When she started: Danialle Vesser started in January of this year and has nearly reached her goal.
Age: 48
Personal life: “I live in Marietta. I’m married to my husband, Drew. I have three boys and a daughter in love, and I’m about to be a grandmother. We have four dogs and two birds. I volunteer at church. I’m very involved in my kids’ education at a local hybrid school.”
The lifestyle change: “I have kind of struggled with weight my entire life,” Vesser said. “I saw Sparkle Wellness (sparkleanewyou.com) floating around at church for a couple of years. I was kind of watching from the sidelines. ... I remember thinking I don’t know if I can do that. I had tried another weight-loss program before and had some success with it. It was kind of radical and not something I could maintain. When I ran into a friend of mine, I kept seeing her shrinking every week. ... It was kind of a catalyst for me and it just sort of all clicked.” She started group classes with wellness coach Jacynta Harb. “I jumped in with both feet and went for it,” she said. “My biggest hang-up, previously: She encourages us to track everything. I couldn’t get on board with that for years. This time it just clicked. I started tracking and really paying attention to what I was fueling my body with.”
Change in eating habits: “I quit eating so much processed food — that was probably the biggest change,” Vesser said. “... I am cooking more at home, going to the farmers market, and getting real fresh whole food.”
Danialle’s steps toward change
1. Getting unstuck: “Don’t think that you are too far stuck where you are to be able to change. I had assumed I would always have a weight problem, and I’m still in shock that I was able to lose weight — I didn’t think that was possible for me.”
2. Open mind: “Have an open mind to trying something new. For me, trying new things taught me I could do new things.”
3. Step by step: “I concentrated on tracking, then I concentrated on making healthier choices and being more active, then I added in strength training.
Exercise routine: “I play tennis twice a week, and I have been going to Orangetheory Fitness (www.orangetheory.com) three times a week. I still take walks with my family and our dog,” Vesser said. She and her family also joined the Sparkle kickball team.
Biggest challenge: “I think my biggest challenge was starting, just putting in my mind that now was the time to go ahead and start and give it everything I had,” Vesser said. “I think the next biggest challenge was tracking everything. I just didn’t want to do it. This time I decided to just work the program. I didn’t realize how much of my food choices were habit.”
Top tips:
1. Just do it: “Just do it, just try it. You have more to gain than what you have to lose — confidence, health, new friends.”
2. A unique journey: “Realize everybody is on their own journey.”
3. Eat healthy: “It wasn’t until I learned a healthier way to eat that I started to lose the weight.”
How her life has changed: “I feel like I have been given my energy back, my strength back. I feel younger than I did. I think I want different things as far as my health, that’s more my goal now,” Vesser said. “My family ... we’re just more active together. We’re not sitting around as much. We just find things to do to be more active. We go kayaking, we play kickball. ... I would have never done this before because I would have been afraid of being foolish. The difference is I didn’t have a lot of strength before. ... I never wanted to be the fat girl who couldn’t keep up. I think as I got healthier I think I had a renewed confidence to try something.”
Seeking readers’ stories of lifestyle changes: We’re looking for stories about changing health habits. While The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not endorse any specific programs, we include names and links for the benefit of readers who want further information. If you would like to share your story of a lifestyle change, please contact reporter Michelle C. Brooks and include your email address, phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). You can email her directly at: ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
About the Author
