Josette Puig thought she had it all. In 1993, she married her high school sweetheart. The couple had four children. Her husband had a successful career in Major League Baseball. But one day she woke up and realized that she had lost herself in her own life. After every birth she suffered from postpartum depression. She had gained weight and had no self-esteem. “I hit my rock bottom,” Josette says. “I thought my best years were behind me, and I got up one day and thought I can’t believe that.”
TAKING CONTROL
Josette decided to take control of her life in January 2004. The change? Out with fad diets and in with a real health plan. “I sat down with the calendar, and I decided that every Sunday night I was going to decide what my change would be that for that week,” she says. “I remember my first change was changing my coffee creamer to skim milk. And that’s all I focused on that week. I didn’t change anything else. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself.”
Every following Sunday, Josette made one more change in her diet. A year later, she was transformed “I was hitting a gym and hired a trainer who taught me the science of the body and how food really changes everything, effects mood, and physique.” Josette also started building her self-esteem by entering amateur body-building contests. In a video interview with Fitness Atlantic, Josette shows off the results of workouts and her transformation.
Her body was lean muscle, and she knew she had a good chance of placing in a contest. But she received no support from her parents, especially her father. She remembers that he got angry about her foray into the sport. ”My father said it was a waste of time,” she recalls.
Ultimately, she decided not to pursue professional body building when one of the judges told her she needed to get her breasts enhanced. ”I don’t believe being sexy means having big breasts,” Josette says. “I don’t want to send that kind of message to my three daughters.”
STARTING OVER AS A SINGLE MOM
Josette finally admitted to herself that her perfect marriage was really not so perfect. She remembers that after her husband retired from professional baseball, he stopped exercising. “He was not supportive. He checked out emotionally. At that time I was pregnant with our fourth child in Miami. I had to save myself to save my children.” After 17 years of marriage, the couple finally divorced in 2010.
Josette is now 41-years-old and has not only rebuilt her personal life but has built a very successful career. She’s now a personal fitness trainer, a nutrition consultant, and she’s certified in sports nutrition and weight management.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
She now runs GetJosette outside of Boston. Thanks to the web, Josette has clients around the country. She also produces videos to get you on the right track to better health and to get you moving, even at your desk.
JOSETTE’S TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER YOU
• Switch your morning coffee with milk and sugar to coffee with non-fat milk and Truvia. I know there’s nothing like the traditional cafe con leche, but this switch alone can help you drop 5 lbs in 2 months!
• Cook with coconut oil. Instead of frying with olive oil, switch to coconut oil. It’s an excellent fat and tastes delicious! It helps regulate the thyroid, beneficial for hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, and the list goes on.
• Trade in your white rice for brown rice. What? Que? White rice converts to sugar and goes straight to your waistline, increasing your chances for diabetes and high blood pressure. I’m not saying you can’t ever eat it again, but compromise and have it once a week.
• You need 30 minutes of activity a day. Inactivity causes depression. Find something you love to do. If your a Latina blessed with a “dancing gene,” you have no excuse. You know what I’m talking about, the moment you hear music you can’t help but start moving!
• Eat within 30 minutes of waking up each morning and then every 2-3 hours after that. “But I’m not hungry!” is not a good excuse to skip breakfast, that is the sign of a slow or dead metabolism.
• Plan your meals the night before. I pack all of my meals before I go to bed, this way there’s no “what am I going to eat today?” Packing my meals helps me stick to my diet 99% of the time. And it’s also good for my wallet too!
• Treat Meal: Once a week I allow myself to have a treat meal. A treat meal is “anything I want to eat for 1 hour.”
• Agua! Water! Recommended intake for someone who does not exercise is ‘half your body weight in ounces of water.” For example, if you weigh 160 lbs, you should consume 80 ounces a day, more if you exercise. Water moves everything through our digestive systems.
