Three New Jersey woman grace the cover of the April "O, The Oprah Magazine," bravely talking about their weight-loss challenges to the publication's 2.4 million readers
How would you like to have 2.4 million people looking over your shoulder when you step on the bathroom scale every morning?
That's what three North Jersey women have signed up for - not that they knew it at the time.
All three agreed to let a magazine chronicle their attempts to lose weight. What some of them did not know was the magazine was "O The Oprah Magazine," and they would be the cover story.
With Oprah Winfrey herself standing at their side. It's the first time the superstar has shared a cover with her readers.
Jen Pastiglione-Brody, of Ramsey, was at her very first Weight Watchers meeting - with her husband - when the leader mentioned a magazine was interested in talking with women who were just starting their bid to lose weight.
"My husband bumped me and said, 'Hey, you should do this,'" said Pastiglione-Brody, 35. The couple had just started a six-month break from several rounds of emotionally grueling in-vitro fertilization attempts, during which she'd gained a lot of weight. Their doctor had indicated weight loss might help in their quest to become parents.
"My husband said, '"Put your story out there. There's a million people out there going through what we're going through. They're struggling too, and maybe we'll hear from people,'" she recalled.
Not all of the women she met at the two-day photo shoot were Weight Watchers clients - which surprised her, since she knew Winfrey had recently become a major investor in the company.
The women were given professional hair and make-up preparation as well as color-coordinated outfits for the shoot, Jawbone fitness trackers, and a 10-month gym membership.
A magazine cover shoot was nothing new for South Orange resident Michelle Trotter, who has been a professional model for years with the Wilhelmina agency. She heard about it from a colleague from her modeling days, who said, 'I'm sure you don't have any weight issues,'" Trotter said. "She was so wrong."
Carolyn ("Cookie") Minick-Mason, of South Orange, is among the women shown on the cover of April's "O" magazine. Trotter had long been a size 8 - thin for her 5-foot-11 frame. But she had a baby last fall at the age of 44, and that, combined with the passage of time, meant she'd gained several dress sizes. (In the world of modeling, any size larger than an 8 is considered "plus.")
"I thought, 'Well, if I do this, I have to get this weight off," she said. "It's not easy, being 45 and trying to get the weight off."
Before the scheduled shoot, she convinced her friend, Carolyn "Cookie" Minick-Mason, also of South Orange, to participate as well.
For Minick-Mason, an employment attorney who is now home full-time with her children, the challenge was to find time for healthy lifestyle habits when she had a sick parent in South Carolina, two children, including one with a chronic health condition, and a love for charitable activities to which she has trouble saying "No."
"I joke that I need a "Committee of No" to help me tell people I can't do things," she said. "That's hard for me. If you ask me if I want to go to the gym or tackle this phone call about a new tech initiative, I'll take the phone call."
She's gradually realizing that every time she says "yes" to a charitable organization, the inevitable result is she's saying "no" to something else: Time at the gym, or time to get a decent night's sleep.
The women selected by the magazine attended a two-day photo shoot, and on the second day, Winfrey joined them in a surprise appearance.
"I started crying like a baby," said Trotter. "I love her. I've followed her for years. I like her spirit. She uplifts women. She tries to make people lighter in their spirit."
Minick-Mason said Winfrey sensed the two of them were kindred spirits. When she told the television star about a failed diet that saw her starve herself only to gain all the weight back, she said Winfrey remarked, "Cookie, we like to eat, right? So we don't need to be on a plan where we can't eat."
"I felt like I was not alone on this journey, that I had someone who understood my struggle," Minick-Mason said. "I know from her battles with weight that I mirror her. I am Oprah."
Less enjoyable were the individual photo shoots of each woman dressed in a black leotard and standing against a gray background - no scarf or jewelry or killer stilettos to draw the eye away from one's "problem areas."
And underneath the photograph, the stark numbers of height and weight.
"It was horrible! I would never put that on, even in my home!," said Minick-Mason. "But people told me, 'You look beautiful anyway, and we're so proud of you.' That, I didn't expect."
"You are literally putting it all out there," said Pastiglione-Brody. "I'm in a leotard. My weight's out there. But everyone's being so great about it." Colleagues at Nyack Medical Center, where she's a nurse practitioner who manages its Trauma Unit, have been cheering her on, as have friends and family.
All three women report the response has been nothing but positive so far. Pastiglione-Brody is posting updates on her weight loss progress on her Instagram page, at ww_jensjourney.
Minick-Mason got so many new Friend requests on her Facebook page from friends of friends that she's decided to start a blog so they can all support each other. She has been touched by the number of women who identify with her weight struggle.
She cites one in particular, a Facebook message that stated, "I've been looking at you and I've been sitting here crying, realizing it was me."
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.