Valerie Bertinelli was on the Today Show this morning and talked about how she lost 40 pounds and looks and feels sexier than ever at age 48.  She’s the face of the new Jenny Craig campaigns, which took her goals to a whole new level of responsibility and accountability.  It allowed her to stay true and hold strong for her fitness goal in front of a national audience by not only losing the weight, but to prove to herself and to us that she can keep it off.

I can’t stress this enough when it comes to weight loss.  Social support and accountability is a huge component to get you to your goals.  It’s often overlooked or downplayed, because too many people are afraid of putting themselves out there.  Who cares what people are going to think.  They can’t make you feel inferior without your consent anyways so forget about the naysayer’s.  

Valerie didn’t care about what people would have thought, and by putting herself out there she was able to help many women believe in themselves to go for it too.  Especially in their late forties where most women think it’s nearly impossible.  It’s never, ever too late.

So how did Valerie do it?

Believe it or not, she lost majority of her weight without hiring a personal trainer and by doing five days of moderate walking, and sticking to the Jenny Craig nutrition plan.  The Jenny Craig system focuses on a fixed diet plan, and a reduced calorie diet using a 60/20/20 ratio (60% – carbs; 20% – fat; 20% – protein).  Most people would have a hard time losing weight with this plan, but it worked very well for Valerie.

As for her exercise, I would have incorporated at least two days of strength training, because it further stimulates your metabolism by building fat burning muscle.  However, I believe her routine worked well for her simply because she BELIEVED it would.

You see, most people overlook what’s going on in their heads and are usually somewhat skeptical of trying out a new fitness program.  Losing weight is not rocket science, but the problem is that most people have poor follow through, get frustrated, try a different routine (but still have doubts), get frustrated again, and then it becomes this vicious cycle over and over.

The result is being obsessive about exercise, but see absolutely no results.  If this is you, I encourage you to take a step back.  Choose a workout routine and nutrition plan that will complement your schedule.  Then implement it with a passion and believe that it will give you the results you desire.  

If you can do this I guarantee you’ll enjoy your journey.

Ok – Comment time.

Did you enjoy this post?  Have you tried Jenny Craig, and if so how was your experience?

Please share in the comments section below.

- Rommel

PS, Take a look at my simple home/office workout routine ==> Click Here.