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Lewisville resident sheds pounds on TV show
By Heather M. Goodwin, hgoodwin@acnpapers.com
Lewisville resident Mercedes Ramirez Johnson was living an ordinary life until a phone call at the end of July changed her life, hopefully forever.
Johnson is a professional public speaker, who speaks to people and organizations worldwide, on the concept of "Second Chance Living." She is also a wife and mother of four boys -- two of whom have special needs. Johnson said she always put her family's needs before her own, until recently when producers with a new daytime television show called her.
"I received a call at the end of July from the producers of 'The Revolution.' They said they found my name through researching women who do a lot for their community," Johnson said. "I was feeling good, until they told me they were also looking for women needing to lose 50 to 100 pounds. That hit me right in the gut. The producer was really sweet on the phone when she asked me to think about appearing on the show."
Each week the series also highlights its "hero," a woman going through a personal journey over the course of five months. The heroes are women who contribute to their community and who are an inspiration to their community.
On Johnson's 21st birthday, she and her parents were on a flight to Colombia to celebrate when the plane crashed into the Andes Mountains. There were only four passengers, who survived, Johnson was one of them. Johnson's parents were killed in the crash, and she sustained severe injuries. After extensive physical therapy, she finished college and began speaking to groups about the accident and how she overcame it.
Johnson was the show's most recent hero.
"After I got off the phone with the show's producer, I called my sister crying, but then I learned more about the opportunity the show entailed," Johnson said. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized what a great opportunity it was. I felt like it fell in my lap."
After accepting the show's offer, Johnson flew to Los Angeles for a one-week boot camp with Pasternak. She said during the week she learned about nutrition and exercise. Pasternak also led a trip to the local grocery store.
"We were in the store for a couple hours. He taught what food labels really mean. I learned a lot during that time," Johnson said. "The week was really about how important the opportunity was and learning that it's OK to take time for yourself. There was a lot of exercising, but it was really an emotional boot camp."
After the boot camp, Johnson returned home with Pasternak's handbook for nutrition and a personal trainer she met with five days a week.
"Once I got back home, I was on my own for food," Johnson said. "I had his [Pasternak's] cook book and all the knowledge from the grocery store, but that was it."
During her five-month revolution, a typical day in Johnson's life was waking up at 4:45 in the morning and getting to the gym by 5. Once there, she worked out with her trainer for an hour and a half. Then she was home by 6:45 a.m. She would get her boys ready and out the door for school by 7:50 a.m. Then she would go back to the gym for an additional hour and a half of cardio. By 10 a.m. she returned home to start her work day. Around 3 p.m. she would pick up her children from school and put on her "mom hat" for the rest of the day before going to bed around 9:30 p.m.
"Getting up and doing my workout so early fueled me for the rest of the day so that no matter what happened the rest of the day, I knew I had got my workout in," Johnson said. "I found that working out made me happy. Also, I really connected with my trainer so going to the workouts didn't feel like drudgery because she's so funny. Sometimes I would laugh so hard with my trainer that I cried, and that created a great atmosphere."
Johnson said that throughout the revolution, she found that, more often that not, she was able to eat the same things as her family.
"So many times when people think of going on a diet, they think they will have to cook for themselves and then cook for the family. I found that five out of seven nights I would eat the exact same thing as my husband and kids, I would just have smaller portions," Johnson said. "Portion control was the key. Sometimes my husband would make comments about feeling guilty for eating certain things, but I would reassure him that it was OK. My kids were the best police for me, telling me to not eat junk food."
When Johnson began her revolution, she weighed 210 pounds, in 30 days she lost 16 pounds, weighing in at 194 pounds. At the 60-day mark she dropped another four pounds. At 90 days she was down a total of 32 pounds, weighing in at 178 pounds. When she completed her five month revolution she lost a total of 45 pounds and weighed 165 pounds.
"It's been so interesting going through this change. It's been amazing these past five months," Johnson said.
Johnson said three main reasons motivated her to begin and complete her revolution.
"The first reason was that I'm a professional speaker. My job is to motivate people, and I've been making the excuses that I was telling my clients not to make for themselves. I had to walk the talk. The second reason was my kids. As a mom, one of my most important jobs was to set an example, and if I'm not doing that, how can I teach them good habits?" Johnson said. "The final reason was an emotional push. When I married my husband I was 75 pounds lighter. They say love is blind, but it's nice to look close to how I looked back then. I did it for my husband as well as my kids and myself."
In addition to losing weight, the show also helped Johnson reach other goals for her revolution. She set two goals, one was to reconnect with her inner fighter and the second was to face her mountain and confront her past.
At the end of her revolution, Johnson said she had achieved her goals.
"Now, I feel so much more confident. I feel that I have so much more energy, and I now have confidence to wear whatever I want," Johnson said. "I've found that I really love working out with people. I know some people, when they first start working out, don't want to be around others, but I thrive off the energy of other people."
Johnson said her trainer, Jennifer Reid, encouraged her to donate all her old clothes at the end of her revolution.
"She told me that if I kept the clothes, they'd be a crutch for me," Johnson said. "By the end I had 10 garbage bags full of clothes I donated. It's been fun now to walk into a store and be able to buy the clothes I want. I no longer have to think about how my stomach will look."
For information visit www.mercedesramirezjohnson.com.
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