North Mankato woman named Beachbody finalist after 200 lbs transformation

A North Mankato woman’s astounding weight-loss transformation has earned her a spot as a finalist in a national fitness challenge.

Julia Fowler has already won a $15,000 prize for being named one of Beachbody’s annual contest finalists.  Now the 48-year-old graphic designer has a shot at the $100,000 grand prize.

Fowler, who weighed in at 404 lbs four years ago, is now down to 194 pounds, which she says has been life-changing.

After a couple of failed attempts at weight loss, Fowler was nearly resigned to her fate in life: she would be 400 pounds forever, with no mobility or interests, just sitting on the sidelines of life.

But she didn’t want to be “just living,” she said.  “I wanted to live well, I wanted to enjoy my life.”

So Fowler changed her approach.  She spent a couple of weeks just focusing on food and her mindset.  She kept a journal.  The first entry was April 1, 2017. She tried to avoid doing any specific methodology or systems, but instead concentrated on taking small steps forward.   She lost nearly 30 pounds her first month.

At that point, one of Fowler’s friends convinced her to join an accountability group, which was how she found Beachbody.  She’s lost 210 lbs total, 191 of those pounds using Beachbody.

Fowler says she’s grateful for her new life and appreciative of the person who got her there.  “The ‘me’ of the past somehow is the one who had the determination, who had the will, who had the something, in her, that rose to the occasion and did the work,” she said.

The Beachbody contest winner will be announced July 15 at an annual company summit.