Get Healthy

(Photograph by Jodi Davis.)

Even at the early age of 10, Jodi Davis knew she was overweight. Her family members were all thin, except for one aunt, who would be the person Jodi long blamed for her weight issues. The verbal jabs from Jodi’s grandfather regarding her weight didn’t help, either. “I ended up eating more to try to ease my pain,” she says.

Throughout her teen years, Jodi continued to gain weight, despite repeated attempts at several diets. Later, she married and had three kids. Being a stay-at-home mom took a toll on her waistline. Every night, after the kids went to bed, Jodi felt the need to treat herself to something indulgent and would take to snacking, particularly enjoying chips and dip.

“I ended up weighing close to 300 pounds,” Jodi says. Around that time, her husband’s cousin—who was only in her early 40s—died of obesity-related heart issues. That’s when the reality of obesity struck a chord with Jodi. “When I saw her 17-year-old son crying over her casket, it hit me,” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘She has no second chance.’ I thought of my three kids crying over my casket and thought, ‘Nope. No way.’” And that’s when her journey toward weight loss began.

“I knew how to eat better but this time I was going to do it the right way,” Jodi says. “No more diets.”

Jodi’s Sample Menu

Breakfast: Two pieces whole-wheat toast with low-fat peanut butter and no-sugar blueberry preserves; coffee with artificial sweetener and skim milk

Morning Snack: Low-fat oatmeal raisin granola bar

Lunch: Salad with many fresh vegetables (tomatoes, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower) and a few sunflower seeds; ranch dressing on the side (Don’t pour directly on salad.); slice of flaxseed bread (no butter) and iced tea with fresh lemon

Afternoon Snack: A dozen low-fat pretzel sticks and green tea on ice

Dinner: Skinless chicken breast (prepared in slow-cooker) with onions, potatoes, celery, and baby carrots; spray butter and low-fat sour cream on potato for a little flavor at mealtime; ice water or green tea with dinner

Evening Snack: Low-fat microwave popcorn with tall glass of water with fresh lemon

Jodi’s plan was plain and simple. She ate three healthy meals a day, which totaled about 1,200 calories. “I didn’t journal, I didn’t count every single calorie. I just ate what was smart.” She included snacks throughout her day too, but healthy ones. “I went from chips and dip to low-fat microwave popcorn . . . I had to have something before bed every night because that was my weakness. So I have low-fat pretzels dipped in mustard.”

But the main factor in Jodi’s weight loss was walking. “You know, in 25 years of dieting, I never focused on exercise,” she says. “When you’re 300 pounds, the thought of exercise is not appealing. Plus, I couldn’t afford to join a gym. But I needed to be there for my kids, needed to put them before food. So I started walking because it was free, fun, and I could do it anywhere, anytime.”

Every single day, Jodi walked a mile and a half, which took only 22 minutes, but she did walk briskly. “I used to pretend my house was burning and my kids were inside,” she says. “I know that sounds weird but my kids were my life.” That was all the motivation she needed to keep walking, usually along Paw Paw Lake in Coloma, Michigan, on the pier of Silver Beach in St. Joseph, or up the dunes.

After 16 months, Jodi lost 162 pounds. “And it cost me nothing.”

That’s what Jodi wishes people will learn from her story, that there is no excuse to keep one from getting fit.

Can’t afford a gym? Walking is free. Snowing outside? Jodi has a treadmill now, but before that she would “crank up the music, put on my pedometer, dance, run around the room, and play with my kids. I just kept moving, kept my flow” until she walked as many steps as she would have if she had gone outside. “If it’s raining, use an umbrella. If it’s cold, put on a sweater.”

Jodi is now a walking advocate for Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Michigan, who sponsors her website, walkytalk.com. She helped one man lose 230 pounds, and she has been a guest on the Today show and Oprah. People are attracted to her simple, no-frills weight-loss plan that has clear and visible results.

“My motto is: walking works. It took me 22 minutes a day. That’s less time than a sitcom. When you have that determined feeling on the inside, it makes you walk faster.”