Before & After: Journalist Turned Reality Star JasFly Says Her Grandmother’s Death Inspired Her To Lose 100 Pounds

Who needs Jenny Craig anymore? Get you a pair of Nike’s with a dream and “Just Do It.” Loosing weight can be a bit challenging but for some it’s not an option. Journalist and reality star of VH1’s ‘Gossip Game.’, JasFly, lost an incredible 100-pounds simply because it was something she felt had to be done. After a constant battle with weight for years, the Chicago native chatted with ESSENCE to speak about her journey to weight-loss. Peep some of the excerpts below.

Why she decided to lose weight:

My grandmother’s death was, for me, this incredibly heartbreaking gift. It was amazing to be with her when she left this Earth, but I also got to see first hand what happens to your body when you don’t take care of it. It was a turning point for me. I started to feel like I’ve got to do something because I was physically in a lot of pain. It hurt to lay on my stomach and I slept on my stomach. It hurt to sit in certain chairs and climb up the stairs.

I was like, ‘Okay, but I’m 27. I can’t live like this at 27.’ So finally one day I was at home in the middle of the afternoon and I got up and said I’m going to go do something and I put on the only sneakers I had. They were these old beat up shoes and were totally inappropriate for any working out but those were all I had and I decided I’d walk my subdivision. I came back and decided I’d do it the next day and the next day and that started my transformation.”

How her lifestyle changed: 

I eat completely different from what I ate in 2008. This happened over time. I’ve just found what works for me. I don’t eat red meat and pork but I don’t want people to think you cut out the red meat and pork and all of a sudden you’re skinny. No. It’s just been my choice. I also cut out fried foods and I try to monitor my carbs intake. But for me, it was really about making sure there were certain things that I had to eat every day. I had to have a vegetable with every meal. No soda whatsoever. I had to replace it with water.

How losing weight changed her life:

I got to know who I was. At the end of 100 pounds I was standing there waiting to meet myself. I had to let go of the things that allowed me to get that heavy, and when I let go of them, I let go of the person who I wasn’t and got to see the person who I [am.] So it wasn’t just confidence, it was faith, trusting myself, allowing myself to be vulnerable to even talk about it. It was so much at the end of it. It was not about the weight and never about the food. It was about everything else that allowed me to get there that I had to let go of. So life is completely different. I move fearlessly now, whereas to allow yourself to get to 300 pounds, you’re weighed by fear.”

Workout routine:

I have a trainer now because I want to know how to get certain muscles. I’m still running, which I really enjoy. I try to run three to four times a week and then I do floor exercises and toning exercises.”

What would your advice be to other women who want to lose weight:

Get up. You always look at the person at the top of the mountain and think wow they’re all the way up there, but they had to start somewhere. I remind myself of that every day when I look at people who are my inspiration. Just get up even if you don’t know what to do. Just get up. You’d be amazed. I’m not magical, there’s nothing more magical about me than you or the woman reading this, so if I can do this by myself without surgery or drugs or an expensive trainer then it really can be done. You just have to get up.”

JasFly also posted this message to Instagram:

I’m in Essence today. Anyone who knows me (or follows me on social networking) knows I speak a lot about dreams and creating your vision for yourself. I don’t just speak it, I believe it. In 2007 I was hurting and hiding within a life that I didn’t want to live. Now I could give you a million different cliches to express that moment where I decided I wanted something better but the simple truth is one Tuesday afternoon in early October of 2008, I got up. I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I’ve lived out loud while trying to figure it out. But one thing I know for sure is that at any given moment we choose the life we want to lead. ‘Im proud of every part of my past.

[ESSENCE, Instagram]

@twaneetaw