Julia Fowler lost half of herself.

Literally.

She’s shared her journey of losing over 200 pounds and keeping it off with millions of people on social media.

Now the 48-year-old North Mankato woman is in the running for a $100,000 prize from a well-known fitness and nutrition company.

Fowler is a finalist in theBeachBody Challenge. The contest invites BeachBody consumers to submit their “inspirational transformation stories.”

Fowler is among eight finalists and is guaranteed at least a $15,000 prize.

One female and one male winner of $100,000 will be announced July 15.

Julia Fowler 2

Julia Fowler of North Mankato is a finalist for a $100,000 prize in the BeachBody Challenge.

A panel of judges is considering the finalists submissions, which included photographs, a video and essay. Voting on Facebook, which has now closed, also helped decide the winner.

If she wins the big prize, Fowler is dreaming about taking some time off from her web and graphic design small business to travel the country to write a book. She’d like to write about her own path to wellness and to meet in person and write about some of her wellness inspirations.

Either way she’ll continue to use social media seeking to inspire others on their physical and mental wellness journeys.

“I want them to know they can try again, and they can do seemingly impossible things,” she says.

Journaling helped Fowler gain the resolve to finally commit to bettering her body and soul four years ago.

She had been struggling with obesity and depression most of her life. She like so many others has tried and given up on many “extreme” diets and exercise routines and she reached over 400 pounds.

“I was in a pretty bad place,” she said.

Journaling helped her realize she needed to change.

“I realized I either need to find a way to get living or to get on with dying,” she said.

But from past experiences she recognized that drastic changes wouldn’t work.

She started by making a meal plan.

“If it wasn’t on my plan, I didn’t eat it,” she said.

Then she started gradually replacing some of the items on her plan with healthier and more natural options. The key was moderation not deprivation, she said.

Fowler lost 30 pounds in two months.

Then she started adding exercise to her daily routine. A friend introduced her to BeachBody and a virtual “accountability group” of people who helped her get and stay motivated.

She set a more sustainable pace of small lifestyle changes this time.

“Baby steps over make big results,” she said. “Unless it’s simple and sensible it’s not sustainable.”

Fowler achieved her goal to get under 200 pounds in a little over two years.

“Celebrate the small things. Because over time they turn into big things,” she said.

Julia Fowler 3

Julia Fowler celebrates finally fitting into her goal dress two years ago. She went from a size 32 to a size 14.

Being stuck at home during the pandemic stymied her progress, she said, but she’s back on track again.

She focuses less now on weight and more on overall wellness.

“Just want to continue being strong in mind, body and soul,” she said.

Fowler been chronicling her journey on social media from the beginning. She started with a new Instagram. She wasn’t ready to tell her friends and family on Facebook that she was trying again.

“I couldn’t stand the shame of them seeing me try and fail again,” she said.

Now Fowler has nearly 78,000 followers onInstagram, 3,000 onFacebookand nearly 200,000 onTikTock.

“It can be such a beautiful outlet for encouraging one another,” she says about social media, adding that she has encountered very few trolls.

She started with posting workout videos and progress photos and these days also includes quotes, poems and other messages from herself and others that she hopes inspire others.

“You owe no one any apologies or explanations about where you’ve been, or how, or why you’ve been there,” she wrote in a recent Facebook post. “You only owe it to⁣ yourself to do, your very best,⁣ starting every day⁣ right where you are, with what you have and what you know.⁣”

One post with a similar sentiment shared on TikTok last fall has been viewed over 8 million times. Many other posts have earned thousands of views.

大收视率数字是令人兴奋,福勒says, but the greatest reward is hearing from someone who says she inspired him or her to try again to improve their wellness.

“I believe anyone can do what I did,” she said.

React to this story:

8
0
0
0
0

Trending Video