About MeFollow my journey after losing 130 pounds; from fat to athlete, a warrior and beast! I hope to help and inspire as many people as I can along the way; never give up and take it one day at a time!
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My Transformation |
About Me
I'm Jeanely and I'm excited to share my story with you! You'll learn when, where, why, and how my journey started; eventually, I'll introduce you to Bellona towards the end. Please watch the video above to see my journey progress through some amazing photos I took along the way that shows my transformation.
My story starts back in June 2016, I found myself sitting in my doctor’s office during an annual physical exam listening to the most disturbing news of my life at that time. My doctor told me that I has prediabetes and would progress to Type II diabetes by the end of that year (within 6 months) if I did not make significant changes to my health, which also included losing weight. Additionally, I suffered from hypertension. I weighed 287 lbs. and wore size 22 in pants and 3X in shirts. All of this weight on a 5 foot frame was scary.
I felt ashamed. The visual I kept envisioning was an airplane with one of its two engines down, the plane spiraling down out of control; however, the plane still had one functioning engine. There were a lot of personal changes that took a hard toll on me. I found myself prioritized last at the end of the day. Everything came before me.
My doctor asked me if I wanted to consider weight loss surgery. I will be 100% honest and tell you now that I considered, I did. For a split second I did. I thought how easy it would be that they could reduce the size of my stomach through a surgical procedure and I’d lose the weight fast. After all, it is a successful procedure and many have participated in that procedure. There was a gut instinct that awoke shortly thereafter. An inner voice spoke to me and told me, “you do not need surgery to lose weight … you can do this ... you can fight because you are a natural born fighter so do it”. So after I thought about weight loss surgery for a split second, I told the doctor that I preferred to approach my weight loss another route as I knew I could regain control of my health and reverse all the damage I had inadvertently done over the years.
Around the same time, I stumbled on a Facebook ad for a 6 week bootcamp challenge to lose 20 lbs. with Fit For Life Solutions (Foster City, CA). I desperately signed up because I knew I had nothing left to lose. I signed up, which required a sizeable deposit I had to put down of $397.00; I would get this money back if I lost the 20 lbs. at the end of the 6 weeks. The challenge provided a rather basic food guideline document and required us to workout at bootcamp 4 days a week. I knew that in order for me to make the commitment to the workouts I had to attend the 5:15am class. Despite being a natural night owl, that time of the day ensured that work, family, or other responsibilities wouldn’t get in the way. It was difficult to say the least, but I dropped all the excuses and was willing to commit 100%; all the way in!
The workouts at bootcamp were circuit based following a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program. Monday we focused on upper body, Tuesday was lower body, Wednesday was core, and Thursday was full body. All I had to do was follow the damn instructions (FTDI). In addition, the other important part was the food. On my own, I learned to do basic meal prep by just picking food from the lists, keeping my meals basic, and filling my containers religiously every Sunday for the week ahead (I’m still doing this to this day; my #1 tool in weight loss). The community was the most valuable part of that challenge. I felt support and with people (other challengers) who were also in similar shoes to lose weight.
The challenge started at the end of June 2016. I weighed out 23 lbs. light after the first challenge six weeks later in August 2016. The way it worked there was if you lost 20 lbs. in the 6 weeks you could roll your deposit over into another challenge and keep it going through consecutive challenges, or sign up for a membership. I opted to stay a challenger and I participated in 4 challenges consecutively (included 2 week break in between)! I was hooked with not about getting the money now, but about seeing if I could compete against myself and lose even more weight than I had in a former challenge. I completed a second challenge in September 2016, a third challenge in November 2016, and my fourth (and final) challenge in February 2017. By the time I completed my last challenge I was 100 lbs. down. I lost 100 lbs. in 8 months!
During this weight loss journey I found an undiscovered passion for weightlifting. I found a rush lifting heavy weights. I wanted more. It was at this time after the 100 lbs. weight loss that my amazing bootcamp trainer at the time, Gracie, asked if I was interested in crossfit. That same day, she reached out to owner and head coach at Crossfit Burlingame (San Mateo, CA). A week later I went in for my first crossfit lite class; training side by side with Gracie. I was terrified at the beginning. I knew I was in the right place. That terrified feeling meant I was outside of my comfort zone and I was ready for more change and growth. She knew I would love the challenge I would get there, which included the opportunity to lift heavy weights, including barbell. In February 2017, I signed up and officially became a crossfitter!
June 2017 marked my 1 year anniversary to making the choice to change my life. I celebrated my 1 year anniversary 130 lbs total from my starting weight. I wanted to celebrate this massive achievement and signed up for Spartan Super Race (Monterey, CA) on June 3rd, 2017. This race was 10 miles and included 28 obstacles. I followed up the celebration with an “after party” 8 days later running Tough Mudder Full (Elverta, CA) on June 10, 2017. This race was 8.5 miles and included 20 obstacles. What was meaningful is that these obstacles races in my head represented all of the obstacles I overcame in the year. To physically overcome the obstacles, and reflect on them as I was carrying it out, signified and revealed my true strength, power, and fortitude. I released my inner warrior, Bellona. Bellona is the name I chose to call my inner warrior. She shares the name with the Ancient Roman goddess of war. A little history: her first temple in Rome was dedicated in 296 BCE, where her festival was celebrated on June 3 (same day I ran the Spartan Super). I’m not saying that my inner warrior is the goddess of war, hahaha. What I’m saying is that what she represents and characteristics she embodies are shared with my inner warrior. Therefore, my story is Bellona Rising!
My story starts back in June 2016, I found myself sitting in my doctor’s office during an annual physical exam listening to the most disturbing news of my life at that time. My doctor told me that I has prediabetes and would progress to Type II diabetes by the end of that year (within 6 months) if I did not make significant changes to my health, which also included losing weight. Additionally, I suffered from hypertension. I weighed 287 lbs. and wore size 22 in pants and 3X in shirts. All of this weight on a 5 foot frame was scary.
I felt ashamed. The visual I kept envisioning was an airplane with one of its two engines down, the plane spiraling down out of control; however, the plane still had one functioning engine. There were a lot of personal changes that took a hard toll on me. I found myself prioritized last at the end of the day. Everything came before me.
My doctor asked me if I wanted to consider weight loss surgery. I will be 100% honest and tell you now that I considered, I did. For a split second I did. I thought how easy it would be that they could reduce the size of my stomach through a surgical procedure and I’d lose the weight fast. After all, it is a successful procedure and many have participated in that procedure. There was a gut instinct that awoke shortly thereafter. An inner voice spoke to me and told me, “you do not need surgery to lose weight … you can do this ... you can fight because you are a natural born fighter so do it”. So after I thought about weight loss surgery for a split second, I told the doctor that I preferred to approach my weight loss another route as I knew I could regain control of my health and reverse all the damage I had inadvertently done over the years.
Around the same time, I stumbled on a Facebook ad for a 6 week bootcamp challenge to lose 20 lbs. with Fit For Life Solutions (Foster City, CA). I desperately signed up because I knew I had nothing left to lose. I signed up, which required a sizeable deposit I had to put down of $397.00; I would get this money back if I lost the 20 lbs. at the end of the 6 weeks. The challenge provided a rather basic food guideline document and required us to workout at bootcamp 4 days a week. I knew that in order for me to make the commitment to the workouts I had to attend the 5:15am class. Despite being a natural night owl, that time of the day ensured that work, family, or other responsibilities wouldn’t get in the way. It was difficult to say the least, but I dropped all the excuses and was willing to commit 100%; all the way in!
The workouts at bootcamp were circuit based following a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program. Monday we focused on upper body, Tuesday was lower body, Wednesday was core, and Thursday was full body. All I had to do was follow the damn instructions (FTDI). In addition, the other important part was the food. On my own, I learned to do basic meal prep by just picking food from the lists, keeping my meals basic, and filling my containers religiously every Sunday for the week ahead (I’m still doing this to this day; my #1 tool in weight loss). The community was the most valuable part of that challenge. I felt support and with people (other challengers) who were also in similar shoes to lose weight.
The challenge started at the end of June 2016. I weighed out 23 lbs. light after the first challenge six weeks later in August 2016. The way it worked there was if you lost 20 lbs. in the 6 weeks you could roll your deposit over into another challenge and keep it going through consecutive challenges, or sign up for a membership. I opted to stay a challenger and I participated in 4 challenges consecutively (included 2 week break in between)! I was hooked with not about getting the money now, but about seeing if I could compete against myself and lose even more weight than I had in a former challenge. I completed a second challenge in September 2016, a third challenge in November 2016, and my fourth (and final) challenge in February 2017. By the time I completed my last challenge I was 100 lbs. down. I lost 100 lbs. in 8 months!
During this weight loss journey I found an undiscovered passion for weightlifting. I found a rush lifting heavy weights. I wanted more. It was at this time after the 100 lbs. weight loss that my amazing bootcamp trainer at the time, Gracie, asked if I was interested in crossfit. That same day, she reached out to owner and head coach at Crossfit Burlingame (San Mateo, CA). A week later I went in for my first crossfit lite class; training side by side with Gracie. I was terrified at the beginning. I knew I was in the right place. That terrified feeling meant I was outside of my comfort zone and I was ready for more change and growth. She knew I would love the challenge I would get there, which included the opportunity to lift heavy weights, including barbell. In February 2017, I signed up and officially became a crossfitter!
June 2017 marked my 1 year anniversary to making the choice to change my life. I celebrated my 1 year anniversary 130 lbs total from my starting weight. I wanted to celebrate this massive achievement and signed up for Spartan Super Race (Monterey, CA) on June 3rd, 2017. This race was 10 miles and included 28 obstacles. I followed up the celebration with an “after party” 8 days later running Tough Mudder Full (Elverta, CA) on June 10, 2017. This race was 8.5 miles and included 20 obstacles. What was meaningful is that these obstacles races in my head represented all of the obstacles I overcame in the year. To physically overcome the obstacles, and reflect on them as I was carrying it out, signified and revealed my true strength, power, and fortitude. I released my inner warrior, Bellona. Bellona is the name I chose to call my inner warrior. She shares the name with the Ancient Roman goddess of war. A little history: her first temple in Rome was dedicated in 296 BCE, where her festival was celebrated on June 3 (same day I ran the Spartan Super). I’m not saying that my inner warrior is the goddess of war, hahaha. What I’m saying is that what she represents and characteristics she embodies are shared with my inner warrior. Therefore, my story is Bellona Rising!
Weight Loss Stats
Timeline: June 2016 - June 2017
Before: 287 lbs / size 22 pants / size 3XL shirt
After: 157 lbs / size 2 pants / size S shirt
Before: 287 lbs / size 22 pants / size 3XL shirt
After: 157 lbs / size 2 pants / size S shirt
