Jessica lost 26 pounds in 3 months

Weight Loss Story: Jessica lost 26 pounds in 3 months.  This proud soldier and mom dealt depression and the trials that come with divorce, which contributed to her weight gain.  After a photo wake up call, she changed her daily habits and wants others to know that ” it’s never to late to late to pick yourself up again.”  Check out her story…

Hi My name is Jessica and I love your page. I follow BWLW for a daily dose of motivation. All the stories are truly inspiring! I wanted to submit my story because I am very proud of the progress that I’ve made and want to share with you and all my fellow sisters.

For at least a year, I’ve struggled with my weight. My weight gain was mainly due to stress but the fact that I kept the weight on was due to depression. I was going through so much everyday, being that I was newly divorced and in a constant struggle with my ex over our son. Times were indeed hard. I knew I had put on weight but it didn’t seem like I could do anything about it. I found out I was deploying and then the thought of leaving my son started really weighing heavy on me.  I’ve never been a heavy person but somehow the weight just came on. I wasn’t doing anything except feeling sorry for myself.

I started my weight loss journey after a fellow soldier took some pictures of me walking back to my barracks. When she showed me the pictures, she said “You’re almost busting out of that uniform.” She didn’t know that I was already internally depressed about my weight, but in any case she helped me. That was a wake up call and I made a decision that day to start getting fit and stop being depressed.

My weight was 201 pounds the first time I stepped on a scale and it was very depressing. I’m 5’7″ tall  and felt so depressed about my weight that my self-esteem plummeted. I didn’t feel beautiful or even remotely attractive. I also felt like a horrible soldier. I let myself get to a point where I had to squeeze into my uniform and couldn’t pass a PT Test. I’m a U.S. soldier we are supposed to be fit physically and mentally. At that time, I was neither.

Well, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started working out. I cut out ALL fried foods and limited myself with the amounts of bread I eat. I also started substituting the heavy meals I was having for breakfast and lunch with fruits and a meal replacement shake instead. For dinner, I eat veggies and lean protein only, such as chicken breast, turkey, and fish. I started making a journal log of all the foods I ate everyday in order to hold myself accountable. I also increased my water intake to about a gallon of water a day. I only drink water, never anything else (no juice or soda or flavored water). It keeps me hydrated for my workouts.

I have grown to love running. It not only helps clear my mind and ease my stress, but it is a great fat burning, cardio workout. I’m not a heavy weight lifter, but I do lift small amounts of weight to help tone my arms. On April 2nd 2015, I weighed in at 201 pounds and as of today I weigh 175 pounds. I lost 26 lbs in 3 months.

I also want to say that I did suffer a hip injury in May. I couldn’t workout for three weeks but I kept up with my diet and thankfully didn’t put on any weight without exercise. That made me realize that weight loss is highly dependent on what you eat.

I want people to know that no matter how low and depressed you may feel it’s never to late to late to pick yourself up again. Life is truly about learning how to dance in the rain.  I’ve never felt more confident and proud of myself for overcoming my own negative thoughts!

Instagram: @I__am__jess