Jessica Humann’s journey to lose 100 pounds
Lab Notes
Scientist Jessica Humann played guinea pig for trainer Mimi Beer and lost nearly 100 pounds. Now that’s what we call a statistically significant result.
Jessica Humann was smarter than this. A grad student working toward a doctorate in immunology, the soon-to-be Ph.D. logged long, stressful days at the lab while carrying around about 100 pounds of extra weight. She knew that if she got fit, she’d feel better and exponentially more energetic. So she signed up for twice-weekly sessions with 24 Hour Fitness trainer Mimi Beer in Denver last March. Seven months later, the 27-year-old had lost 87 pounds and gained a new lease on life. Here, a look into her grand, transformational experiment.
MARCH 29
Had my first meeting with Mimi yesterday. She asked me what I want to get out of training, and I told her I just want to be healthy—and weigh less than 200 pounds.
APRIL 23
Today was the first time I attempted pull-ups since junior high. Mimi had me work on the assisted dip and pull-up machine. Even pulling-up a fraction of my body weight is nearly impossible. And discouraging.
APRIL 27
Had my first weigh in—I’ve lost 13 pounds since starting with Mimi. Not so discouraged today.
JUNE 28
Just when I get comfortable, Mimi throws me a curveball. We worked on Roman Chair leg lifts that made me use my abs and core to keep from sliding down the back of the machine. So much harder than it looks.
JULY 19
Weigh in again—and I’d gained a pound! I know people plateau, but I just didn’t expect it so soon.
JULY 23
I’ve lost 60 pounds; 7 more until I’m under 200. Mimi gave me a homemade book today to show the equivalent of what I’d lost. I’ve lost 80 cans of Fresca and 33 ¹/³ copies of Harry Potter. I was speechless. She had me pick up a 60-pound free-weight. I was completely overwhelmed.
AUGUST 30
I had to be in lab at 4:30 a.m. before going to the gym at 7 a.m. I wanted to go home and crawl back in bed. My arms were tired during the bench press—I only made it three-quarters of the way through the reps without stopping.
SEPTEMBER 12
My cool-down phase is now what used to be my regular workout speed on the treadmill.
SEPTEMBER 27
When I sat down for the leg machine, Mimi refused to let me see the weight. After my
first set, I saw it was more than 100 pounds—double what I used to lift.
OCTOBER 4
I’m now 176 pounds, down from 267. It hit me a few days ago, when I bought my first pair of size 10 jeans. I’ve gone from an 18 to a 10—and accomplished something big. Something really, really big.
