JANUARY 2016 ;e Costco Connection 51
nothing that will keep me from going through
a drive-through or eating carbs. So, I like to
have what I call a little snack stash. Just know
your tendencies, and prepare for them.
CC: It seems that people sometimes just
need some clarification of what the benefits
of achieving their fitness goals really are.
JW: I am in the school of thought you
shouldn’t work out just to get thin or to lose
weight. I want you to work out and move
your body because when you do you operate
at your best, you’re more open, your thinking is on point, you’re in a better mood,
you’re not hitting a midday slump, you’re
active with your kids … you’re strong in life.
You can get your luggage out of that overhead compartment, or take the stairs when
the elevator is broken.
I encourage people to never look back
and to be proud of the fact that they have a
good function in life with strength, with con-
fidence, with ease. C
By Tim Talevich
COSTCO MEMBER JENNIFER Widerstrom is a personal trainer and group fitness
instructor (and onetime Costco employee as a college student) who is currently
appearing on NBC’s hit series The Biggest Loser. The Connection caught up with her
by phone from Los Angeles to ask her to share her top motivation and fitness tips.
100 pounds. People wonder: “Why try? I’ll
probably fail anyway.”
But the people who succeed are those who
say, “Well, I’m making a choice to do this, I’m
going to go forward and I’m going to figure it
out.” They’re willing to put it on the line and
just find a way. I think a lot of it comes with
allowing themselves to be human, to be imper-
fect in the process, but at least make progress
going forward.
Maybe losing those 10 or 50 or 100
pounds takes six months, maybe it takes two
years. But there’s a forward progression because they’re willing to find a way through
that journey. I think a lot of what happens
with the people who fail is that they are
expecting things to happen right away. I think
it has to be a series of steps. People forget how
long it took them to put on the weight. It’s
going to take time to undo that.
If you’ve spent the last 40 years just slowly
progressing and putting on weight, will it take
40 to lose it? No, but it will take some time.
You have to honor that time frame.
CC: OK, let’s say someone takes this
leap. What are the keys to success?
JW: There are three baseline
components to start: adequate sleep,
Next, know your tendencies. If
you are someone who always knows
that after dinner you want sweets, or
after lunch you’re still in that snack
mode, or before lunch you’re running
around the office grabbing a bag of
chips and a couple of Hershey kisses
just to “tide you over” until lunch, get to
know yourself. Know your tendencies.
Then, prepare for them. For me, I
get hungry really quickly, so I won’t go
anywhere without a bottle of water,
almonds and some kind of sweet
nutrition bar because I know I’m
going to need it. Otherwise, there’s
A Q&A with
Jennifer Widerstrom
Jennifer Widerstrom works with one
of the contestants on a recent season of
The Biggest Loser.
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The Costco Connection: Why do some
people succeed, and others fail, when it
comes to getting in shape?
Jennifer Widerstrom: What I’ve discovered in working with people is that success
really becomes a willingness—a courage—to
just try, whether it’s 10 pounds, 50 pounds or
In our digital editions
Click here to see a clip from The
Biggest Loser, which is entering
its 17th season on NBC. (See page
14 for details.)
for your
health
