Nothing is Impossible!

Some of you may remember me mention, Jessica. She was my client while I lived in Okinawa- she recently lost her 100th lb!!!!!!
She was nice enough to take the time to chat with me, so that I could share with you  her experience.

BEFORE 

Jackie: Hi Jess! Thank you so much for taking the time out to share an amazing journey!
Tell us a little about yourself. 


Jess: My name is Jessica Ricketts. I was fairly small growing up and didn't start to gain weight until after high school, however, I gained the majority of my weight while pregnant with my son (2006) and never attempted to loose the weight until a few years later. To be honest I was blind to how big I actually was, weighing it at 250 lbs, until I overheard a hurtful comment made by a kid about my size. I stepped on the scale and was shocked by the 250 staring back at me. So I found my first personal trainer in spring of 2008. I lost about 20 lbs and when she ended up l leaving the area for a few months I found myself going backwards. It wasn't really until the winter of 2009 that I would say I got serious and really committed to my fitness. This is when I met Jackie. I started as a personal training client of hers, next I did a couple of her bootcamps. Each time I found myself more successful at keeping the weight off. She did techniques my first trainer never did, which later I would find out was called CrossFit). I was constantly loosing weight. In the matter of just 2 months I had lost a little more than 20 lbs and finally started gaining some confidence and motivation. After I finished her bootcamp I went to CrossFit Asia and started the CrossFit bootcamp in June of 2009. I successfully finished that and then continued to workout there until I moved back to the states. While I was in Japan, I became CrossFit level 1 certified in March 2009. Since moving back to the states in Sept 2010 I have become a personal trainer at both Anytime Fitness and Mt. Baker CrossFit. 

Jess and I at my going away party--strictly a paleo martini...okay maybe not. 

(July 2009)

Jackie: You recently lost your 100th lb---AMAZING!!! Can you tell us about your journey? 

Jess: I did just hit my 100 lbs lost mark. It was my first major goal. Most people ask how long it took me. Although I have tried on and off for a while I say that once I got serious, It took me 2 years. From March of 2009 to March 2011. Weight doesn't come on overnight and it certainly doesn't come off overnight. It took a lot of hard work, devotion to a paleo lifestyle, and determination to get to this point. 

On the day she lost her 100th lb! 

(Feb 2011)

Jackie: What is your current exercise/nutrition like? 

Jess: While in Japan I followed a 3 day on, 1 day of rest Crossfit workout cycle. Since moving back to the states, my schedule isn't ask flexible so I do a 5 day on, 2 days of rest CrossFit workout cycle. I go to the gym Monday-Friday and take the weekends off. I also listen to my body. If I'm really too sore and overly tired I take a mid week rest day as well. I also only do CrossFit. I don't do any extra running. I stick to the daily posted WOD.

NO PAIN NO GAIN 
Jess beginning her CF journey! 

Nutrition, I'm very strict with. When I first started CrossFit I also started Paleo. I will admit back then I wasn't as strict and did allow for more cheat days. As I got more serious with my fitness, I also go more serious with my diet. I now eat a strictly paleo diet of lean meats, veggies, fruit, and nuts/seeds. A good 50-55% of my daily calories comes from lean meats. As a rule I fill up on protein before I grab anything else. This has worked great for me. My WODs have improved, my strength has increased, and my waistline has decreased.


Jackie: Why do you find it important to live a healthy lifestyle? 

Jess: A healthy lifestyle was not always something I cared about. Now it consumes me and for good reasons. Before I could have cared less what I ate. Now with seeing my results and how far I've come and the way I feel in general I could never go back. It has become important for me because I can now do things I never could before. I use to get winded walking up the stairs, now I run up them without loosing my breath. I can run and play outside with my 4 year old and keep up with him. I can can do more physical activity now than I ever could before. Best of all I am doing this and my son can see the changes I've made and he too has also fell in love with fitness. He loves to do burpees, push ups and situps and I wish I had had that exposure to fitness at the age that he is getting now.


Jackie: What kind of advice can you give someone that is unhappy with their weight, but does not know how to start shedding the pounds? 

Jess: My advice is that you really have to set your mind to loosing the weight. If your heart is not in it, you are going to have a very hard time succeeding. For me, setting goals were always a very helpful tool. I'd set out a monthly, 6 month, and ultimate goal. They were and still are my milestones. I am still working to accomplish more in both my workouts and weight loss. Also keep a journal. I journal my food and my workouts so I can see how I improve on my workouts each time I do them and see how the food I'm eating reflects in my workouts. If you don't journal you'll never know how to fix it later on.


Jackie: Again, thank you SO much Jessica for taking the time to chat with me. Your story is amazing, you have shown that nothing is impossible, there is ALWAYS hope and you can achieve anything you put your mind to! YOU ROCK GIRL!! 

Jessica began wearing a tight size 22 and today is a size 6!!! Incredible!!!!!