Jolene at her heaviest, January 2008

Jolene Ball is getting used to this question. Although she doesn't have competition in her sights right now, the 33-year-old single mom certainly enjoys being asked — it's one indication of how far she's come. She recognized another benchmark when, a year ago, her seven-year-old put his arms completely around her and said, "mommy, you're skinny!" And in February 2011, three of her personal training clients completed Cleveland's Tackle the Tower event. Major milestones on an eight-year journey!

In February 2003, Jolene had just given birth to her first child and was preparing for her best friend's wedding. As she was being fitted for her bridesmaid's dress, the bridal shop handed her a severe reality check: they would need to order a plus size.

Several good cries and emotional melt-downs later, Jolene joined Titans Gym and began working with personal trainer Lu Perhay. Seven months and 35 pounds later, in her dramatically altered dress, she looked great!

For the next three years, she pursued her fitness program, but in October 2006 she found that she was pregnant with twins. A life-altering event for anyone, carrying to term two babies with a total birth weight of 16 pounds, 5 ounces resulted in significant weight gain and left Jolene with poor self-esteem and a damaged body image.

After the babies were born, she returned to Titans, training now with James Boykin. (Lu Perhay had moved from the area.) But with day-to-day responsibilities that included three small children and a full-time job, time was at a premium: her workouts were sporadic, and she wasn't losing weight. By January 2009, Jolene had reached her highest weight ever, 206 pounds.

That spring Jolene decided to combat her depression and exercise funk. Running had always been the fastest, most effective way for her to lose weight. Research led her to the Couch to 5K, a program designed to get participants off the couch and, in gradual increments over nine weeks, running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes nonstop. (Click here for information about Couch to 5K.)

Jolene, the "fat picture," August 2009

By August 2009, Jolene had dropped 18 pounds and, as she felt her energy levels improve, she joined an adult recreational soccer team. After playing through the fall and winter seasons, she was feeling good and getting back into decent shape — although, looking back, she realizes that a photograph taken at that time is now her "fat picture."

About then, James Boykin contacted her. He hadn't seen her at the gym in some time. How were things going? Jolene leveled with him: not so great. A few days later, she was back in the gym, pursuing a regular workout and cardio routine. With James's coaching, she got her head back into the game and started working through her physical and emotional struggles.

With that, Jolene began the journey that would change her life for good.

• By January 1, 2010, she was back on track with a healthy diet, training 2 or 3 times a week and putting in an hour of cardio 5 or 6 days a week.


• By August 2010, her weight was down 57 pounds from that 206-pound high, and she was wearing a size 6 for the first time in her life.


• In October 2010, she realized that her weight loss had stalled. She and James assessed her daily caloric and macronutrient needs, and came up with a refined program: consuming a high-protein, lower complex-carb diet … eating 6 or 7 small meals a day, every 2 to 3 hours … and adding high-intensity interval training to her cardio workouts. (For information about high-intensity interval training, click here.)
  
  As Jolene's focus shifted to building lean muscle, she began lifting heavier and more frequently. Her lean body mass and strength improved: she was now performing full bodyweight chin-ups and dips with high reps, and bench-pressing a personal best 135 pounds.


• By November 2010, now wearing size 4, Jolene had dropped 65 pounds and gained a tremendous amount of lean muscle, and regained control over her life.
  
  She also realized that, with her passion for fitness, she could help other people create a vision and make their health and fitness goals a reality. So she took, and passed, the exam to become an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer. (On February 5, 2011, three of Jolene's clients — Julie Bradler, Meighan Nelson, and Meg Clark — participated in Tackle the Tower, a race up the 38 flights of stairs at Cleveland's Erieview Tower. Meg, thanks in part to Jolene's coaching, improved her time by 4 minutes, finishing her run in 08:33.)

The new Jolene, January 2011

Jolene's success has not come without sacrifice: still employed full-time as an Office Manager for Lake County, she spends weeknights and weekend mornings training her fitness clients, and starts most days at 4:30 so she can work out while her kids are still asleep. But her biggest challenge has to do with emotional eating, especially in response to stress. "I get stressed and want to start eating things that make me 'feel' better. Ultimately, I know that afterward, I feel worse, so I work really hard to find other ways to handle difficult situations."

The rewards for her hard work go beyond physical fitness. In a life that Jolene calls "full of amazing people," she rejoices in an extremely supportive family (without her mom and sister, she says, she'd never be able to juggle everything) and the great people — some lifelong friends — she's met through the gym and through training. Some of her highest praise is reserved for Titans trainer James Boykin: "We both have crazy, busy schedules, and he always finds time for me, even when it involves sacrificing sleep to go to the gym and train at crazy early morning hours. He's my best friend. His devotion, motivation, and encouragement helped push me to accomplish new things I never dreamed would be possible."