MONROE - A Monroe woman is half the person but with twice the spirit she was 16 years ago, and she's having the time of her life staying that way.
"I get the biggest kick out of going in and buying clothes," said Jamie Fritsch, 44, who used to wear women's plus size 28W.
Today, at 140 pounds, she's in a size 4.
Fritsch said she weighed more than 300 pounds at her heaviest. Losing the excess weight had been an on-and-off-again endeavor most of her life. She became discouraged quickly, because the weight never came off fast enough.
"I never stuck with anything," she said. "I've been struggling with weight since I was 9 years old. And I used to joke that I was allergic to exercise."
LONGTIME problem
Beneath her dieting efforts and good exercise intentions, one major problem kept her trying, but it also kept her from succeeding.
"I was not accepted in school," she said, "because I was fat. I had no self-esteem."
Other children made fun of her weight or shunned her, she said, and a grade-school gym teacher even insulted her for not being able to do the required work in class.
"But there was one constant bully," she said.
Remembering the child made her tense up, flash a strained smile and look away. That one bully followed her all through her school days in Monroe.
He called her the Goodyear Blimp and asked her if she had hit 200 pounds yet.
"Even if you don't realize it, your comments do hurt," she said.
Feeling unacceptable, not fitting in and having no friends, Fritsch became introverted, she said. Loneliness and degrading comments drove her to stress eating and more weight gain. She fought depression and toyed with bulimia for years.
The extra weight began to take its toll on her physically, too.
Her back, knees and feet hurt, said Fritsch, who has worked at the Pick n' Save Deli for 13 years.
She was on medication for blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. She had migraines, Type-2 diabetes, arthritis and numerous bouts of cold and flu.
The turning point
One year ago, weighing 240 pounds and not expecting any miracles, Fritsch walked into Anytime Fitness in Monroe and signed up for a personal trainer.
"It was the best decision I ever made," she said.
"I had reached a point where I was so tired of being overweight and having my joints hurt and being sick," she said.
Her blood sugar test results were so bad, her doctor wanted to put her on insulin shots, but she begged for a chance to let the new exercise routine and eating right do the trick.
"I told her, 'Give me three months.' I guaranteed her," Fritsch said.
In three months, Fritsch had lost 33 pounds, and all her blood tests were within normal range. Her doctor took her off not only blood sugar pills but also cholesterol and blood pressure medication.
Her weight continued to come off steadily, 12 to 15 pounds per month, she said.
"It became exciting for me," Fritsch said. "It's helped my self-esteem. I'm more outgoing, and I never used to be. I have so much more self-confidence."
Fritsch said she doesn't take for granted her ability to run up steps, tie her shoes or get into and out of a car without throwing out her back.
"I never let myself lose sight of that, because I remember what it's like," she said.
"Seeing little kids overweight breaks my heart," she added. "I want to go up to them and go, 'If I can do this, you can too.'"
Attending her first high school reunion in 25 years, Fritsch watched as her bully walked up to her.
"He hugged me and said I looked amazing," she said smiling.
Journey to success
Fritsch said the personal trainers she worked with gave her "one of the best gifts and helped me give myself one of the best gifts I ever could."
"My first trainer, Grant Roper, got in my face, and I needed that," she said. She called him her drill sergeant.
When Roper left, Fritsch was placed with another trainer, Payton Collins.
"I told Payton, don't take whine and feel free to abuse me," she said, grinning. "He has a great sense of humor."
"He always pushes me harder than I push myself," she added.
Fritsch said she learned to love sweating and works out one to two hours every day, twice a week with her trainer.
"If I don't go over, I actually feel a little depressed, like I've missed something," she said.
In one year, she has lost 100 pounds; her goal was to lose 90 pounds. It was a "steady weight loss all along," she added.
Fritsch calls her success a "weight loss journey, not a diet."
She eats almost anything in moderation. Soda pop was the hardest for her to give up. Pizza and macaroni and cheese are her favorite foods, but she eats them "not so much anymore."
Every night she plans out her next day's meals, and she is starting to increase her daily allowance from 1,200 to 1,300 calories to 2,000 calories.
Prescription-free and feeling energetic, Fritsch said she has no intentions of stopping her exercise training or managing her eating habits, and hugged a large binder, where she tracks her training routines, medical results and weight loss accomplishments, a reminder of her life-changing journey and goals.
"I get the biggest kick out of going in and buying clothes," said Jamie Fritsch, 44, who used to wear women's plus size 28W.
Today, at 140 pounds, she's in a size 4.
Fritsch said she weighed more than 300 pounds at her heaviest. Losing the excess weight had been an on-and-off-again endeavor most of her life. She became discouraged quickly, because the weight never came off fast enough.
"I never stuck with anything," she said. "I've been struggling with weight since I was 9 years old. And I used to joke that I was allergic to exercise."
LONGTIME problem
Beneath her dieting efforts and good exercise intentions, one major problem kept her trying, but it also kept her from succeeding.
"I was not accepted in school," she said, "because I was fat. I had no self-esteem."
Other children made fun of her weight or shunned her, she said, and a grade-school gym teacher even insulted her for not being able to do the required work in class.
"But there was one constant bully," she said.
Remembering the child made her tense up, flash a strained smile and look away. That one bully followed her all through her school days in Monroe.
He called her the Goodyear Blimp and asked her if she had hit 200 pounds yet.
"Even if you don't realize it, your comments do hurt," she said.
Feeling unacceptable, not fitting in and having no friends, Fritsch became introverted, she said. Loneliness and degrading comments drove her to stress eating and more weight gain. She fought depression and toyed with bulimia for years.
The extra weight began to take its toll on her physically, too.
Her back, knees and feet hurt, said Fritsch, who has worked at the Pick n' Save Deli for 13 years.
She was on medication for blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. She had migraines, Type-2 diabetes, arthritis and numerous bouts of cold and flu.
The turning point
One year ago, weighing 240 pounds and not expecting any miracles, Fritsch walked into Anytime Fitness in Monroe and signed up for a personal trainer.
"It was the best decision I ever made," she said.
"I had reached a point where I was so tired of being overweight and having my joints hurt and being sick," she said.
Her blood sugar test results were so bad, her doctor wanted to put her on insulin shots, but she begged for a chance to let the new exercise routine and eating right do the trick.
"I told her, 'Give me three months.' I guaranteed her," Fritsch said.
In three months, Fritsch had lost 33 pounds, and all her blood tests were within normal range. Her doctor took her off not only blood sugar pills but also cholesterol and blood pressure medication.
Her weight continued to come off steadily, 12 to 15 pounds per month, she said.
"It became exciting for me," Fritsch said. "It's helped my self-esteem. I'm more outgoing, and I never used to be. I have so much more self-confidence."
Fritsch said she doesn't take for granted her ability to run up steps, tie her shoes or get into and out of a car without throwing out her back.
"I never let myself lose sight of that, because I remember what it's like," she said.
"Seeing little kids overweight breaks my heart," she added. "I want to go up to them and go, 'If I can do this, you can too.'"
Attending her first high school reunion in 25 years, Fritsch watched as her bully walked up to her.
"He hugged me and said I looked amazing," she said smiling.
Journey to success
Fritsch said the personal trainers she worked with gave her "one of the best gifts and helped me give myself one of the best gifts I ever could."
"My first trainer, Grant Roper, got in my face, and I needed that," she said. She called him her drill sergeant.
When Roper left, Fritsch was placed with another trainer, Payton Collins.
"I told Payton, don't take whine and feel free to abuse me," she said, grinning. "He has a great sense of humor."
"He always pushes me harder than I push myself," she added.
Fritsch said she learned to love sweating and works out one to two hours every day, twice a week with her trainer.
"If I don't go over, I actually feel a little depressed, like I've missed something," she said.
In one year, she has lost 100 pounds; her goal was to lose 90 pounds. It was a "steady weight loss all along," she added.
Fritsch calls her success a "weight loss journey, not a diet."
She eats almost anything in moderation. Soda pop was the hardest for her to give up. Pizza and macaroni and cheese are her favorite foods, but she eats them "not so much anymore."
Every night she plans out her next day's meals, and she is starting to increase her daily allowance from 1,200 to 1,300 calories to 2,000 calories.
Prescription-free and feeling energetic, Fritsch said she has no intentions of stopping her exercise training or managing her eating habits, and hugged a large binder, where she tracks her training routines, medical results and weight loss accomplishments, a reminder of her life-changing journey and goals.