Jamila Pinto’s weight training

A year ago Jamila Pinto was depressed, sleep-deprived, insecure, heartbroken and underweight. At 24 years old she weighed just 97 pounds, the typical weight of a healthy 11-year-old child. When it got to a point where she felt too ashamed to look at herself in the mirror and accept her reflection, and she started declining invitations because she knew that her friends would point out that she lost weight, she decided that something had to change.

“I was at my skinniest — really broad shoulders, bony chest, slim face, fat nose, no hips, and a pin for a butt, and the list goes on,” she shared with All Woman.

“Nothing I wore fit me well; whenever I would try to dress up I would always have an issue with feeling confident about how I looked. And every time someone looked at me I would feel like they’re seeing that insecurity. Whenever I got a compliment, I wouldn’t believe it.”

Pinto, in reflection, believes she was going through a ‘quarter life crisis’. The effects of heartbreak, issues with her career, and feeling uncertain about the point of her existence made it difficult for her to eat.

“I was unable to have a proper meal — almost like my body rejected the food I tried to give it. You know how people stress eat? I was the opposite and so I lost a lot of weight,” she recalled.

She decided to do something about it.

“I started by finally managing to get myself together mentally — out of that depressive state — and do something about how I was feeling and looking. I remembered back in university I did gym for about three weeks and I managed to gain two pounds, so remembering that moment gave me the little push I needed,” she shared, adding that she was a bit nervous about going to the gym while being so slim.

“At first I was bothered by what I thought everyone would be thinking — ‘why this slim girl a come a gym?’ — contrary to others who are going to the gym to lose weight, but I got over it.”

Pinto fainted on her first day at JYM training as her fragile body could not withstand the exercises she was given. This made her reluctant to go back but she did because she had a clear goal in mind.

“My goal was to make it back to happiness and self-love and gain weight to be at 120-125 pounds. I had to eat more, meal prep more, which would mean spending more time in the kitchen. More food meant more money, too. I was always tired, my body always ached — sometimes it was even hard for me to sit because my glutes were sore,” she said of the initial stages.

But soon enough she started seeing results, and so did her family and friends.

“They were the first to notice how my legs and butt developed,” she beamed of her friends who she hails as ‘the Mackerel Squad’. “My mom was extremely worried about me going to the gym because she never understood that people go there to put on weight as well. She almost discouraged me from going, but when I started to show results, she was happy. She even buys me protein shakes and gym wear now! They’re happy for me.”

Just over a year since she decided to get on track, Pinto has still not hit her target weight. She has so far peaked at 116 pounds, nearly 20 pounds more than where she started, but she is pleased with her progress.

“I’ve found out that I’m an ectomorph — hard to gain weight and have a super high metabolism. I’ve tried bulking but my little body can manage so much food and no more,” she laughed. “So it will take a little more time for me to gain the pounds. I feel like giving up every week but I don’t stop because I have a goal and I won’t feel comfortable if I stop in the middle of it. I used to go to the gym because I hated my body, now I go because I love it and want to make it better.”

After initially trying to bulk up on junk food and realising that it was not cutting it for her, Pinto now eats a cleaner diet with a few guilty pleasures.

“For breakfast I may eat an egg (without yolk) sandwich with plantain, or porridge with wheat bread — pancakes sometimes,” she divulged. “For lunch and dinner I’ll have Irish potatoes with fish or chicken, and vegetables. I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in between and oats from time to time, late at night mostly. My shakes that I try to consume twice a day consist of vegan protein, almond milk, peanut butter, oats, and sometimes flax seeds and banana. Sometimes I include another fruit like papaya. I rarely eat rice, only if I eat out.

“One or two times I will eat jerk chicken and steak and eat some Burger King/Wendy’s nuggets or an Island Grill sandwich,” she snickered.

Though she has to travel a lot for work, she still tries to get in three gym days each week — three intense gym days.

“All my exercises are weight training. I squat with weights, walk with weights, lift weights — everything with weights,” she said. “My trainer, Kurt Stephens, believes in me and will make me do some really hard weights, for example, leg press of 320 pounds (that’s more than twice my weight). I squat sometimes with 180 on my shoulders. We focus mostly on my lower body because my upper body tones easily.”

While she is on the physical and spiritual journey of ‘healing the temple’, Pinto encourages us to be honest with ourselves, and to love ourselves enough to do what is best for us.

“Work on yourself because you love you. There’s a blessing that comes with appreciating what you have in the moment while working for what you want. And sometimes you may have a set goal in mind with your body but you don’t always meet it; that’s okay. Identify your weaknesses, be honest and about that, and find ways to turn them into strengths. If you can’t turn them into strengths, learn how to manage them and don’t allow them to disrupt your happiness and focus. Commit and be consistent and don’t compare yourself to others,” she advised.