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People On The Move - Jennifer Jacobs
06/27/2011 - By Chad A. Safran
REALITY SHOW SUCCESS STORY
Jennifer Jacobs did not win the grand prize on the NBC reality show, “The Biggest Loser.” She was actually eliminated from the show in week 13. Yet, Jen is still a winner. The Long Branch resident began the show’s 11th season at 278 pounds, and during her time on the program she shed 91 pounds. By the time she returned for the show’s season finale, following her continued dedication to many hours of daily exercise and a healthy diet at home, she had lost even more weight!
After being overweight her entire life, the 28-year old digital media expert realized she needed to make some changes in her life. As a fan of the program, she knew she could do the challenges and felt the show was made for her. Initial auditions did not go her way when she tried out for seasons 9 and 10, but the third time was the charm. She was one of 22 contestants, which also included her father, Jay, out of over 250,000 to make it on to the show for this past season and have the ups and downs of her weight loss journey seen by America. “I was ready and willing to do anything necessary to change,” says Jen. “I really didn’t care what I needed to do. I knew I was going to have to take my clothes off and be filmed when I didn’t look all that attractive. I was done with being fat and didn’t want to waste my life anymore. I wanted to live my life and I felt like the weight was masking who I was.”
Contestants are completely secluded on the Biggest Loser ranch, with no phone, internet, television, or even magazines, allowing them complete focus on their health and well being. “It’s kind of like rehab,” says Jen, who notes everyone on the show missed Facebook. “There is no other experience in your life that could really mimic this kind of isolation.”
Days began with an early morning wake up call, an hour or more of cardio exercise, then a trip to the kitchen to make a healthy breakfast, followed by the production for the day, which would consist of workouts, challenges, weigh ins and regular reality television production. Jen would welcome workouts with the trainers and the physical aspect of losing weight. The mental challenge, however, proved to be more difficult.
“Working on the emotional aspect was the hardest part, why I got to where I was, and what brought me to Biggest Loser” says Jen, whose weight loss helped inspire her mother, brother, and boyfriend to all drop over 50 pounds. “That was something I found to be really difficult. I was heavy my entire life. What was tough was uncovering 28 years of emotional baggage that I had acquired that helped me to put on the 100-plus pounds I was scared to take off. As you unpeel the layers and unpeel the pounds, you are uncovering a lot emotionally that you never even thought was there.”
The true drama on “Biggest Loser” comes during the weigh ins, when contestants step on the scale in front of each other and their trainers to reveal how many pounds have been shed during the previous week. It made for anxious moments. “It gets very nerve-wracking,” Jen says. “When my dad and I switched teams it was no longer fun. We were always on the chopping block, either me or him. Toward the end they were never fun. It kept getting harder and harder to deal with the tension.”
The experience allowed Jen to believe in herself. She learned that she was just as deserving as anyone else to be happy, healthy, and live a fun life. “I didn’t value myself before ‘Biggest Loser’. I told myself I could be on the show and do it. I believed in the process. ‘Biggest Loser’ gave my life back.” Through speaking engagements and a fledgling career as a recording artist, Jen is hoping to share her achievement journey with young women, teaching them how to empower themselves to be healthy, happy, and believe they can do anything.
Jen’s weight loss success continues to motivate her. She sees little changes each day. She continues to celebrate little victories with a manicure and pedicure or a new pair of high heels. Jen adds, “I am so enjoying this body I am living in. It’s like having a new car, and I love driving it.”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Doris & Ed’s, Atlantic Highlands
FAVORITE MUSIC
Dance & Top 40
FAVORITE MOVIE
“Stepbrothers”
PET PEEVE
Finding all things wrong in a situation
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, & Alison Sweeney from "The Biggest Loser" because I miss them so!
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