Note from Coach Emily: Jennifer has been one of our most devoted hard-working yet quiet warriors since the Momsanity Sisterhood started. We are so very proud of her success and the freedom that she has found from the “all or nothing” trap. Way to go Jennifer!!

I had just watched our lovely coaches on the local morning news talking about their new venture called “Momsanity” when I decided to join in the summer of 2013.  At the time, I’m pretty sure I had just given up on my latest attempt at some sort of crash diet.  I’m also sure it ended when I got bored…or hungry.  I was usually one “cheat” away from losing all of my motivation and resolve.  I saw the whole thing as very black-or-white; I either needed to approach it with perfection or forget it altogether.  It was a vicious, frustrating mind game I played, and I felt tired and defeated.

Nothing seemed to ever work long-term for me, and I often ended up worse off than when I started.  To make things slightly worse, I hated almost everything about exercise.  I did not have the time, patience or attention span to work out for endless hours each week.  I tried to take up jogging a couple of times, thinking it would be my magic bullet, but it was too monotonous for my liking.  I knew I was at a point where I either needed to buy new pants or make some changes.  Changes were cheaper than pants. 

The first three weeks on the program were probably the most eye-opening for me.  I was able to fit the short workouts into my crazy schedule (which was a huge win in my book).  In that short period of time, I lost over 14 inches, and the pants that had been too tight just a few weeks ago were suddenly too big (which means I still needed new pants but I suddenly had no problem with that).  I think one of the most exciting and strange things I noticed was that the cravings were completely gone.  I had tangible results and those results fueled my motivation.

Fast forward a year and a half later, and I am the healthiest I have ever been.  I have lost over 20 inches, 45 pounds and four dress sizes.  One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is I need to work hard to focus on consistency over perfection.  That was really, really tough for me, but I know now it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.  I can honestly say I don’t feel like I’m constantly “on a diet” or deprived.  I will say that I still don’t love exercise, but I don’t hate it any longer.  There are days that I struggle, and I think long and hard about how blissful it would be to just stay in bed.  But I do love the new tone my muscles have and the sense of accomplishment when I’m finished.

And I love that I’ve gotten my happy back.