Joy Fit Club
Hello again! Today, for me, is an exciting day. In light of some of the questions and comments I received yesterday, here is some more inside info about how the show is put together, and some other personal background info. (Can you handle the suspense?)
Today is Tuesday, and I'm a little sleepy. My parents have come to visit this morning's show, and last night I took them out to dinner. That meant staying out past 9 pm, which, sadly, is usually my bedtime! So if the puffy eyes are a little more pronounced, well, now you know why! I'm such a rebel.
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(From Katie B. Ciarcia)
Hi! My name is Katie, and I'm a 42-year-old small business manager from Monroe, Washington. Like everyone else, I’ve been searching for the magic potion on weight loss for 19 years. I’ve tried every weight loss diet plan in the books -- prescription pills and shakes -- but none of them worked for me. In desperation I even tried all of those expensive specialty exercise gimmicks seen on infomercials, with no success. And then, “success.” I lost 124 pounds in 17 months, going from an over-sized petite of 5’0” at 234 pounds to my current weight of 110 pounds.
My story goes like this. On my wedding day I weighed 98 pounds and maintained that for the first year of my marriage. Then I gave birth to my daughter in 1989 and started gaining weight continuously. My basic activity levels just seemed to drop to chasing diapers instead of my morning five-mile run.
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(From Shelley Napier)
Hi! My name is Shelley, I am a hairstylist from Wadsworth, Ohio and I have struggled with weight my whole life. Although I was chubby as a child, and heavy as a teenager, it wasn’t until my twenties when I gained most of my weight. At my heaviest I weighed 326 pounds. Some days I felt so self-conscious that it was hard for me to even get out of bed. Just trying to find clothes and getting dressed to go out was a challenge. I always felt like people were judging me based on my weight and couldn’t see past it to see who I was inside. I was so unhappy most of the time, which I think also made me develop a bad attitude. I used food to cope and whenever I felt happy, sad, bored or lonely, I would turn to food.
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(From Tina and Tim Morris, Joy Fit Club members)
Tina’s Story:
Hi, my name is Tina Morris. I am almost 37 years old and have been overweight for the last 16 years. Growing up I was one of those kids that could eat anything I wanted and never had to worry about my weight. I could eat entire pizzas by myself (and I am not talking personal or small size, either) and I even had a restaurant cut me off because I was eating too much all-you-can eat prime rib!
I was probably best known for my sweet tooth, though. I could eat candy bar after candy bar and if there was a cake in the house it would be gone by the end of the day. I could also eat nearly a whole half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting.
Probably one of the things that grossed people out the most was that I would often grab a container of cake frosting and eat straight from the container! I often woke up craving sweets and it wouldn’t be unusual to eat spoonfuls of ice cream or frosting as soon as I woke up!
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(From Carolyn Leonard, Joy Fit Club member)
My name is Carolyn Leonard and I am a 57-year-old widow living in Tampa, Florida. I have been heavy most of my life. Looking back at family photos, my weight problem started in the third grade. I grew up in a Polish/German household in Baltimore where food was always on the table and I was encouraged to “clean your plate”. So I did. And unfortunately, I took that food mentality to adulthood.
As a teenager, I was always the funny one since I felt that making people laugh would keep them from looking at my size. I was a size 20 in high school. I was popular but enjoyed the safety of socializing with groups.
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Hello, I’m Jodi, a 41-year-old married mother of three.
I had been overweight since the age of 10 and tried numerous diets for 25 years. Losing a few pounds and then gaining those back plus more was a common occurrence. Add those extra pounds up over 25 years and that equals an obese person. I was at the point of believing that it was truly impossible for me to lose even 10 pounds, not to mention a miracle if I ever lost enough weight to reach my goal. When I read a magazine article or watched a television show that featured an individual who lost an enormous amount of weight, I thought that only happens to “other people;” it would never happen to me. I had given up hope.
Jodi, right, had given up hope of losing weight
Then “that” funeral – the one that made me realize that I had to find that hope again because not only was being overweight uncomfortable, it was life threatening, a thought I had avoided for my entire life. At the funeral I witnessed a 17-year-old boy looking into the casket of his mother. She was overweight too. I looked at myself and knew that I was carrying more extra weight on my body than she was. My heart felt fine, but I’m sure hers did too…until it was too late. Then I thought of my three children having to be in the same situation as her son. I realized a change had to be made, and soon.
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Mandy Muniz, the first member of the Joy Fit Club, lost over 170 pounds in just over a year and is sharing her journey with TODAY. TODAY nutritionist Joy Bauer talked to Mandy about her current lifestyle and then gave her assessment of Mandy's chance of successfully keeping the weight off....
Joy Bauer: While losing, did you ever fall off the wagon and if yes, how did you motivate yourself to get back on your weight loss plan?
Mandy: Occasionally, I would go with friends and family out to eat and have some extra wine or a dessert, but I never got back into binging. What kept me going? For one, the accountability of weighing in three times a week with a counselor. There was no time to cheat. I’m traditionally a people pleaser and loved the praise when I did well (each visit, I’d show my counselor my food logs and step on the scale). The last thing I wanted was a negative session. And I never cancelled or postponed a meeting… partly because of monetary incentive… LA Weight Loss Center offered to give me back half my start up money (about $320) if I didn’t miss one single meeting.
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High school drama teacher Mandy Muniz lost over 170 pounds in just over a year. This is her daily maintenance routine...
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Mandy Muniz is documenting her weight loss journey with Joy's Fit Club on TODAY. After years of living an unhealthy lifestyle, she went from a size 24 to a size 2 in just over a year. Her life changed immensley...
I know I will stay faithful to this healthy lifestyle because I feel so much better. My confidence is up, my willingness to try outdoor activities has increased and I am so excited about the changes in my health. My blood pressure, cholesterol and risk factors are all reduced, and I am in the healthy category for patients. I am eager to make my yearly exam because I know the report will be excellent.
So many changes have come from the weight loss. I was recently asked to speak at a Theatre conference at the University of Texas and many instructors commented on the change in my appearance and vitality. People who had never heard me speak before were impressed by my lessons and the physical activities I was able to demonstrate. I have received several calls from people wanting to hire me to come and teach workshops for their students. I have also re-entered the professional acting world. With my new look, I am playing younger roles and I have more opportunity to be cast.
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Mandy Muniz is chronicalling her weight loss journey as part of TODAY's Fit Club.
Yesterday she wrote about hitting rock bottom when she realized she was 5'5'', 298.6 pounds. She decided it was time to change her life...
I felt awful and ashamed, and knew I had to do something. I looked at the card for the gastric bypass clinic, but I just couldn’t think of trying the surgery without fully committing to a diet and exercise plan first. I had seen ads for L.A. Weight loss on TV and knew that the program involved real food so I decided to try it. I was almost crying as I steadied my defense mechanism in order to call L.A. Weight loss. At 293.8 pounds, talking about my weight was difficult and I remember uncomfortably laughing when the woman at the Bandera Center asked me how much weight I wanted to lose. I was pretty sure she was going to say, “You’re too heavy, you need to see a doctor about surgery.” Getting ready for her response, I chuckled and said 100 pounds. I was taken aback by her response : “Ok, come on in and let’s get started.”
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