It’s been a life long journey for Boone’s Jennifer Franklin Bradley,
but she’s closing in on a once-illusive goal.
“No matter how many
times I tried, I could never lose weight and keep it off,” she says. “This time,
it’s working. I will never go back to where I was.”
Those words, spoken
with conviction and tears, summarize the defeat that the “old Jennifer” once
knew, combined with the strength and determination of the “new” woman she has
become.
In January 2011,
Jennifer hit the scales at 340 pounds. One year later, she ha lost 150 pounds
through hard work and sheer determination.
“When I lose 20 more
pounds, I will be hl the woman I used to be. I’ve come too far to go back now,”
she says with a smile.
Jennifer was “always
heavy,’ she says. In third grade, she weighed 80 pounds. Two years later, the
numbers had more than doubled to 150; by seventh-grade, she was at 190.
“It was very hard,”
she says. “I was constantly ridiculed by other kids. It was especially painful
when my own friends made fun of me. It does a lot to yourself esteem to be
constantly picked on.”
She attended her
senior prom, but no one asked her to dance.
“I didn’t think I’d
ever find anyone, outside of my family, who would love me for who I was,” she
says. “Few people ever take time to see a person for who they are inside.”
As one of three
children born to Mason and Rita Franklin, Jennifer is now a very secure 36 year
old married woman who gives her family credit for helping her through those
hard times.
“They loved me
unconditionally and of course, worried about my health. But, they provided
wonderful support and raised me in a good Christian home. That has meant a lot
to me,” he says.
Jennifer made numerous
attempts to lose weight before.
“During my junior year
in high school, at 250 pounds, I cut back on eating and worked out at
Mountaineer Gym,” she says, “but the gym closed and I got out of the habit.”
Next was a low fat and
very strict diet with Kim Tester, “a great friend and encourager who was always
there,” she says.
After high school,
Jennifer worked as a dining room hostess at Glenstone Health Care for three
years before joining JC Penny, where she is now in her 15th year.
In the meantime, she tried the Mayo Clinic
Diet and lost 30 pounds. “I got down to 199, which had been my lowest weight in
years; my highest ever was 350.”
On two occasions, she tried Weight
Watchers. “It worked good, but I didn’t really stick to it,” she says.
Last January, Jennifer
decided to try it “one more time” and began seeing quick results when she
combined the online program with a Curves membership.
With a fierce
determination to succeed, Jennifer changed her eating habits and spent time
nearly every day at Curves.
Working in Penney’s
jewelry or catalogue department was much easier than being in women’s clothing,
she says.
“It was hard seeing
those pretty things that I couldn’t wear. We don’t carry a woman’s size 37
pants to cover 70 inch hips or blouse sizes 5-5 X.”
Today, however,
Jennifer, is “excited” to fit into the fashions that her company sells.
“Once you get to a
certain point and people start noticing,” she says, “it makes you want to keep
working harder.”
Long gone are the days
when, after skipping breakfast, her daily “nutrition” consisted mainly of
pizza, burgers, fries and sweets. She’s traded in routine buffet lines for five
small meals a day focused on low-fat and low-sodium food and snacks. Soft drinks
have been replaced with “lots of water” and low fat fruit smoothies.
What we do to our
bodies is unreal,” Jennifer says. “I’m hoping that I have started making
improvements in time to lower my chances of getting diabetes or cancer, which
both run in my family.”
Her husband, who she
met in 2001 and married five years later, has multiple health concerns,
including the loss of a leg and is confined to a wheelchair due to a recent
stroke.
“After God,” she says,
“he is my greatest source of strength. We spend a lot of time together on the
Greenway Trail. He has a wonderful attitude, he’s strong willed and keeps me
going. I thought if he can get through what he’s had to endure, surely I can do
it, too.”
Jennifer’s main regret
is that she didn’t make changes in time for their wedding.
“It didn’t seem to
matter to him,” she says. “I was so lucky to have found someone to love who
loved me for who I am.”
Wearing a size 28 gown
for her church wedding is something she’d like to forget. "It was still a
little tight, even though we had to it let out,” she says. “I wish we could go
back and do it over again. Every bride needs to feel good about herself and to
feel pretty.”
When her father and
four other family members were diagnosed with various cancers last year, “It
was a real eye opener,” Jennifer says, especially after an uncle died.
“We had always been so
lucky up until then. It was hard, but something good came out of it.”
Jennifer’s parents
were concerned that her health would eventually suffer because of her weight.
“I was determined at that point, to get it off,” she says.
On Jan 24, 2011,
Jennifer took the first step toward a new life.
“For the first two
weeks, I thought I was going to die,” she says. “I was so hungry. I knew I had
to get my mind on something completely different.” She found Curves to be the
solution.
“Haig those ladies
there to talk to and encourage me made a world of difference. Dot Little
(manager) has been so good to me and makes me feel special every time she
weighs and measures me.”
“Small goals,” worked
for Jennifer and she began to lose 10-12 pounds a month.
It wasn’t always easy,
but on Christmas Eve already more than 100 pounds lighter her strength was put
to the test.
“I ate a little more
than usual, but not that much,” she says. “For two days, I was just like an
alcoholic and wanted more. I learned that I just couldn’t let my guard down.”
Jennifer’s Christian faith
has helped her tremendously, she says, especially the scripture found in
Philippians 4 13; “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.”
“I couldn’t have done
this without God,” she says “He was my strength.”
Her family, church
family, coworkers and customers were all very supportive. “I owe a lot to my
friend, Piper Woodring, too, who walks with me, even at night and lift my
spirits when I get down and out,” she says, “I just can’t thank them all
enough.”
Jennifer plans to “get
rid” of another 20 pounds, at least.
“If I say that I’m
losing it, it will be too easy to find it. I have no intention of ever letting
that happen again.”
Jennifer can attest to
the fact that “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” just as the sign on her
fridge reads.
“If I can do it,
anybody can do it,” she says.
As she nears the
finish line, Jennifer has every right to feel good about herself and her
accomplishments.
However, she still
worries about the extra skin that now hangs loosely on her stomach and arms.
“I’d love to have it removed, but the procedure is very expensive,” she says.
“We could never afford it, but I’ll just keep trusting God to get me through
these last hurdles.”
