Jessica's Story

Jessica is such an inspiration. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person and now I am proud to call her my friend. Her posts are so motivational. And her story is even better. Check her out you won't be disappointed! 

I was always the skinny, athletic kid growing up. I played basketball, softball, golf, and was in the marching band. I played outside more than I was inside. I was always moving. Then I went to college. The most I moved was walking to class and the very occasional trip to the gym. I would eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. After I packed on some pounds I decided to join Curves. I figured if I was paying for something, I would actually go. That worked for a little while, I lost a some weight, then quit. After graduation and teaching for 2 years, I married my high school sweetheart. We spent our first year of marriage 11 hours apart, and after stress eating I was at my heaviest. Not the way you want to see your husband after being apart! Once living together in a new state, I got my act together, started counting calories and running. I lost 15 pounds! My husband started to travel for work and would be gone most of the work week. I stopped running, stopped counting calories, and ate fast food pretty much every day because it was easy and quick. I was almost at my heaviest again. Something clicked, and I decided to join Weight Watchers. That was the best decision I ever made. It took me a year and 8.5 months to reach goal weight. Probably longer than it takes most people to lose 33 pounds, but I wasn't in a race. I wanted to make changes I could live with long term. I didn't cut out any foods/sweets. I eat pizza nearly every week. I rarely ever deprive myself. If I want something I eat it, but I eat it in moderation. Early in my journey, I decided to make an Instagram account. I truly believe I reached my goal because of the support, motivation, ideas, inspiration, accountability, and friendships I've made through the account.

-Jessica