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How Janel Became an Iron Girl

Underwater view of a swimming poolWe are so happy to be featuring a reader success story from our girl Janel for Love Yo’Self Week! Not to give it all away (you gotta read it for yourself!), but Janel went from 330 pounds to completing a half Ironman!  Read on for details and get ready to be inspired!

In the spring of 2001, I was 23 years old and very overweight — just like I had been for most of life.

I knew I wanted it all: a successful career and a family. I also knew that I was not going to have any of that at my [then] current weight. I was scared to find out what my actual weight was, but at the same time I did not want to die young, so I went to my doctor for a physical.

At the doctor’s, I found out that I was 330 pounds. I was ashamed and embarrassed, but the doctor suspected that I might have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and I needed an endocrinologist to make the diagnosis, which he did. She also referred me to a nutritionist, Ellie.

Ellie explained simply that having PCOS means being insulin resistant. I learned that my body processes food differently. I never really had eaten horribly; I had always eaten a lot of vegetables and fruits. At the same time though, I was also eating a lot of “white things:” potatoes, pasta, bagels, white bread, etc. If I was insulin resistant, my body was not breaking down and metabolizing the food I was eating as it should. This was causing a feeling of hunger when in fact I was not hungry, leading to overeating and weight gain.

At first, Ellie had a relatively simple plan for me to follow. She wanted me to increase my fruits and vegetables and come back in four weeks. That seemed easy enough. When I came back, I had lost 10 pounds! I was excited to see what the coming months would bring. It was during this second appointment with her that she talked to me about exercise. She said that I would reach my goal quicker if I got moving. I started walking my dogs, and then started an exercise DVD at home. I met with Ellie every four weeks or so and most of the time I was down eight to 10 pounds. We would talk about different healthy foods I could try and meal ideas so I could stay on the right track while still keeping some variety in my diet.

Over time, I began to really believe in myself and really believe that I could lose the weight and be healthy. I continued to prepare healthy foods, and went from walking to running. In two years, I lost 128 pounds by following Ellie’s simple plan.

Janel

After I had been running a while, my sister-in-law suggested that I come to Georgia and run a half marathon with her. I was scared. What if I failed and couldn’t cross that finish line? After some serious thinking, I registered for the race, which was at the end of October. The race was by far one of the hardest things I have ever done. That moment of crossing the finish line for the very first time will never leave me. The sense of accomplishment was out of this world.

I moved to Georgia a year later, and ran more races. In the early part of 2007, I decided to sign up for the Iron Girl sprint distance triathlon on June 17. I crossed THAT finish line, too!

Since my first half marathon in 2004, I have completed seven half marathons, one full marathon, multiple 5ks and multiple 10ks, as well as nine sprint triathlons, one Olympic distance triathlon and one half ironman triathlon. The Half Ironman in Augusta, Georgia was my longest race ever. The swim distance was 1.2 miles in the Savannah River, followed by 56 miles on a bike and a half marathon (13.1 miles). I remember looking up, seeing the finish line and the famous Ironman clock. I saw five people in front of me, and I gave it all I had. I passed all of those people and crossed that finish line stronger than I ever thought possible.  Hearing the announcer say my name was incredible.

It has been over 12 years since starting my journey, and it’s been quite a ride. About a year ago I decided to clean up my diet again. I changed to eating clean, good healthy fats and plenty of fruits and vegetables. In making these changes, I have lost an additional 25 pounds and am the healthiest I have ever been.

Getting healthy and staying that way has been hard, extremely incredibly HARD. It is normally a daily struggle when it comes to what I eat. Most of the time I take it meal by meal. The biggest thing that helps is pre-planning. I plan my family’s dinners a week in advance and base my grocery list off of that plan. I also make a big salad every day for lunch and log my food and workouts everyday in MyFitnessPal — It helps me stay on track and keep the weight off.

People also ask me why I train so hard and why I do all these races. Deep down the old unhealthy girl I used to be, who always said how ugly I was, how stupid I was for letting my weight get out of control and who said I couldn’t do anything, still rears her ugly head. Doing long distance races is how I shut her up. I hope to totally “outrun” her one day.

Are you ready to go and sign up for an Ironman, too, or what? —Janel

Editor’s note: Since writing this article, Janel has completed the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge at Walt Disney World and an additional half marathon. She was able to PR in 2 of the 3 races.

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