Cecily Joined Forces With Friends to Get Fit

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson’s posts)
Sep 28th 2009 11:00AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation, Success Stories

Age: 33

Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

Before weight: 162

How I gained it: For about three years, I dated a guy who was really obsessed with fitness and eating right, so I never really needed to be motivated about working out — he had enough motivation for both us. Our relationship came to an end in January of 2008, and I was freed from the scrutiny (food consumption) and boot-camp-like workouts I had endured. I still liked the results of working out, but without him, I just lacked the motivation of going to the gym. As the year went on, I began eating more and more and working out less and less. Also, I am a mother of two, and my metabolism has never been the same since having kids. Breaking point: My breaking point was earlier this year. I had been looking at pictures of myself — and I was the fat friend. My abdomen was so distended, my face was full, and my hips were wide! I weighed myself, and I was at least 20 pounds over my average weight. I started running at the park, which was horrible on my knees, then my friend Bernadette invited me out to hike.

How I lost it: We were hiking a couple days a week before we started telling other friends they should come out. Before we knew it, we had six to eight girls on the track, including my good friend and model/TV personality Claudia Jordan. Our workouts became our time to let our hair down and talk about the entertainment industry, our love lives and kids. A girlfriend of mine took pictures of our hikes, and soon we had an unofficial following on Facebook. People were inspired by our hikes, and soon, we felt guilty when we didn’t work out. Weird, right? Then others started asking us about meal plans, which meant we had to actually try to eat healthy! We created diet challenges — we’d go vegetarian for a week, pescatarian for a week, etc., and we posted our results on our Vallywood Fit Girls Club website. A few of us fell off, but many of us implemented some of the new changes in our diet.

We now have more than 1,000 friends on our Facebook fan page, and thousands of visits per week on our website. People have talked to us about a TV show, especially since we are all passionate about encouraging other women, especially black women, to work out. We’re all 30-plus, and the oldest member is 42 (she looks like a 20-year-old!).

Current Weight: 140

It took Cecily three months to lose the weight, and she has maintained her weight loss for six months.

Want to lose it like Cecily? Hit the trails and ramp up your calorie burn.

Cecily Jamelia Before & After Photo: Cecily Jamelia

Name: Cecily Jamelia

Hey friends-I want to share a little something about myself. My name is Claudia Jordan. I am 36 years old….and I am a junk food addict. As I’m typing away right now I am sipping on Snapple and eating my second Ginger & Maple chewy cookie. It’s making my mouth water just thinking about it. Just last night I pledged to myself to only drink water for a week-and within 12 hours-a promise I made to myself for my own good-has been broken. And I feel awful….well sort of.
You see, I’ve been getting away with my horrendous eating habits for years. I have been blessed with wacko genes that have made me look younger the older I have gotten AND the foods I have been eaten haven’t really taken their toll on me for 35 years. YUP I said 35 years—-problem is-I AM 36 YEARS OLD! And all of a sudden all the uncooked cookie dough, Krispy Kreme donuts, beef jerkey, reisling wine, pasta, ice cream, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, late night meals, candy, chocolate pudding, Kentucky Fried Chicken and steak & Cheese sandwiches suddenly caught up to me. LIKE ALL OF A SUDDEN.
In the past,when I enjoyed a plate of pasta, I would have a little pouch the next day but usually 1 or 2 days of jogging would alleviate all of that. Now-I find it takes MUCH longer to slim back down. Now, our hikes have made my butt rise back up a bit, and it’s made my thighs and calves nice a firm and I feel really strong. But my problem area continues to be my tummy. That is where my fat accumulates.
I have NEVER in my life had to watch what I ate, but like millions of women in America I am now coming to terms that I am not exempt from this. I have got to start watching what I eat. And I must confess that if I didn’t have my ValleyWood Fit Girls I would NEVER even attempt to try a diet. It’s really hard to do it yourself and although I am FAR from disciplined like my girl Tanjareen-I am trying. And wanting to try is the first step towards getting to your goals. So I know I am NOT the type to quit cold turkey with my bad habits. But I will give up one of my eating vices every week….and step by step, one day at a time…. I will get there. So my tip-challenge a couple of people in your friendship circle to give up something they love to eat but know is bad for them. Make it fun. Perhaps you can place a wager on it to make it interesting. It’s hard at first, but after a while you won’t want to let down your friends you are participating in the challenge with. So at first you are forcing yourself….but after a while-u will make yourself develop “good eating” into a habit.
Claudia J
“you’re only as good as the last thing you ate……”

Kam and Cecily talk to Real Star News at the Cadillac Cologne Launch in Beverly Hills

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANWigikSTfk