WATERTOWN — Five years ago, at age 35, Jade Burke weighed 360 pounds. And after doing some heavy lifting while at her job, she suffered a severe back injury and a crushed peroneal nerve in her leg.
“I was in pretty bad shape, and I had a neurologist who told me that if I didn’t make some changes because of my back issues I would be in a wheelchair within five years,” Burke said.
She said that was definitely the lowest point of her life.
Since childhood, Burke has struggled with her weight. The word “diet” was nothing new. She went on them many times but they never achieved long-term success. But this time, she knew she had to do something because she didn’t want to be dependent on anybody.
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Burke didn’t want to be seen in public, so she looked for online weight loss programs. When she found health coach Jess Nadine, she liked the “mindset” component of Nadine’s program.
Jade Burke moves from home workouts to a fitness club
Burke never thought she would want to work out in a gym with others. She felt safe at home with the online program.
However, she learned of an opportunity to work at the Mount Auburn Club’s front desk and decided to go for it. One benefit of working at the club was that employees could take free classes.
“I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought, and I started to go to all the classes there, quickly outgrowing the online program I was doing,” said Burke.
She tried spinning, yoga, bar, dance, water aerobics and explored as much as she could. At this point, she had shed 50 pounds.
“I started feeling so much better about myself,” said Burke. “I felt like I was a completely different person than when I started.”
She had more energy and wished she started her weight loss journey sooner.
“I would have been so much happier,” Burke said. “I would have had a better quality of life.” She soon wanted to become a trainer to help others feel similarly.
Burke said she wasn’t looking for a short change. She wanted a lifestyle change. This is how her weight loss journey began.
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After losing 80 pounds, Burke wouldn’t let COVID-19 stop her
Two months after Burke decided to pursue her personal training certification, COVID-19 hit and gyms closed down. At this point, she had lost about 80 pounds.
“That was a big blow,” she said. She decided to pursue her certification online because she knew that when the pandemic ended, people would need her service more than ever.
“I just kept plugging along and went back to training online,” she said. By the time gyms had reopened, she was certified.
Stacey Zawel, former owner of Get in Shape for Women in Belmont, found Burke’s resume online and called her to arrange an interview.
Burke was hired and became a group trainer for the female-only club.
Seven months after that, Zawel approached Burke to gauge her interest in buying the studio, as Zawel had another career opportunity. In April 2022, Burke became the owner.
“I can really understand what a lot of members coming through the door are dealing with,” she said.
Burke learns to rethink diets as ‘nutrition supporting my activity’
“I remember being on lots of diets as a kid, so the best thing I ever did was to not be on a diet and to really rethink of it as nutrition supporting my activity,” said Burke.
When she was training with Nadine, Burke said she learned about “intuitive eating.”
“I made that mindset transition from ‘I’m not going to change my diet for a little while’ to ‘I’m going to change my diet forever,’” she said.
She says really restrictive diets are not effective long term.
“I’ve honestly tried all the crazy diets and none of them worked and I always gained the weight back,” said Burke.
Paying attention to what she was eating and adding activity to her life is what helped her make progress. The more pounds she lost, the more she wanted to keep going.
Before her journey, Burke drank a lot of soda. She said slowly eliminating it from her diet made a huge difference.
“I still had a diet but I didn’t so much limit myself on what I was able to eat,” she said. “Doing it in small steps was helpful versus, ‘I’m going to have to overhaul my diet and stick to this,’ or I’m not going to make my goal,’ because that can be really stressful and our bodies don’t like it either.”
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Small, incremental change is what made the difference for Burke, as well as tracking the calories she consumed and burned.
The Food and Drug Administration recommends 2,000 calories per day, but it’s not a one-size-fits all deal, said Burke.
“If we’re overweight, we want to bring those calories down, but we don’t want it to be extreme because some of the diets are very extreme and you want to increase your calorie burn by adding exercise,” she said.
Burke said she has learned to control her portions and eats every four hours. She recommends consulting with a nutritionist to determine how many calories is right for your body type and age.
After losing 120 pounds, Burke advises others to avoid quick fixes
Now 40, Burke has lost 120 pounds in five years. She recommends taking baby steps for those who struggle to lose weight, as a lot of people are looking for a quick fix rather than a healthy lifestyle.
“I remember going to bed at night and thinking about what it would actually be like to be a ‘normal-sized’ person,” Burke said.
“Our society doesn’t teach a lot about self love,” she said. “I really struggled with confidence, but I was able to accept that I can’t change it overnight. You’re doing it for nothing other than for yourself.
“That helps me stay consistent even to this day.”
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