News Article

A weight-loss journey that started nearly four years ago has led College of the North Atlantic (CNA) instructor Andrea Green to the world of television. Embracing a positive attitude, combining it with a balanced and healthy diet and the addition of physical activity, has led Andrea to a 137-pound weight loss. Now, her inspirational success story has earned her a television show called Transform U, which premieres next week – the very same week Andrea will celebrate her 41^st birthday.
 
Andrea’s weight struggle goes back decades. And although she was only five to 10 pounds heavier than her classmates in high school, growing up they referred to her as “pudge” so it’s no wonder she admits to always having body image issues. However, it wasn’t until after the birth of her daughter and subsequent enrollment at CNA as a student in 1996, that she saw a real significant weight gain.
 
“Most people get the freshman 15, but I got the freshman 50,” Andrea recalled. “By December 1996 I was well over 200 pounds.”
 
While it would be 15 years before Andrea would start on her transformative journey, culminating in eight-episodes aired on Rogers TV, her path to an improved lifestyle started in 2011 with an eye opening experience.
 
“I was going to my nephew’s wedding and I got on my sister’s scale and saw that I was 299.6 pounds. I thought ‘oh my goodness’. I was pretty dangerously close to hitting the 300 pound mark. It was just .4 of a pound,” Andrea recalled. “It was kind of an eye opener for me. At the wedding I was uncomfortable, I had anxiety and I felt really gross. I think it was because of the weight and how it had affected me mentally.”
 
On the heels of that realization, Andrea ran into a person she hadn’t seen since high school the very next day who had lost 100 pounds.
 
“I had seen people like Oprah who lost 100 pounds in the past, but I figured anybody can do it if you have a personal trainer and a personal chef. But this guy was an average person like me and I thought if he can do it, I can do it. I think it was that little spark of belief that was the game changer for me.”
 
Andrea was teaching the Office Management course in the Office Administration-Executive program at CNA at the time, and when she came back from winter break of 2011, it was with a new attitude.
 
“A lot of that course talked about positive thinking and positive visualization. I realized I had been teaching the course, but I wasn’t living what I was teaching about setting goals.”
 
She started a biggest loser competition in her class and by the time June rolled around, she had lost 70 pounds.
 
“I believed it, and then I just worked until I achieved it. Once I believed I could do it I just didn’t let any excuse stop me. My mantra was one good choice at a time. I wasn’t going to worry about the 1,000 steps I have to take to run this 10K, I’m going to worry about the one I’m doing right now; or worry about all of the meals I ate yesterday or what I have to eat tomorrow. I’m just going to worry about this one second and making this one good choice.”
 
She also started following Canada’s Food Guide, tracking everything she ate while increasing her level of physical activity.
 
“I didn’t join a gym. I started doing fitness at home because I’m pragmatic and wanted to do it as inexpensively as possible, so I got all of these free tools like online tracking devices for free and places to get workout videos for free online,” Andrea said. “I did a lot of research for healthy eating and clean eating and what you should avoid and then I started my own Facebook page which really helped me to be more accountable. As I was learning, I was posting on Facebook. I am a firm believer that what you learn, you need to share, which I guess is why I ended up being a teacher.”
 
Once Andrea reached a certain level of success with her weight loss, pretty well everywhere she went people asked her how she did it.
 
“I would spend a lot of time explaining the process to people.  It started with believing I could do it and changing my attitude, then how to eat differently. I would eat like a sumo wrestler where I wouldn’t eat all day long and then have one great big meal at supper, probably enough for three men, so I changed how I ate,” she said.
 
“In the process of explaining this to people all the time, I realized a lot of people need something. Most people struggle with some type of body image whether they are five pounds overweight or 200 pounds overweight. Most people want to achieve some sort of healthier balance in their lives whether it’s a healthier lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise or if it’s positive thinking. I realized people were hungry for that just like I was.”
 
After realizing there are a lot of people who aren’t on Facebook who might be interested in the information, she pitched the show to Rogers TV. They responded immediately and gave it the go-ahead.
 
Transform U was born. It`s a show dedicated to discussing positive thinking, healthy diet and physical activity. Hosted and produced by Andrea, it outlines her journey of successfully transforming herself from a self-described 300-pound, smoking, miserable couch potato to a healthy, active, fit person who looks fear in the face and tackles every challenge head-on. The first episode premieres on Monday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m. on Rogers TV Channel 9, and will discuss in-home fitness and where individuals can start.
 
“I actually have a bad case of butterflies,” she said of the upcoming premiere. “I had fun doing it and I hope people will take from it the spirit that’s it’s meant to be, that this is what I did and this is what you can do if you want. There is hope for any person who wants to change. Any goal you set for yourself is attainable. If you first believe you can do it, set a plan for it and then don’t let anything stop you until you get there. This can transfer to many things in your life, not just weight loss.”
 
For more information about Andrea’s journey, visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AndreasTransformation and be sure to tune in to the first episode on Monday evening.
 
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Media Contact:
 
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca