Sharing Success: Anjeannine's Story

Learning about other people’s success can be a great inspiration to your own health and fitness journey. Anjeannine has lost more than 100 lbs. since 2011. Her success story is inspirational, and a fantastic example of why I love what I do so much. Read more about Anjeannine’s story here:

I was losing weight on my own, but had plateaued at 235. I reached out to my old high school buddy,

May 2011

 Nicole DeFelice. She had become a personal trainer, so I knew she could help. She gave me some helpful hints on what I was doing wrong. The she set up a weightlifting plan, food diary, and measurement diary.  I followed the plan strictly. She read the measurements and the food diary and tweaked certain bad habits that I had, particularly my Luna bar addiction.

June 2014

Eventually, my clothes began to fit looser. I don’t know when exactly I lost 40 pounds because I stopped weighing myself, but, I did go from a size 18 to a size 14. One of Nicole’s tips is to not obsess over the scale, which has helped me enormously. I would weigh myself almost every other day. I was obsessed with the scale. Now, I know when I am losing inches by how my clothes fit. 

Nicole’s outlook on fitness is based on her belief that you should be preoccupied with making life changes, to live a healthier lifestyle. Her plans are easy to read and follow. She is very hands on, and easily accessible when you are having a binge moment. I don’t think I would’ve gotten past my plateau if it wasn’t for Nicole’s help. If you can’t afford an expensive trainer at the gym, Nicole’s no-nonsense approach to getting fit is the way to go.

For more information on how we can create your successful fitness plan together, click here. 

Why I Am a Fitness Professional

Since puberty, I have always had a minor battle with my weight. Always bordering on the side of "thick", I gained and lost the same 10-20 pounds for years. I joined countless gyms, tried countless diets, and never stuck with anything long-term. I continued to gain and lose the same weight over and over, only I gained a lot faster than I lost.

In 2009, my world crashed down. My family was devastated by a tragic loss, my marriage was beyond repair, and I was in severe financial crisis. I gained another 30 lbs. On the morning of my brother's wake, I couldn't button my black pants. The button wouldn't even get CLOSE to the button hole. No amount of sucking in would do it, and on this particular day, being able to breathe was paramount. I drove to a nearby clothing store and bought the biggest pants I'd ever owned.

After I found my way back home, and started putting the pieces of my new life together, I decided to get serious about my health. The loss of our eldest sibling at such a young age made every moment going forward seem critical. I would not have a forever. None of us do. The youngest of our siblings has been a fitness professional for more than a decade, and so, I sought his advice.

He put together a workout plan for me based on my goals and the amount of time I wanted to spend in the gym. He made it simple to follow, and it was fun. It was something I was able to modify on my own as needed. Then I reconnected with an old friend who convinced me to train for a half marathon. In my new-found urge to improve my life, I embraced it. And I ran the More Marathon for Women in April 2010. I ran 13.1 miles in 2:20. I'd never run a day in my life before that. I got my body weight down more than 30 pounds, had muscles I'd never seen before, and felt stronger and more spectacular than ever before.

Then I began working with a personal trainer twice a week. My trainer pushed me past my doubts, showed me my limits were far higher than I thought, and that my body can do things well beyond my expectations. During that time, I lost my job. Tearful and anxious, I went to our session, told my trainer what was happening, and she said, "Why don't you do this?" She convinced me the idea I'd been tossing around for some time was a good one--that I was the right kind of person to be a trainer. I began the certification process, and here I am.

I am a trainer because fitness is the reason I have the quality of life I do today. Investing in my health in a serious way and for the right reasons changed everything for me. It made me a stronger, healthier, more confident, happier person--who happened to be thin and in good shape. "Getting thin" doesn't usually last. "Changing my life" makes all the difference.   Learning this was poignant for me, and it's something I want to pay forward to my clients.