{"id":51927,"date":"2015-03-11T13:24:43","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T18:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/?p=51927"},"modified":"2015-03-11T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T18:25:55","slug":"success-story-jenna-anselmo-loses-25-lbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/success-story-jenna-anselmo-loses-25-lbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Success Story: How Jenna Anselmo Lost 25 Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jenna Anselmo, 29, Nanny and Swim Instructor, Perkasie,\u00a0PA<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much weight have you lost?<\/strong> To date, I have lost 25 lbs.<\/p>\n

Tell us what the \u201cold you\u201d used to be like:<\/strong>\u00a0The \u201cold\u201d Jenna was very self-conscious. I\u2019ve been struggling with my weight for over half of my life. The\u00a0last time I remember feeling comfortable in my skin was 2003, my senior year\u00a0in high school. I was very active growing up, I swam from age nice until 18. \"weightloss2\"I was\u00a0in school musicals and other activities that kept me busy and healthy. After\u00a0high school, I continued to eat as I did when I was an athlete. I tried every diet and every workout craze, but I never stuck to anything. I even signed up and paid for\u00a0Weight Watchers meetings, but stopped going after two. That was just not the\u00a0way I was going to lose the weight. It finally got so bad that I was depressed. My\u00a0husband (boyfriend at the time) never made me feel bad and always told me I\u00a0was beautiful, but even that wasn\u2019t enough. My own WEDDING wasn\u2019t motivation\u00a0for me to make a change. I hated going out in public, because I didn\u2019t want to\u00a0be \u2018the fat one\u2019 or draw attention to myself and my weight. It was a bad time to be\u00a0in my mind, I knew something needed to change but I just didn\u2019t know where to\u00a0start.<\/p>\n

What prompted your weight loss?<\/strong> runDisney.<\/a> Which, if you knew me at all, would\u00a0make you laugh. I was a swimmer. Running was something a swimmer just\u00a0didn\u2019t do. I\u2019d heard about the Princess Half Marathon<\/a> and wanted so badly to\u00a0participate, but kept saying \u2018next year, next year\u2019. It was 2013 and I was stalking\u00a0the runDisney Facebook page and Instagram account and saw all the pictures\u00a0from the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 miler<\/a> and I made the decision right\u00a0there that I was going to do that race in 2014 no matter what!<\/p>\n

How did you lose the weight?<\/strong> I did a complete overhaul of my diet. I started\u00a0drinking healthy shakes in the morning, salads for lunch, protein with vegetables\u00a0for dinner and cutting out (most of) the junk. I started really looking at what I was\u00a0eating and made a real effort to eat as clean as possible. Once I started seeing\u00a0some results from that, I started working out again. My dad was also beginning\u00a0his weight loss journey and had joined a gym. His membership allows him to\u00a0bring a guest for free, so guess who started mooching a free gym membership? This girl! It was great to have the accountability of meeting someone there\u00a0and it also meant I got to get quality time with my dad three days a week. I had\u00a0contacted one of my closest friends who is a personal trainer and someone\u00a0who I have worked with in the past and knows me very well. I had a very honest\u00a0conversation with her about what I wanted to do, namely start running. She\u00a0wrote me a training program to get me started on the treadmill and eventually run\u00a0outside to prepare for running 10 miles in October. I had also signed my husband\u00a0up to do that race, so he and I would go out running together whenever we could.<\/p>\n

\"wieghtloss1\"How long did it take?<\/strong> It\u2019s taken over two years to lose 25 lbs, but not just lose it,\u00a0maintain the weight loss. I hit a few plateaus along the way but I have not gained\u00a0any of the weight back. I still have a long way to go, but I know it\u2019s a process and\u00a0changes are not instant.<\/p>\n

What was the hardest part?<\/strong> Learning to be patient with the process. The reason\u00a0I\u2019ve never been able to do this before was I would put in a week of hard work\u00a0and not see any results, so I would give up. My husband always tells me to keep\u00a0going and not to give up. He knows how impatient I am with myself, I am my own\u00a0worst critic and get frustrated when I can\u2019t do something the first time.<\/p>\n

Most fun part of your weight loss?<\/strong> Making a bunch of new friends! I\u2019m very active\u00a0on social media, partially Instagram (@PrincessOfPerkasie) and the Facebook\u00a0group for #trDisney. I\u2019ve \u2018met\u2019 some incredible people going through the same\u00a0thing as me. My BRF (Best Running Friend) is actually a woman I have never\u00a0met. Arianne lives in Miami and we have been talking through social media and\u00a0supporting one another for over a year now. She and I are running “together” for\u00a0the first time this March, I\u2019m doing a 4 mile race for Get Your Rear In Gear colon\u00a0cancer awareness and she is signed up to do the virtual run. The support of the\u00a0running community is just amazing and I know that I wouldn\u2019t have been able to\u00a0come this far without it.<\/p>\n

Most rewarding experience?<\/strong> Completing the 2014 Tower of Terror 10 miler, with\u00a0my husband! Not that he had a choice, but he has been so supportive of me\u00a0through this whole new lifestyle change. Completing this race has also helped\u00a0me on the pool deck with my swimmers. I stepped out of my comfort zone (BIG\u00a0TIME) and have completed something that not many people can say they have\u00a0done. I\u2019ve been able to take that mentality and use it to motivate my girls to\u00a0continue to push themselves and never give up on what they want to accomplish.<\/p>\n

Who\/what inspires you when you feel like quitting?<\/strong> My mom. She passed away\u00a0in 2009 from Colon Cancer after one hell of a fight. She\u2019s the strongest person\u00a0I\u2019ve ever met and I think of what she went through, and if she didn\u2019t give up then\u00a0there\u2019s no reason why I should. My very first 5k was the GYRIG in 2010, and\u00a0after a very long running hiatus, I\u2019m running that race again in her honor. I\u2019m\u00a0planing on making that race the one I have to do every year.<\/p>\n

How has this weight loss changed you life?<\/strong> I feel so much better about myself.\u00a0That depressed girl from a few years ago is gone. I have MY goals for MY\u00a0journey. I no longer compare myself to every other woman I see. Shopping has\u00a0become fun again, especially since I have to do it more often, all my pants are\u00a0too big!<\/p>\n

\"weightloss3\"Have any advice for others who\u2019d like to lose weight?<\/strong> Four words: Do Not Give Up.\u00a0You are starting for a reason, but you need to figure out what that reason is, and\u00a0it has to be for yourself. It\u2019s a personal journey, and while people will be able to\u00a0accompany you for a time, it will always be yours to complete.<\/p>\n

Your must-have fitness equipment:\u00a0<\/strong>Asics Gel Nimbus sneakers, Sparkly Soul\u00a0headbands, kettlebells and a foam roller.<\/p>\n

Favorite training song:<\/strong> \u2018My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark\u2019-Fall Out Boy,\u00a0or basically anything by FOB.<\/p>\n

Favorite healthy food:<\/strong> Red Quinoa with scallions and slivered almonds.<\/p>\n

Favorite not-so-healthy food:<\/strong> Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer! I\u2019ll give up\u00a0anything else, but you\u2019ll never get me to give that up.<\/p>\n

Funniest \/weirdest\/most awkward experience during your weight loss journey:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m\u00a0a huge believer that running in Sparkle Athletic skirts makes me faster, so\u00a0for every race no matter what or where. I rock some sparkle. Being in a small town\u00a0though, I\u2019m usually the ONLY one wearing one. I always get a lot of looks\u00a0and double takes when I show up at a local 5k in a sparkly skirt with a match\u00a0headband and usually a hair bow. A few years ago, I never would have wanted\u00a0to draw attention to myself by being the only one, but I get a kick out of it now.\u00a0That’s the best part of racing, planning my outfit!<\/p>\n

Future goals:<\/strong> Starting in March, I have at least one race I will be completing leading\u00a0up to my ultimate goal of running the 5k, 10k, and half marathon during the 2016\u00a0Walt Disney World Princess weekend<\/a>. I will also be running my first half marathon\u00a0in October at the Rock-n-Roll Philly Half.<\/p>\n

Congratulations on all of your success, Jenna. You’ve found a way to make fitness a legit part of your life and make it sound like so much fun. Can’t wait to see you and all of your sparkles at the 2016 Princess Half Marathon! – Fitz and the entire team at Fitzness.com<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n