow, fun to do and most importantly, allowed me to eat real food!!

 

By June I was ready to go!  Putting my visions and goals on paper, holding myself accountable and sharing this with the world is one of my greatest accomplishments.  The thing about me is I am a born leader and motivator.  I’ve been in the automotive sales industry for 20+ years, I own my own business and on top of that, manage a crazy household of 8.  I don’t have a Master’s Degree.  I live my life by experiences and that ladies, I have plenty of!  I just needed to finally figure out how to lead and motivate myself for once, instead of everyone else.  I knew once I was able to accomplish this, I would be unstoppable! 

 

I have overcome pretty much every obstacle that life has thrown my way. Learning to love myself was, by far, the hardest challenge I have ever faced. Today, I am proud of who I see in the mirror.  I have a completely different mindset and for the first time ever, I believe in myself.  I am a Happy Girl.  I believe in you.  I want you to believe in yourself and cannot wait to embark on this journey with you.  It’s your turn to find your Happy Girl.  Why?  Because you are beautiful and you deserve it. 

 

Let’s do this together!