My name is Jennifer Crow (soon to be Mrs. Galarza), but you can call me Jen. I’m 25 years old, I currently live in Levittown, New York with my very handsome fiancé and our two crazy big dogs — and I’m overweight.
My fiancé Rene and I met and became friends eight years ago, when we worked together for a sports marketing company. A few years later, we started casually dating. I finally got sick of the random hang outs with no title and told him I was done. That day, September 19th, 2011, he told me he wanted to be with me, and from that day on we have been inseparable.
He proposed on February 8, 2013. We went to Pocono Palace in Cove Haven, PA for a romantic weekend away (yes, we had one of those rooms you see on TV with the champagne glass bath tub). It was a little cheesy but super romantic and just what we needed. When we arrived to our room, I went in the bathroom to shower and when I came out (completely naked, might I add!) Rene was down on one knee. The bed was covered in rose petals that said, “Will you marry me?” He told me how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. It was absolutely perfect (and so is my ring!).
He is my rock, my better half, my soul mate and my whole world. Together, I know we can do anything, and together, we want to lose weight for our wedding day. November 8, 2014 is when we will become husband and wife, and on that same day, we plan to be down almost 200 pounds between the two of us. We will marry at Chateau Briand in Carle Place and have already started the planning! I’m crazy when it comes to being organized and planning, so this will be a piece of cake for me — the losing weight part, not so much.
Growing up, I was skinny and in shape until just before college. I was pretty, popular, and basically had the life every young girl wants. Once I hit college, I let myself go. I have always been confident, so once I started gaining weight, I barely even noticed. I always was told I was beautiful, and I was so busy enjoying life with my friends that I didn’t even care. But now, at the heaviest I’ve ever been (215 pounds on my 5'3" frame) and newly engaged, I realize it’s time to make a change for good.
For the past few years, I used the excuse that I was “too busy” to work out. I work in Manhattan in outdoor advertising, and with my commute, I’m out of the house for about 14 hours each day. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym when I got home at 8 p.m. or when I woke up at 5 a.m. Going out for dinner or drinking a glass of wine (or two) with my girlfriends sounded much more appealing!
That all changes now. My aunt, Bonne Marcus, is a fantastic personal trainer and will be coaching us along this life-changing journey. My goal is to look amazing in my wedding dress. I want to lose weight to be healthy, be fit and be in shape. I don’t want to have flabby arms or back fat in my wedding pictures, and I want to be able to prance around in a bikini on my honeymoon. I want to do things I have not been able to do because I’ve been overweight for all these years. Ultimately, I want Rene and I to look back at our wedding day when we said our "I dos" and say, "We did it!"
Welcome to my slim-down journey. I have 17 months until my walk down the aisle and nothing but a whole lot of pounds to lose.
—Jennifer Crow
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