Name: Cara Brennan

Occupation: House Manager

Family: Single

Lived in East Cobb since: Just over 1 year – Oct 2018

Age: 45

Height: 5’9”

Former Weight: 248 lbs

Current Weight: 190

Weight Lost: 58 lbs

How long did it take you to lose the weight? about 14 months for entire weight loss, but the majority of the weight came off since July 2019.

Why You Lost Weight: The short answer; I was fat and extremely unhappy with how I looked and felt. But, I also had just moved here and shortly after that I became single so I wanted to make a fresh start for myself – losing weight and feeling good was going to be my first step in doing so.

Can you share your biggest challenge? I think my biggest challenge right now is finding a balance of staying on track but keep- ing a social life. In the past, it seemed like I would “fall apart” after just a few days of being off track. So I try to stay very conscious of my social events and pick and choose which ones I will splurge for and which ones I will make sure to stay on track at. When I do splurge, I make sure to put in that extra time at the gym.

How Did You Lose It? Mindset and determination is the first step, but of course, it still takes a lot more than that. I feel like I owe a lot of my success to Cedric and Nunu Morris, the owners of BodyJump Fitness. When I found BodyJump, it was, seriously, like hitting the jackpot for me. Not only are the workouts challenging, but the classes are always different and so much fun, it makes it exciting to go there. With that being said, I do believe, a large amount of my success was in my diet. Cedric sat with me one day and went over what I needed to do to succeed, he handed me every tool possible, I just had to incorporate it in my life. I changed my diet completely – honestly, it wasn’t me giving up fried food and junk, that wasn’t stuff I really ate any- way, (don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy some wings and nachos once in a while haha), but for me, it was actually eating enough to fuel my body. I went from eating 2 meals a day to 6 meals a day, and that was the boost my metabolism needed and it started working, the more I ate, of healthy food, the more I lost! I make a conscious effort to take in as little dairy as possible and also cut out gluten and I have noticed a big change from that as well. Last, I cut back on alcohol. So, the bottom line – I average 4 – 6 healthy meals a day, I drink a lot of water, I get a good night sleep, I cut back my alcohol intake, and I have really hard, fun workouts every morning, take all that and then add in my support team and success!!!

Favorite Healthy Foods: Luckily, I am not a picky eater at all – but my go to foods are: Breakfast: is either Oatmeal or egg whites with veggies. Lunch/Dinners: grilled chicken breast, shrimp, fish, quinoa, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Kale, Spinach – I either have one of those veggies on its own or sometimes mix them all together sauteed in coconut oil. Snacks: Rice cakes with Almond butter, protein shakes, veggie sticks with hummus.

What Keeps You Motivated: There are so many things right now that are keeping me motivated, it’s how I look, buying smaller & cuter clothes, feeling confident again, you know, all the happiness that comes with looking good – but honestly my  2 biggest motivators 1) How I feel – I feel better than I have in so long, I forgot what it was like to not have headaches, aching joints, sleepless nights etc…I just feel good! 2) Cedric – he motivates me every day, between new workouts, pushing me harder in each class, checking in with me, going over my food intake, positive reinforcement – you name it, he does it, he makes me want to succeed. Finding the right trainer and nutritionist is absolutely key, someone who genuinely cares, knows what they are doing, holds me accountable and is always positive – that’s hard to find, but I was lucky and found all that in one place!

How Has Your Life Changed? My life has changed in such a positive way – I am a happier person inside, I feel more confident than I ever have, I get excited to try new things and hopefully this will lead me to finding the happiness in a relationship that I have always wanted.

Lesson Learned: I have learned so many lessons through this process, but my success has been from really listening and learn- ing how to control what I eat, finding a routine that works in my schedule and most important, the benefits of having someone hold you accountable while going through this journey.

Have you transformed your body? Tell us how you made it happen. We want to hear all the details of your weight loss story. We want to know what led to your weight gain (please be specific), what you consider your turning point, how you lost weight and how long it took you to achieve your feel-great weight. How did you change your eating habits and physical activity? Were there any special diet tricks you used to control cravings, squeeze in exercise or meal planning or limit portions? What are your go-to products (think apps, training tools, even food scales) if any, that helped you stay on track? Email us your weight loss success story – along with before and after photos – to cynthia@eastcobber.com.