Jennifer Brown, 42, vividly recalls being an overweight kid who couldn’t meet the physical fitness test of running a 15-minute mile in grade school.
“I remember being the kid that would walk with the PE teacher because I just consistently said, ‘I can’t. There’s no way. I know I can’t run a mile in 15 minutes like you’re supposed to. And so, I’m not even going to try,’” she told TODAY.
That attitude followed Brown, who lives in Iowa, into adulthood, where a cycle of binge drinking and unhealthy eating habits coupled with a sedentary lifestyle saw her steadily gain weight until, at 37, she was 348 pounds.
As a mother of two children, Brown recognized the need to change and the urge to try.
“I realized I needed to really take an active interest (in my health),” Brown says. “I got to a point where I’m like, ‘OK, I’m at my heaviest. I’ve got to do something different.”
Her health journey truly began with something of a naturalist’s epiphany while she was walking the family dog in a local park. She recalls thinking, “There’s fresh air. And it’s sunny. And it feels good. And I’m outdoors. It was such a pure feeling.”
A feeling Brown would continue to seek through a new lifestyle; in addition to walking, she changed her diet, incorporated more water and swore off the booze.
In three years, she lost an astounding 100 pounds. However, the achievement was followed by a discouraging plateau.
Fighting to further her weight loss, Brown was resistant to help, “I’m telling myself this whole time, ‘I can do this obviously. I’ve put forth the work and done this.’ But I went through eight months of time, and nothing was happening,”
Brown, together with her doctor, decided to supplement her diet and exercise regimen with the weight loss medication Mounjaro. Within the year, she lost an additional 90 pounds.
Inspired by what she gained through her losses, Brown set a new goal that would undoubtedly shock her adolescent self. “I started the mile-a-day challenge for myself. I was like, ‘OK, for 30 days, I’m just going run one mile, no matter how long it takes.”
Despite the initial mile, which she admits made her feel “like I wanted to die,” Brown stuck with the stride, and by the end of the first month, she held the proud pace of a 14-minute mile.
“I was doing that at age 40 when I couldn’t do that at age 8 or 9 or 10. So, it was like, ‘OK, this is awesome.’”
Her one-month commitment has turned into a steadfast habit. Forced indoors by Iowa winters, Brown now runs on a Peloton where she’s on a 110-week with the machine’s live class workouts. Brown will celebrate her 43rd birthday by running a marathon, and next summer, she’ll participate in Relay Iowa, a 339-mile relay race across the Hawkeye state.
Brown has also taken to documenting her dedication, regularly posting to TikTok as @thisiowamom, “As time went on, obviously my body changed, and I progressed into getting faster, better, stronger, and I’ve just continued to share that.”
Brown’s remarkable videos have earned her celebrity fans, including Ludacris, Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Garner, and Gretchen Rossi, while inspiring others to begin their own fitness journeys.
“I’m still sharing for myself, but it’s gotten to a place where I just feel compelled to keep pushing into it. Because it’s become a passion to help others by sharing my content.”
