I haven’t gotten any internet submitted questions yet, (feel free to contact me if you have any!) but I get a lot of questions from friends and family about my weight loss and exercise habits! Here are the ones I get most often.
How did you lose so much weight? Did you go on Weight Watchers/Nutrisystem/Other random weight loss program?
I did not join Weight Watchers or any other diet program, I just changed my lifestyle. Counting points and whatnot is not for me. I also didn’t want to have to pay to lose weight. I just stopped eating things that were so unhealthy for me, and I started eating a lot less. I counted calories for a long time. I usually stayed around 1200-1400 and lost a lot of weight by doing that. I also learned to love healthy food, like fruits and veggies and lean chicken and turkey. I only recently stopped eating meat. I stayed away from sweets and fried foods. (Although now I do indulge once in a while.) I also stopped eating red meat and pork and stopped drinking cow’s milk. I hate the taste of fat-free milk so I switched completely to soy milk! You can find a list of foods I eat often here. I also began to exercise regularly.
How did you start to exercise?
I knew that along with changing my diet I would have to start exercising regularly, so I started going for a daily walk on my lunch hour. One day I decided to walk around my high school track. I wanted to take it up a notch and I started to run. I barely completed one full lap. I started going back to the track and eventually ran one mile! I also started doing other exercises. I bought some pilates DVDs and did pilates a couples times a week along with my walking/running.
How did/do you stay so motivated?
I was sick of being overweight and unhappy. I used to think I was a generally happy person but deep down inside I was sick of myself. I hated the way I looked and the way I felt. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I would always have visions of doing things “when I get skinny…” so I knew there was a thin person inside of me, I just never knew I would actually become that person! Once I saw the weight coming off, it just kept happening and it kept me going. It wasn’t really that hard at all! I hate when people say they don’t have the motivation or will-power to stick to a diet. You just have to want it bad enough. If I can do it, anyone can.
How much weight did you lose? How much did you weigh when you started and what do you weigh now?
I lost about 85 pounds. The number goes up and down a couple of pounds because my weight fluctuates. I don’t want to say my original weight but I will say I used to be a size 16-18 in jeans and I am now a size 4. 🙂 This is the smallest I’ve ever been in my life. I am now at my “happy weight”.
Are you afraid of gaining all your weight back?
I think this might be my greatest fear. However, I know I won’t ever stop exercising regularly, so I can’t imagine gaining much weight back! I would have to stop working out completely and go back to my old eating habits. If I start to slip a little bit I work out more and get right back on track. I know what it feels like to be unhappy and overweight and I don’t ever want to go back to being that person!
I want to lose weight but I don’t know where to start! What should I do?
Start with little steps! For example, go for a short walk a couple times a week and increase it once you know you can handle it! Work on things little by little. Cut your portion sizes. Stuff like that will definitely give you results...as long as you stick to it.
You have as sweet running watch! What is it, what does it do and where did you get it?
My watch is a Garmin 205 GPS watch! I got it for my 25th birthday. My dad ordered it from Walmart.com, since it was cheaper there than at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Its the lower model, but it does everything I need it to do. It tells me my time, speed, distance, pace and calories burned. I love it! You can also change the sport mode from running to biking and so on.
Why is your blog called Jen is Green?
I started a blog a while ago about “going green” but I never actually did anything with it. I just kept the name because I couldn’t think of anything else to name my blog! I might change it though because I don’t particulary like it. I kind of like the title “Jen Runs for Wine”, but I don’t want to start a whole new blog to just to change the name.
Jen is Green 