'I was at home relaxing one day after school and I felt a pain in my chest'
By Jo Abi|
Jane Louis has struggled with her weight from as young as 10 years old. The 34-year-old recalls using food whenever she was "down in the dumps," a real emotional eater.
"I grew up a 'tomboy' which helped a little bit because I was pretty sporty," she tells 9Honey. ?
It wasn't until her late-teens that her unhealthy habits began catching up with her in the form of weight gain, with the added complication of a heart condition.
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"I was in high school and I was at home relaxing one day after school and I felt a pain in my chest. My heart rate went from 60 beats per minute to 160. It was pretty scary. I didn't know what was happening at the time. They thought because I was a young girl I had taken something but I hadn't taken anything."
She was eventually diagnosed with ?tachycardia, an irregular heart beat.
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"Looking back carrying excess weight was not ideal either?," she says. She began taking medication to keep her heart rate down but didn't make a deliberate effort to lose weight and was also experiencing migranes.
?Fast-forward to meeting her husband Anzio and enjoying date nights in their hometown of Adelaide together, most of them involving food.
"Then we got engaged and I wanted to feel my best and that's the first time I used Lite n' Easy. I've used it twice and that first time I lost 20-30 kilos."
The couple were married in 2015. Soon they were expecting their first child and the weight began creeping back on.
"I think it was harder for me to deal with pregnancy because I struggled with my weight all the time," she says. "I think people use it as a bit of an excuse to treat themselves. It was a challenging time for me."
Following the birth of her daughter, Jane found herself weighing 122 kilos and feeling uncomfortable, the stress of new motherhood and returning to work adding to her woes.?
Jane tried an alternative weight loss program but soon returned to Lite n' Easy, losing 40 kilos in 18 months but this time, she wanted to keep the weight off.
?"This time I approached a personal trainer (PT) at Inspiring Strength In Women. I also ended up becoming a personal trainer," Jane says. "The first time I attended a boot camp I knew my weight loss was going to be life-long. With PT it is more of a lifestyle change, not a fad and that holds me accountable. There's no going back."
At her heaviest Jane weighed 122 kilos but is now in a healthy weight range.
"I went back to my GP and they were gob-smacked and told me it was like I was two totally different people," she recalls. "I'm not on medication anymore."?
Now she is in her mid-thirties Jane feels she is in her best health ever and knows she can maintain her healthy lifestyle into her forties and fifties.
"I wasted so much time feeling self-conscious and not going out with friends. I would feel bloated and I didn't feel good. All the photos of me are headshots, none of them are full-length. Now I walk into a clothing store and can find items that fit, before was a nightmare."?
Jane now has the energy to work fulltime as a graphic designer, run around with her two children and work as a personal trainer. With her extra energy she runs a side-business doing graphic design jobs for weddings, parties and small businesses.
"The biggest thing for me is to plan my meals," she says. "If there isn't a plan, that's when you swing through drive throughs and that's when you make unhealthy decisions."
Her husband and children are also benefiting from her healthier habits.
"My children have been a massive influence, especially my young daughter," she says. "I don't want her to go through the struggles I have gone through. She knows about fitness and she knows what healthy snacking is and what healthy meals are, what to eat and what not to eat.
"Both my children know the benefits of exercising, riding bikes rather than watching TV. It's definitely put them in good stead going forward for a healthier life."
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