Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)

[Libby]

Why doesn't it surprise me that Robyn is the only one seen around town with Kody. Poor Cristine keeps hanging in there trying to be a good polygamist wife. She keeps thinking that in the end Kody will follow the rules and be a good polygamist husband. She just can't accept that the only one that he cares about, at this point, is Robyn. She wants her brainwashing that she was taught to be true. Kody left the rules behind as soon as he met Robyn. I'm kind of sad for Christine.

[ginger90]

[xwordfanatik]

I'm sad for her, too.  If her mom Annie would write a tell-all, like her aunt did, I'd read it.

Supposedly Doofus only married Christine because she was considered "plyg royalty," being closely related to the Allred family, IIRC.  That, if true, is sad too.  To take a love-crazy Christine as a "wife" for that reason, or just because he thought she'd be a peacemaker between Meri and Janelle, hell, any reason besides he was in love with her, too?  Damn, that's just cruel.  

I'm intrigued and repulsed at the same time, just like I am with other "religions" that I deem as cults.  Fundies, Scientologists, etc.  YMMV.

ETA:  Did Janelle return to Doofus, only because by the time she left for a while, because they had already had kids, and he wanted them (not necessarily Janelle) back?  If their book stated the reason, I've forgotten.

Edited August 22, 2018 by xwordfanatik
didn't remember it's Janelle's thread, sorry

[Pickleinthemiddle]

1 hour ago, xwordfanatik said:

Did Janelle return to Doofus, only because by the time she left for a while, because they had already had kids,

I was under the impression she didn't really leave the family, just moved out of the house because of the situation with Meri.

[andromeda331]

14 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I was under the impression she didn't really leave the family, just moved out of the house because of the situation with Meri.

So do I. Didn't she have her youngest kid with Kody after she left?  

[TurtlePower]

23 hours ago, Roslyn said:

Janelle is suffering from lack of purpose. Back in Utah she worked and was a key player in making ends meet.  She was very lucky to never worry about her kids because they were well cared for by home mom Christine, surrounded by siblings.  Janelle didn't have to be bothered with a husband but for every couple of days and her and Kody were more buddies and financial partners of their "family organization"

The study to get her real estate license was good for her, but she doesn't have the personality or drive to actually run her own agency.  She is a "back of the house" kind of person.  Can follow orders and make things work as long as she doesn't have to deal with people face to face.  She has always talked about liking the big family aspect, but she only likes to be the fly on the wall and observe vs. being up front and entertaining like show boat husband Kody and show off Christine.

I have always thought that the "Strive" thing was all Kody's idea.  I can see him pushing her because of higher ratings a few years ago and positive "fan" feedback when she was actually going to the gym and working with (I don't remember his name) the guy that seemed to actually help her because she had obvious results.  I can see Kody coming up with her "supporting others going through the same thing".  But...she is obviously not qualified in any way.  And she doesn't have the personality to be motivating...her posts come off as whinging and as someone else nailed it....melancholy.  Eeyore is a very good nick name. She seems to wallow in her constant daily struggle to just....live. 

She bounces around with her posts as though she is just posting her own version of something she read online the day before.  Today X website is talking about chia.  Bam....she's now eating chia.  Tomorrow she reads about Kale...bam...kale. etc etc. Nothing really good today, but while packing she stumbles upon that insane assortment of tea boxes and that is the post of the day.  WHO buys tea (and THAT much tea) and they don't drink tea!!??

Agree with this. She was doing fine when she was on her own, even doing well enough with her real estate to buy her own home. It's as if living with this family has sucked away any confidence, drive and common sense she once had. 

A lack of purpose can be soul crushing. However, she made and continues to make the choices that are causing her to remain Chicken Little. Janelle is someone who seems to do fine when she's in charge of her life direction--the fewer variables and influences (wives, Kody), the better off she seems to be. It is fun watching her get pissy with Meri--Janelle needs more moments like that where she makes a stand. 

I kinda hope she drops the ball one day and sets off on her own again. 

[Sandy W]

13 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

Agree with this. She was doing fine when she was on her own, even doing well enough with her real estate to buy her own home. It's as if living with this family has sucked away any confidence, drive and common sense she once had. 

A lack of purpose can be soul crushing. However, she made and continues to make the choices that are causing her to remain Chicken Little. Janelle is someone who seems to do fine when she's in charge of her life direction--the fewer variables and influences (wives, Kody), the better off she seems to be. It is fun watching her get pissy with Meri--Janelle needs more moments like that where she makes a stand. 

I kinda hope she drops the ball one day and sets off on her own again. 

I think when Janelle left Kody, she still had her government job, that was before she had her real estate license.

It seems to me that Janelle has a martyr complex and the reason she had 6 kids was not motivated by a strong maternal desire but more to please Kody and his desire to populate his eternal planet. 

[Pickleinthemiddle]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

So do I. Didn't she have her youngest kid with Kody after she left?  

I think it was Gabriel who was born about that time.  She also stated that she had pp depression.

[xwordfanatik]

17 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I was under the impression she didn't really leave the family, just moved out of the house because of the situation with Meri.

Ah, OK.  That makes sense.  I do remember that Meri got pissy about the way Janelle put cups away.  Meri is an extreme anal neat freak, and Janelle is just the opposite.

I also think that Janelle's motivation to have kids probably came from her desire to help populate Doofus' planet.  And she got pregnant before Meri, which she may have secretly been extra happy about.  I'm sure Meri was very pissed about that, plus the fact that Janelle divorced Meri's brother, and then latched on to Doofus, thereby adding insult to injury.

17 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I was under the impression she didn't really leave the family, just moved out of the house because of the situation with Meri.

Ah, OK.  That makes sense.  I do remember that Meri got pissy about the way Janelle put cups away.  Meri is an extreme anal neat freak, and Janelle is just the opposite.

I also think that Janelle's motivation to have kids probably came from her desire to help populate Doofus' planet.  And she got pregnant before Meri, which she may have secretly been extra happy about.  I'm sure Meri was very pissed about that, plus the fact that Janelle divorced Meri's brother, and then latched on to Doofus, thereby adding insult to injury.

Edited August 22, 2018 by xwordfanatik
sorry for the double post; page wouldn't load

[Absolom]

Janelle moved away (mainly to escape Meri) before the government job.  While on her own she went to college and got the education to get the government job.  She seemed so much better off then and more independent than how she is coming across the last two years or so.

[ginger90]

How long was she living away from the family?

Edited August 22, 2018 by ginger90

[suomi]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

How long was she living away from the family?

Per Janelle's chapter in their book, it was 3+ years. After Gabe was born she and her kids moved in with her mom "for a few months" and then she found (bought?) a house. After being in that house for 2 years Kody told her he was moving the family to Utah and wanted her to join them. She held out against doing that for "almost another year." 

[ginger90]

4 minutes ago, suomi said:

Per Janelle's chapter in their book, it was 3+ years. After Gabe was born she and her kids moved in with her mom "for a few months" and then she found (bought?) a house. After being in that house for 2 years Kody told her he was moving the family to Utah and wanted her to join them. She held out against doing that for "almost another year." 

Thanks!

[Natalie68]

On 8/21/2018 at 12:02 PM, toodles said:

I had my post ready and the site went down.??

I don't think the Browns were the ones who created strive.  I think someone brought them the idea.  Initially, there were five coaches and they are long gone.  It was supposed to be something (?) for people who didn't know where to start.  What that something is was never made clear   it was going to be a world phenomenon!!  Now it's just Janelle, the "health coach" doing sad little meandering posts about whatever catches her eye.

ETA.  Someone put upfront money to hire the coaches, create the marketing materials and rent the space for the one and only Strive event.  The venue was not cheap and they could not even give tickets away.  At the risk of boring everyone, there were about 25 people there and I was was one of them.  The room was set up to hold about 250.  Even at the rally, it was not made clear what Strive was.  

Ok.  Now I'm done ✔.

What is funny is Kody worked in marketing.  Either he didn't get off his ass to help get butts in the seats or his marketing skills are less than.  This says a lot that not only are you on tv but you have a marketing person in your family to help and you STILL cannot get more than 10% of the seats filled.

On 8/21/2018 at 3:57 PM, AZChristian said:

Galloway . . . let's do a field trip.  I'm a little farther south than you, but I'll pick you up.  We can go to Flag and recon the area.  LOL.

ROVING REPORTERS IN OUR MIDST!!!!

[ginger90]

[New2this]

Looks like Albertson’s tags which means she’s not in Flag. No Albertson’s here. 

[Sandy W]

53 minutes ago, New2this said:

Looks like Albertson’s tags which means she’s not in Flag. No Albertson’s here. 

"I found a lot of tea in my cupboards during the move"...This is quoted from her Aug. 20th Facebook.

I had noticed in her photo with the tea blurb that the countertop and cupboard facing matched her LV home.  Now this.

I guess I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she meant during her packing for the move.  Doesn't look like she plans to move anytime soon though if she took the time to jigsaw fit all those tea boxes in a designated drawer. 

I wonder where Gabe and Savanah are enrolled in school and if she is trying to sell off the LV houses one at a time before she makes the move to Flagstaff.  At the rate she is going, she could be in LV for another year.

[xwordfanatik]

2 hours ago, New2this said:

Looks like Albertson’s tags which means she’s not in Flag. No Albertson’s here. 

Albertson's here was bought out by Safeway, is there Safeway in Flag?

Sandy may be right about Janelle staying in LV until she or someone sells all the houses.  I doubt she'll miss her sister wives very much, at least, not Meri.

[ginger90]

8 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Albertson's here was bought out by Safeway, is there Safeway in Flag?

Sandy may be right about Janelle staying in LV until she or someone sells all the houses.  I doubt she'll miss her sister wives very much, at least, not Meri.

Looked it up. There are Safeways in Flagstaff.

[Sandy W]

4 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Albertson's here was bought out by Safeway, is there Safeway in Flag?

Sandy may be right about Janelle staying in LV until she or someone sells all the houses.  I doubt she'll miss her sister wives very much, at least, not Meri.

Using the most conservative of numbers, suppose each of the houses sell at  $600,000 X 5% commission X 4 houses, there is $120,000 in commissions at stake here.  

Janelle's track record as a salesperson hasn't been stellar, so she is probably still at a 50/50 split with her broker, if she listed and sold all 4 houses she would have $60,000 earned commissions to look forward to.  Even if she wasn't the selling agent, she would pull in $30,000. just for being the listing agent.  Aside from whatever they earn at TLC, that is probably more than Kody, Robyn, Christine and herself have earned annually for several years.  Might be worth spending some alone time at the cul-de-sac, plus the added bonus of no Meri.

[New2this]

Ack sorry about the Albertsons thing. I googled the tag and it was the first store to pop up running the promotion. Didn’t realize it was the same as Safeway of which there are several. The Albertsons here was bought by Haggen and then closed shortly after. 

Back to lurking. 

[Kohola3]

9 hours ago, Sandy W said:

Janelle's track record as a salesperson hasn't been stellar,

Has she sold anything? Ever? 

I can't imagine selling your own home unless you were a really polished sales person.  It would be hard to separate facts from fond memories of family times when presenting the place.  And we all know she's not that good an actor - I'm not sure I'd buy a place from Eeyore.

[ginger90]

I don’t know how accurate Zillow is. This appears at the bottom of the listing for Christine’s house.

[Kohola3]

I'd be shocked if she'd ever sold anything. I would imagine that would be big news on her daily boring blather site.

[DragonFaerie]

I had a friend that use to work for a real estate office.  She did the paperwork and filing and scheduling and such.  Often times one of the realtors would pay her to come to the open house.  The realtor would show up early, bring coffee, cookies, doughnuts, etc., and have the flyers and such and then would often head to another open house.  My friend would be at the first home doing the greeting, passing out flyers and business cards and such but she wasn't the agent selling it.  I'm wondering if that's what Janelle is doing - being the person, since she lives next door, to handle the open houses, while another, more experienced realtor is handling the sale.  Although since she didn't bother with drinks or snacks or staging or flyers and couldn't be bothered to have a conversation, who knows?

[Sandy W]

14 minutes ago, DragonFaerie said:

I had a friend that use to work for a real estate office.  She did the paperwork and filing and scheduling and such.  Often times one of the realtors would pay her to come to the open house.  The realtor would show up early, bring coffee, cookies, doughnuts, etc., and have the flyers and such and then would often head to another open house.  My friend would be at the first home doing the greeting, passing out flyers and business cards and such but she wasn't the agent selling it.  I'm wondering if that's what Janelle is doing - being the person, since she lives next door, to handle the open houses, while another, more experienced realtor is handling the sale.  Although since she didn't bother with drinks or snacks or staging or flyers and couldn't be bothered to have a conversation, who knows?

Some States may allow an unlicensed person to sit on open houses and act as a hostess/host, although Janelle wasn't being a very hospitable host.

I don't see her letting a more experienced realtor step in to seal the deal.  To maintain her license, she has had to lay out fees, in LV it's $540. per year for MLS fees and "key maintenance" plus $565. per year for national, state and local fees.  Over the 4 years or so that she has held a license, she has incurred around $5000. just in fees alone.  On top of this, there was the cost of her real estate course and exam fees.  I think that she had 1 or 2 sales in the first year she was licensed, but according to the Zillow site, she hasn't done anything lately.  

She has put all of her energy into Striving to sit at home and offer explanations for her lack of motivation to do something...anything.

[ginger90]

[toodles]

Blech

[Nysha]

I don't get the whole smoothie thing. I want to chew my meals, drinking them doesn't make me feel full. If this were a chopped basket, I would have made a mixed greens fruit salad with a flax milk/peanut butter dressing. And then tossed it in favor of a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza and an ice cold beer. 

[xwordfanatik]

29 minutes ago, Nysha said:

I don't get the whole smoothie thing. I want to chew my meals, drinking them doesn't make me feel full. If this were a chopped basket, I would have made a mixed greens fruit salad with a flax milk/peanut butter dressing. And then tossed it in favor of a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza and an ice cold beer. 

Count me as one that doesn't like to drink my meals, and I don't want or own a juicer.  I agree, chewing is much more satisfying.  

I'm old enough to remember Metrecal.  Liquid diets didn't work then, and I can't see how a sustainable weight loss could be achieved with them, even now.

[Kohola3]

Just now, xwordfanatik said:

 I agree, chewing is much more satisfying.  

Gulp, gulp, meal over.

There is no sense of satisfaction when your "meal" lasts 20 seconds.  There are lots of studies that show chewing helps you take in less calories.

[AZChristian]

On the occasions when I do have a Slim-Fast, I put it in a cup in the freezer for at least an hour, so it's more like the consistency of ice milk.  It helps if it takes more than 30 seconds to chug something down.

[ginger90]

There were some questions about this, regarding Weight Watchers. A poster responded:

 

 

 

What the heck is this, coach?

[Galloway Cave]

"I'm so confused! I don't know why I eat something that is good for you, simple to make, full of fiber and good for my upset tummy, and is something I like! I'd rather make a complicated, untested-with-unknown- food-combinations liquid drink that will leave me feeling hungry in 30 minutes! Buy a STRIVE membership please! and don't forget to work out, like I do!"

[AZChristian]

30 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

"I'm so confused! I don't know why I eat something that is good for you, simple to make, full of fiber and good for my upset tummy, and is something I like! I'd rather make a complicated, untested-with-unknown- food-combinations liquid drink that will leave me feeling hungry in 30 minutes! Buy a STRIVE membership please! and don't forget to work out, like I don't!"

Fixed it for ya.

[Galloway Cave]

Yeah, I was being snarky there. 

[ginger90]

2 pictures 

 

 

[absolutelyido]

Love Michelle's t-shirt.

[ghoulina]

15 hours ago, absolutelyido said:

Love Michelle's t-shirt.

I was just going to say that! She's definitely a keeper!

[SunnyBeBe]

I think that Janelle has some good qualities and I have been fond of her over the years, but, have noticed how Janelle has always seemed to be on a slow journey with her diets.  She seems to stress how she's working into things, trying new things, hoping this pans out, surprising herself with healthy options, incorporating various foods into her diet, striving for small goals in weight loss, etc.  At some point, I wonder if she doesn't just get tired of it all.  It just seems  so pointless, to do this year after year.   After so many years, and no real sustained weight loss ( I realize she lost some weight once that was noticeable), I would think that she would get real and just stop the madness.  Why not find a real bariatric doctor and get the options. They do more than handle surgeries.  One option is to really change what you eat right from the start. Get the list of foods, buy them, prepare them, eat them, log what you eat and adopt it as permanent. You really don't have to work yourself up to changing your food intake.  And, if she can't do it, consider surgery.  I'm not encouraging that, but, at some point, is it healthy to stay obese? Is that what is making her miserable? I just get the feeling that she really enjoys a lot of treats and foods that aren't that nutritious and she's not really interested in changing that, only she has to pretend to want to or else people say negative things about her.  IDK, maybe she really is that naive.   

[Sandy W]

If Janelle is being truthful about her diet and exercise program and you subscribe to the "calories in - calories out" theory, there must be something more at play, as she hasn't changed her weight for any length of time over the entire time they have been on tv.

Instead of lining the pockets of Nancy, she may be better advised to spend her time and money with a physician capable of diagnosing any physical reasons for her lack of progress.  If she has no physical issues that cause her weight to remain static, she should then consult a real psychiatrist to determine why she is lying about her diet and exercise.

[ginger90]

[Pickleinthemiddle]

10 hours ago, Sandy W said:

If Janelle is being truthful about her diet and exercise program and you subscribe to the "calories in - calories out" theory, there must be something more at play, as she hasn't changed her weight for any length of time over the entire time they have been on tv.

Instead of lining the pockets of Nancy, she may be better advised to spend her time and money with a physician capable of diagnosing any physical reasons for her lack of progress.  If she has no physical issues that cause her weight to remain static, she should then consult a real psychiatrist to determine why she is lying about her diet and exercise.

Probably a lot of back sliding on eating and exercise.  I know I do it myself.  Sort of a two steps forward and three steps back situation.  

[Pickleinthemiddle]

10 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I think that Janelle has some good qualities and I have been fond of her over the years, but, have noticed how Janelle has always seemed to be on a slow journey with her diets.  She seems to stress how she's working into things, trying new things, hoping this pans out, surprising herself with healthy options, incorporating various foods into her diet, striving for small goals in weight loss, etc.  At some point, I wonder if she doesn't just get tired of it all.  It just seems  so pointless, to do this year after year.   After so many years, and no real sustained weight loss ( I realize she lost some weight once that was noticeable), I would think that she would get real and just stop the madness.  Why not find a real bariatric doctor and get the options. They do more than handle surgeries.  One option is to really change what you eat right from the start. Get the list of foods, buy them, prepare them, eat them, log what you eat and adopt it as permanent. You really don't have to work yourself up to changing your food intake.  And, if she can't do it, consider surgery.  I'm not encouraging that, but, at some point, is it healthy to stay obese? Is that what is making her miserable? I just get the feeling that she really enjoys a lot of treats and foods that aren't that nutritious and she's not really interested in changing that, only she has to pretend to want to or else people say negative things about her.  IDK, maybe she really is that naive.   

My doctor told me if you are trying to lose weight, you have to limit your carbs to one serving per meal,  Like oatmeal for breakfast, brown rice or quinoa or another healthy grain for lunch and maybe a sweet potato  for supper.  Along with a lean protein 3-4 ounce range.  The rest of your plate should be non starchy vegetables.  He also said to only eat low sugar fruits once per day.  He said just minimal on the fat and it should be a healthy fat.  He said no you can't have avocado every day.  And to walk at least 10,000-12,000 steps a day or about 5 miles.  Yes you are going to be hungry.  Drink water.  He said no to the smoothies as it spikes you insulin right away.  And does nothing to make you feel full.

[TurtlePower]

On 8/27/2018 at 8:15 PM, Pickleinthemiddle said:

My doctor told me if you are trying to lose weight, you have to limit your carbs to one serving per meal,  Like oatmeal for breakfast, brown rice or quinoa or another healthy grain for lunch and maybe a sweet potato  for supper.  Along with a lean protein 3-4 ounce range.  The rest of your plate should be non starchy vegetables.  He also said to only eat low sugar fruits once per day.  He said just minimal on the fat and it should be a healthy fat.  He said no you can't have avocado every day.  And to walk at least 10,000-12,000 steps a day or about 5 miles.  Yes you are going to be hungry.  Drink water.  He said no to the smoothies as it spikes you insulin right away.  And does nothing to make you feel full.

I don't think people really "get" this part. It takes some getting getting used to, but it's really not that bad. There's a difference between not having had food for 2 days (true hunger pains) and "gee, I could eat".

[Absolom]

That sounds very Dukan Diet stage 2 or maintenance plan.  It works for a lot of people.   Janelle needs to figure out that following fads is not working for her and get some real advice and stay with it.  She probably needs a trainer to check in with weekly to keep her on track if she's serious.  Which I grant she's giving every sign of not being serious.

[MonicaM]

25 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

I don't think people really "get" this part. It takes some getting getting used to, but it's really not that bad. There's a difference between not having had food for 2 days (true hunger pains) and "gee, I could eat".

I'm not overweight, but have had nutritional counseling due to type two diabetes, which doesn't run, it gallops in our family.  One of the first issues we dealt with concerned the difference between craving and hunger.  A nutrition plan that leaves you hungry won't work over the long haul.  However, a plan that helps you overcome those cravings can set you up for a healthier life.  A great, qualified professional has helped me immensely in adapting my diet with minimal "suffering".  (As a boost, Mr. M has lost over ten pounds since we've made some changes in our habits.)

If Janelle would meet with a QUALIFIED professional, they could work together to come up with a plan that she could adapt to fairly easily.  However, when I say qualified, I mean a real, actual professional who has higher education in nutrition - not someone selling green goop or pushing a recipe book for low carbs or whatever.  

[Natalie68]

2 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

I don't think people really "get" this part. It takes some getting getting used to, but it's really not that bad. There's a difference between not having had food for 2 days (true hunger pains) and "gee, I could eat".

I have to say that I have been WWing since May and I have never been hungry.  One does need to get used to eating until you are satisfied without getting full.  If you are full you have eaten too much.  What works for ME is I eat 3 meals plus 3 snack times per day.  I was also taught that if you are feeling hungry you may just be dehydrated and to try water 1st.  If after your meal you feel like you could eat more, wait 20 minutes.  If you are still hungry you need to eat a bit more.  I am ALMOST at my goal.  It could be 1 more pound to 6, not quite sure where I want to stop yet.  So down 29lbs and 3 pant sizes.  I am not sure this plan will work for everyone but it easy for me.  There are no gimmicky foods either (JANELLE!).  

[ginger90]

Fast food.......

[xwordfanatik]

Dear Janelle:  you need a proofreader.