water town — Five years ago, 35-year-old Jade Burke weighed 360 pounds. And after doing her heavy lifting during her job, she seriously injured her back and compressed the peroneal nerve in her leg.
“I'm in pretty bad shape and my neurologist told me that if I don't do something about my back problems, I'll be in a wheelchair within five years,” Burke said.
She said it was definitely the lowest point in her life.
Burke has struggled with her weight since childhood. The word “diet” wasn't new. Although she tried many times, she never found long-term success. But this time she didn't want to depend on anyone, so she knew she had to do something.
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Burke didn't want to appear in public, so she looked for an online weight loss program. When she found health coach Jess Nadine, she liked the “mindset” element of Nadine's program.
Jade Burke goes from home training to fitness club
Burke never wanted to train in a gym with other people. She felt safe staying at home thanks to her online program.
However, when she learned of an opportunity to work at the front desk at the Mount Auburn Club, she decided to give it a try. One of the perks to her of working at the club was that employees could take free classes.
“I enjoyed it so much more than I expected that I started going to every class there and quickly outgrew the online program,” Burke said.
She tried everything she could: spinning, yoga, barre, dancing, water aerobics. At this point she had lost 50 pounds.
“I started feeling much better about myself,” Burke said. “I felt like I was a completely different person from when I first started.”
She had more energy and wished she had started her weight loss journey sooner.
“I would have been happier. I would have had a better quality of life.” She immediately knew she wanted to become a trainer to help others feel the same way.
Burke said he's not looking for short-term changes. She wanted to change her lifestyle. And so her weight loss journey began.
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Even after losing 80 pounds, Burke didn't succumb to COVID-19.
Two months after Burke decided to pursue a personal training certification, COVID-19 struck and the gym closed. At this point she had lost about 80 pounds.
“That was a huge blow,” she said. She knew that once the pandemic was over, people would need her services more than ever, so she decided to earn her certification online.
“I just soldiered on and went back to online training,” she said. By the time the gym reopened, she was certified.
Stacey Thewell, former owner of Get in Shape for Women in Belmont, found Burke's resume online and called her to arrange an interview.
Burke was hired and became a group trainer at a women's-only club.
Seven months later, another career opportunity opened up for Zawell, so he approached Burke to gauge interest in acquiring the studio. Mr. Burke became the owner in April 2022.
“I can really understand what a lot of our members are going through when they come through the door,” she said.
Burke learns to rethink food as “nutrition that supports my activities''
“I remember going on a lot of diets when I was a kid, so the best thing for me was not going on a diet and really thinking about it as nutrition that supports my activities,” Burke says. said.
Burke said she learned about “intuitive eating” while training with Nadine.
“I changed my mindset from, 'I'm not going to change my eating habits for a while,' to, 'I'm going to change my eating habits for good,'” she said.
She says that truly restrictive diets don't work in the long run.
“Honestly, I tried all these crazy diets and none of them worked and I always ended up gaining the weight back,” Burke said.
Paying attention to what she was eating and adding activity to her life helped her make progress. The more weight she lost, the more she wanted to keep going.
Before leaving, Burke drank a lot of soda. She said gradually eliminating it from her diet made a big difference.
“I was on a diet, but I didn’t really restrict what I could eat,” she said. “Instead of thinking, “I have to change my diet and force myself to do it,'' I found it helpful to do it little by little.'' Thinking “If I don't do this, I won't be able to reach my goals'' is really stressful, and it's not good for our bodies. Because they don't like it either. ”
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For Burke, it wasn't just tracking calories in and out that made the difference, it was small, incremental changes.
The Food and Drug Administration recommends 2,000 calories a day, but Burke says this isn't a one-size-fits-all diet.
“If you're overweight, you want to reduce your calorie intake, but you don't want to go on an extreme diet. Some diets are very extreme, and you want to increase your calorie expenditure by adding exercise. “Because I'm here,” she says.
Burke said she has learned to control her portions and is eating every four hours. She recommends consulting her nutritionist to determine the appropriate calories for her body type and her age.
After losing 120 pounds, Burke advises others to avoid quick fixes.
Burke, now 40, has lost 120 pounds over five years. She advises those struggling to lose weight to take small steps, as many people are looking for a quick fix rather than a healthy lifestyle.
“I remember going to bed at night and wondering what it would actually be like to be a 'normal-sized' person,” Burke said.
“In our society, we're not taught much about self-love,” she says. “I really struggled with self-confidence, but I was able to accept that you can't change that overnight. You're doing it for no purpose other than yourself. is.
“That still allows me to be consistent.”
