Jennifer “Jenny” Nicolini, age 34

Occupation: Stay-at-home mom

Family: Husband, Anthony; children: Izzie (4) and Cam (4)

Lived in East Cobb since: 2007

Subdivision: Heritage Woods

Height: 5’4″

Former Weight: 257 pounds

Current Weight: 151 pounds

Weight Loss: 106 pounds

How long did it take you to lose the weight? 3 years

Why You Lost Weight: The simple reason is my kids. I hated looking at myself in pictures with them but I wanted pictures with them that didn’t make me cringe. I wanted to be around and be able to keep up with them as they got older. I used to have a nightmare that they would run off in a store or somewhere and I would not have the ability to catch up with them before something happened. It was a fear I could do something about.

Biggest Challenge: My biggest challenge has been staying motivated. In the first year I lost about 55 pounds but spent the next year gaining about 30 pounds back. I knew something had to change, my focus couldn’t just be on losing weight.

How Did You Lose It? I started at Curves in 2014 and learned the basics about diet and started an exercise program. I was successful initially then felt my life was all about diet and exercise and losing weight. I would eat well one day then poorly the next eventually leading to me gaining weight back. After 2 years I could not see a light at the end of the tunnel and had failed to make a lifestyle change. My sister Maggi had been doing Crossfit near her in South Carolina and I thought it sounded fun. Coincidentally, about this time last year I saw an article in the EAST COBBER about Crossfit East Cobb. I scheduled my intro session and was hooked. It very quickly stopped being about losing weight and about getting stronger and learning new skills. Every workout or “WOD” as it’s known in the Crossfit world, was different and the coaches helped me to modify things I could not yet do. I found myself wanting to do more.

Then Crossfit East Cobb introduced me to the paleo diet with the first paleo challenge. It was introduced as an 8-week challenge and I thought I can do this for 8 weeks it doesn’t have to be forever. Yet I truly learned more about nutrition that fuels our body not just feeds it. Then the weight just started to fall off. It no longer became about losing weight, it was a lifestyle and I was in love with it.

Favorite Healthy Foods: Protein powder, avocado toast on Ezekiel bread, almond butter with apples.

How Has Your Life Changed? My life is active. I am no longer watching I am doing! I used to workout 2-3 times a week and now I am at the gym 6-7 days a week. I have done two Crossfit Competitions and am participating in the open. I don’t use food as a reward. I still treat myself but don’t buy a cupcake because I ate well yesterday or because I worked out. I would still like to lose another 15-20lbs but my life is not controlled by it. I focus on eating healthy and my gains at the gym.

Lesson Learned: The biggest thing I learned was in order to be successful you need not to have every part of your life be focused on losing weight. It has to be about something more.

Isn’t she so inspiring? Let us know if you have a weight loss story of your own!

This article originally appeared in the April issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on page 58. Click HERE to access the digital edition.