Mom to share weight-loss tips

ROSCOE — Julie Barker never would have considered herself as someone who could lose 100 pounds.

She still hasn’t, but the Clinton, Wis., soccer mom and video production business owner will tell attendees at a free Learning from Losers forum at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at Weight Watchers, 4775 Rockton Road, how she has shed 92 pounds in the past 13 months.

“My message is going to be that if I can do it anybody can,” Barker said in a telephone interview, “because I am as busy as the next person. I’m a very unlikely candidate to lose 100 pounds, and I’ve almost done it.”

Barker said she was initially motivated to join Weight Watchers when her husband bought a swimming pool as a family gift, and she didn’t want the neighbors to see her in a swimming suit. “I lost seven pounds the first week and I said, ‘This is something I can. I can stick with it’,” she said.

Additional momentum came from seeing the successes and learning from the failures of the people in her group and from noticeable health improvements such as a 40-point drop in her blood pressure and lowered cholesterol levels.

“I started feeling better after I had lost the first 30 or 40 pounds,” Barker said. “I felt 10 years younger.”

Barker’s appearance also will promote a Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge from April 4 to June 5. The challenge encourages participants to get moving more by setting a goal to at least walk 5 kilometers on June 6.

Interested people can visit weightwatchers.com/WalkIt to get training tips and encouragement from fellow walkers.

“I started out walking 10 minutes a day. Now I’m up to running seven miles a day,” Barker said. “I did my first 5K in 33 minutes at the Turkey Trot at North Pointe Wellness,” she said. “It helps to keep you motivated if you sign up for something and this year I’m signing up for my first half marathon.”

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-1382 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.

About the event
What: Learning from Losers: 100-Pound Weight-Loss Forum
When: 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20
Where: Weight Watchers; 4775 Rockton Road, Roscoe
Additional: Information about Weight Watchers, goody bags and raffle prizes will be offered