Jay Leno Taken to Task for Disrepecting Weight Loss Success Story

She's lost 80 pounds through determination, positive attitude, changing her mindset and hard work. But that didn't get her any respect from comedian Jay Leno.

Susan, of Loveland, Colorado (the town where I live) started at over 400 pounds and in less than 8 months has dropped 80 pounds through weight training and exercise routine at a local gym. Instead of admiring her discipline and dedication, Leno in a recent "Headlines" section of the Tonight Show, commented that it looked like all she had done was change her shirt.

It is hard enough to decide to change your life--and being overweight is an emotionally charged issue. We've been made fun of, ridiculed, disregarded more times than we can count...but for most of us it is not on national television!

I've lost over 100 pounds through my own efforts...a different path from Susan's, but one that is working for me. And I do know that when I lost my first 50 pounds it was hard for other people to see the difference. When you start off as obese as I was, all most people see is a big person. And at 250 pounds I was still a big person. People who know you well, see the difference. Professionals in fitness see the difference. But most people just don't. So given that personal experience I'm going to cut Jay a little slack...and guess that he really couldn't see the difference. But does that mean he should make fun of her? Absolutely not.

To her credit, Susan is determined to use this as a positive--a "kick in the back seat" to keep her going. Rather than feeling humiliated and deciding to just hide under the covers, Susan is an awesome role model for how important our attitude about any situation is. It is our mindset that determines our success or failure--not what someone else says or does not say about our progress.