Deviating from the usual articles I write, this month I am going to try my hand at chronicling a journey. The journey of a woman who has battled her weight her entire life, and after numerous heartbreaks along the way, has finally found the inner-strength and willpower to finally win this battle. Hopefully you find this woman as inspiring as I have, because she has a wonderful story to tell. We became friends on Facebook through my sponsorships with 911Strong.com and Big Rig Supplements, but it wasn’t until I read her transformation story highlighted as World Physique Magazine’s “Transformation of the Month,” that I felt compelled to share her story in my own words. Although the Warrior Princess is currently on cruise-control to reaching her ideal bodyweight goal, things weren’t always this simple for her. Like many people, she had numerous struggles to get past, before she was able to rise up and take charge of her life. With that, let me tell you this wonderful story of Janine Williams, as I share her story from tragedy to triumph.
Janine’s life began simple enough; she was raised in a middle class family in West Philadelphia. As a child she was mild-mannered, shy, and eager to help others. Sounds exactly like the type of child you would want your own children to be friends with, doesn’t she? Without a doubt that’s true, but unfortunately, that’s not the way things worked out for Janine. Throughout her school years, Janine was mercilessly ridiculed and bullied; Girls peeking over the bathroom stall and throwing paper at her, or stepping on the heels of her shoes to try to trip her, embarrass her, or get a reaction out of her. But what probably hurt the most, and left the most damaging scars to her self-esteem and her self-confidence was the constant name calling and taunting. The other girls, in her all-girl high school, made her life miserable and caused her dread coming to school every day. Her self-esteem had been completely obliterated, bringing her to the point where and she walked with her head hanging down, looking at her feet, as she felt unworthy of looking other people in the eye during a conversation. And what was her crime for being taunted and tormented in such an awful manner? She was guilty of being introverted, overweight, wearing glasses, and for wearing the homemade clothes that her mother made for her.
In her senior year of high school, Janine and her family moved to upstate Pennsylvania. She finally had a boyfriend and he promised to wait for her and to take her to the prom. Wanting desperately to look her best, Janine began a 3 month starvation diet in an attempt to lose weight and to impress her boyfriend. Although drastic and unhealthy, the diet worked for her. She lost 40 pounds. She looked great at the prom, and received compliments from others which made her feel good about herself and validated. Later that evening, however, her boyfriend broke up with her. He told her that he had met someone else, but didn’t want to spoil the prom for her, so he waited until afterwards to break the bad news to her. Life was truly unfair for Janine, even after starving herself for 3 months to lose 40 pounds she still didn’t get the guy.
Life continued on a downward spiral for Janine, when 2 years later she met her husband. Keep in mind that by this point, Janine still had no self-esteem and was simply looking for someone to love her and to make her feel special. What she found, however, was a man who was fifteen years her senior, bi-polar, alcoholic, and abusive. Years of abuse in this horrific marriage took its toll on her, and she gained back more than twice the amount of weight she had lost. Janine had finally reached her breaking point when she tipped the scale at 330 pounds.
After eighteen unhappy years of marriage and a divorce pending, Janine began her first real attempt to take back her life from the hands of obesity. She hired a personal trainer and began the long road to getting fit and eating healthy. This first attempt didn’t go very smoothly, though. Her intentions were grand, but she lacked in follow through. She would make excuses to skip working out, and would eat bad foods, telling herself she would eat better tomorrow. Her dedication to losing weight tightened up with two wake-up calls: The first one being; her mother and brother both being diagnosed with diabetes. The thought of developing diabetes herself and having to rely on medication to survive was enough to scare her onto the path of better health. Then her second slap-in-the-face came when her boyfriend of 6 years left her for someone 20 years younger and much thinner. From that moment on, it was “Game On” for the Warrior Princess.
Once Janine found the drive and motivation within to save her own life, she was unstoppable in her quest to live a healthier life. She re-hired her original personal trainer and began working out five days a week, eventually building up to training six days a week. She began networking with and associating with people within the fitness industry, people with the same goals and ideals as herself. Janine says she is indebted to numerous people who have helped her and inspired her along the way, namely her trainer, George Lambrecht. Janine has already lost 123 pounds to date, but still hasn’t reached her ultimate goal. She would like to lose 37 more pounds and have a body fat level of approximately 10%. If there’s anyone who can reach this lofty of a goal, it’s Janine Williams!! But the most important victory that Janine has won, is regaining her self-esteem. Now that she is healthy, fit, and strong, both physically and mentally, her confidence level has risen to astronomic levels. And to bring things full circle, now Janine is the one inspiring other people. What a dramatic and beautiful change in a person, from the beat down, bullied child, to the strong, beautiful, confident woman we see today. If ever there is a testament to the wonders of a healthy life, it’s in Janine’s story.
Janine with Michael Marcanio CEO/Founder of Big Rig Supplements
The future holds many wonderful opportunities for Janine. Her goal is to become a personal trainer and a nutritionist, to help other people find a healthier path in life. She would also love to be a spokes person and representative for fitness and supplement companies. Always looking to pay her success forward, Janine credits a portion of her weight loss to a product created by Big Rig Supplements called Body Ignition. Janine states this is the only product that could help blast her through a 6 month plateau. Body Ignition and NO Xhaust, both created by Big Rig Supplements, are a must-have in a bodybuilder’s gym bag. These products are always available at www.911Strong.com. Check them out today. Janine, keep up the good work, I believe your dream of being a supplement company spokesperson is on the very near horizon for you.
Until next time… Lift Heavy, Lift Strong, and Train Natural!!
~Diane
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