Created: 2/4/2008 9:46:14 AM 
By Patricia Crosby First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Life will never be the same for Julie Hadden of Jacksonville, and she couldn't be happier. Julie came in second on NBC's reality show "The Biggest Loser" last season. She lost 45 percent of her body weight.
"The visual was so dramatic. She was busting through an old image of herself. And, I always thought she was beautiful, but man she was just incredible," says Julie's husband Mike.
"When I look back on who I was, I was really just a shell of who I am," says Julie happily who goes on to say, "I'm no longer defined by the mirror."
With a team of experts, Julie worked very hard and went from 218 pounds to about 121. She was solely focused on getting in shape, without the distractions of home. So, when the show was over and it was time to go back to Jacksonville and her husband and seven year-old son Noah, it was time for the real reality check. "I kind of had a panic attack because I came home. I had changed, but nothing in my life had," says Julie.
So, Julie started making some changes. "She took a look at our refrigerator and pantry and said, this has got to go. This has got to go. And, this has got to go," explains Mike. Julie replaced the fattening snacks like chips with healthy ones like peanuts and rice cakes and fruit. And, she and her son Noah started exercising together. "I can outrun my son. People say that's so mean to say that, but hey, I earned it. And, he's going to have to now," laughs Julie.
But that's not all that changed in the Hadden household. "Her whole attitude was different. Her countenance was different. And her confidence level had begun to change," says Mike. She was dressing differently also. "She was wearing a pair of jeans, and probably in our entire nine years of marriage, I've never seen her wear a pair of jeans in that time," Mike explains.
More importantly, on the inside Julie had changed how she felt about herself and her life. "I felt imprisoned by the scale. And, I don't feel that way anymore," says Julie.
She's gone from being ashamed of who she is to being a role model for others. For instance, she was once afraid to go into her husband's office because she no longer looked like the pictures Mike had on his desk. The pictures were taken when she was thinner, when they were first married. "I hid from that place for five and a half years. I mean less than a year ago, I was afraid to walk into this building. I made him (Mike) walk to the curb to pick him up," says Julie.
Now, when Julie walks into the building, she's embraced by the co-workers as they share their own struggles with weight-loss and healthy eating habits. "You are the reason. Thank you Julie. You and that show," says Shirley Orberg. Shirley and co-worker Mavis Youngblood now walk together every day at lunch. "I think the one thing that the show made me more aware of was the health benefits of not being overweight," says Mavis.
For Julie, life has come full-circle. From hiding away, to now opening herself up to others as a role model. "It's nice to know that I'm relatable. That people can say, there's nothing spectacular about her. Hey, if she can do it, then I can too."
For more information on Julie's incredible story just go to her web site.
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