GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – It wasn't easy, but a Michigan mother is proof that consistency and determination can lead to jaw-dropping change.
Jamie Burton was approaching 40 years old and weighed more than 350 pounds. She's now half her size and she wants to show people, especially her kids, that anything is possible.
Burton is somewhat of a legend to fellow gym goers. Everyone sees her as the woman who completely changed her life for the better. That's why it's hard to believe just a few years ago, she couldn't even see herself this way.
"I grew up overweight. Overweight my entire life," Burton recalled. "By the time I was in my mid 30s, I was over 350 pounds. I accepted the fact I was going to be overweight my entire life, and I was fine with that."
But one day, something in her made her realize it was time to make a drastic life-changing decision.
"It was scary to think I needed to lose weight."
Burton saw an ad about a new fitness studio opening in West Michigan with a free trial, and that got her thinking.
"I'm a mom, I'm on a budget, price is something to me."
Understandably anxious, Burton walked into Fit Body Bootcamp's Grand Haven location in March 2014 and never looked back.
"She came in and she was 360 pounds. There's only so much you can do. So, we were able to modify and work with her," explained Matt Wilber, owner of all the Fit Body Bootcamp locations throughout West Michigan.
A lifestyle that once seemed unattainable for Burton, eventually turned into a life-saver.
"I didn't realize how much [weight] I'd lost until, all of a sudden, one day I saw I'm down 100 pounds," Burton said. "Then, it was 125, 150 pounds and it just kept going. It was all from just doing a little bit every single day."
Burton credits a magical combination of eating the right foods and 30 minute workouts for helping her lose half her body weight and more than 100 inches.
"I can take 30 minutes a day and spend it on me I don't have to focus on kids or work, it's my time and every one can have 30 mins you just have to make it," Burton said.
She has been able to keep the weight off and live this healthier lifestyle for years, proving it really is a transformation of the mind.
"She only lost 1-3 pounds a week for almost two years, she didn't have fast weight loss, she wasn't trying to come in and lose 100 pounds overnight," said Matt Wilber, local Fit Body Bootcamp owner. "She transformed herself and became the person who could lose the weight and keep the weight off through her habits, routines and rituals," he said.
Perhaps more important to Burton is being a role model to her three kids.
"Show my kids that you really have to take care of yourself and you can do that through food and exercise, take it one day at a time," she said. "It's okay to make mistakes, have a bad day be stressed, we are people, things happen but consistency in your life and having a plan, a backup plan is so important," Burton said.
