Jody lost 39 pounds

Jody lost 39 pounds. Learning how to fuel her body with proper nutrition and working out hard was key to her success. She also had a great coach and support group that helped her stay motivated. Check out her journey.

What was your motivation?
What really motivated me during my journey was seeing the weight and inches decrease each week.

What inspired you when you wanted to give up?
I am a part of the I Use To Be U program, and what kept me going when I felt like giving up was the support from Coach Wiltrina Jones and everyone who was in the group. It is really helpful to be around like-minded people on this journey who are striving for the same thing. Another thing that motivated me was the thought of going back to where I started. I didn’t want to be that person anymore.

How did you change your eating habits?
I had it wrong all these years thinking that eating less food, fewer calories, cutting out carbohydrates, etc… is what is needed to do to lose weight. Boy, was I wrong! When I decided that I was tired of living an unhealthy life, I purchased a meal plan from I Use to Be U. I didn’t know what to expect, but to my surprise, we ate carbohydrates (rice) and still lost weight. I’ve learned that food is fuel for the body and if the body is feeling deprived it will start to store food as fat. I ate six meals a day and was still losing weight.

What did your workout routines look like?
My workout routine was a mixture of regular cardio (elliptical, treadmill and stair climber), weighted cardio and strength training.

How often did you workout?
I worked out five days a week, completing no less than 3 hours of exercise. 1 hour and 30 minutes of cardio and 1 hour 30 minutes of strength training. There were days that I did more but those were bonus days.

Starting weight/Current weight
My starting weight was 215.6 pounds and my current weight is 178.6 pounds.  My height is 5 feet, 4 inches.

How long did your transformation take?
I started on April 18, 2016 (83 days).

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
Losing weight takes discipline and dedication, but it also takes self-love. You have to love yourself and know that you are worth it. You are worth living a healthy life for yourself and your loved ones. When the scale does not move and you’ve worked hard, it’s easy to get discouraged and go back to old habits. In those times, you just have to keep going and have a mindset that the scale will not control you. Losing weight takes time and you must remember that it did not take a day to gain the weight. When the process seems slow and the scale does not move, keep going and you will get to where you want to be!