Jasmine lost 60 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Jasmine lost 60 pounds. Her faith in God was a huge motivational factor on her journey. She is a teacher, a mom and a wife, but she figured out how to work fitness into her schedule and transition to a plant based eating. Check out her story.

Starting weight: 192 pounds
Current weight: 132 pounds
Height: 5’4″

What was your motivation?
Honestly, I got tired of the way I looked in pictures. I would often avoid taking pictures because of how awful I looked. Every picture had to be just the right angle or I would delete it. There are many times I avoided taking pictures with my children because I hated what I looked like. I also got tired of the way my clothes fit. Nothing fit right.

What inspired you to keep going when you wanted to give up?
January 23, 2017 was the day I started my journey. I gave it to God. I asked for forgiveness for trying to do it by myself and said that I would put it all in His hands. I believed that He would give a plan that would work for me. When I got weak, I prayed. When I wanted to eat unhealthy food, I prayed. When I didn’t want to workout, I prayed. God inspired me when I wanted to give up.

How did you change your eating habits?
I first started with My Fitness Pal. I did it because that’s what I always did. During the first two weeks, I only lost 3.5 pounds. I know that was great, but I felt like it should have been more because I was just starting. I know that you typically lose more at the beginning. I prayed and I felt that God led me to a plant based diet. I’ve seen many success stories on Black Women Losing Weight where I read that “she embraced a plant based diet”. I didn’t even know what it was. I researched it, then I said to myself, “Hey, I can do this.”

During my first week eating plant based I lost 4 pounds. Then, the second week I lost 3.2 pounds. I immediately knew this was the path God wanted me to take. I went on to trying the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith. That was a huge game changer for me as well. I did it once and lost 8 pounds. I did it the second time and lost 11 pounds. I continued with my plant based diet. Towards the end of my journey, I did intermittent fasting. I only did it for 3 weeks but I felt like it gave me the last push I needed.

What did your workout routine look like?
At first, I worked out on my elliptical machine 3 days a week. Then, I did circuit fitness with cardio and weights because it was offered at work. Eventually, I started walking with a co-worker after work as well. I slowly but surely found myself doing 2 workouts each day. Anytime that anyone would ask if I wanted to work out my response was always “Yes”.

In March, I started running again and I was slow at first. However, all of a sudden, my time got better and better. I looked up and I was running all the time. Running (or working out in general) became an addiction. I did 5K runs, interval running, hill sprints, etc. You name it, I did it. I recently ran an organized 5K (the first one in 3 years). I finished in 29 minutes and some change. I am currently working on a 10k. In February 2017, I will run a 15K. After that, I will begin training for my first half marathon.

Currently, I workout 6 days a week. I am a teacher, a mom, and a wife, so I had to cut my running short. I try to run at least 2-3 times a week. I workout with weights whenever I can. Working out is essential to healthy living. I am truly convinced that this is the only way this lifestyle will work for me.

How long did your transformation take?
About 8 1/2 months.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
In 1Peter 5:7 it says, “Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares about you.” I learned that you can go to God with anything. Some people may think that God doesn’t care about something so trivial as weight loss. That is so untrue. God cares about every aspect of your life.

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
First, go to God and give it to Him. He will give you a plan that works for you. He will give you strength, motivation, will, and a desire to do everything necessary to achieve your goals.