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Barb’s Journey #1: How It All Began

Friends!  Meet Barb.  Barb is 48, and lives up here in the Pacific Northwest.  Barb recently discovered the Calorie Myth / Smarter Science of Slim podcasts, and she is now just under a month into her new *SANE lifestyle.  Please give her a very warm welcome!

Here’s a little bit of Barb’s story:

 

“I’ve probably been addicted to sugar and starch from the womb.  I grew up with drug addicts and alcoholics whose idea of preparing a balanced meal was giving me change to go get Twinkies and Hohos at the convenience store. By my mid-20’s I was able to maintain somewhat of an equilibrium by exercising like a mad woman and limiting my food intake.  After marriage and my first child though, I completely ballooned up.  By the time I had my second child I was beyond repair, so I pretty much ignored my blossoming figure and gave up.  I had tried every diet known to man, and was too large and exhausted to exercise like I did in my 20’s.

“A few years ago my husband suffered a stroke in his mid 40’s, and virtually overnight we lost a thriving business, our home, and pretty much everything else. I quickly finished school and became the sole source of income for our family of 4. While I love my job, I typically work 48 to 60 hours of graveyard shifts per week. Healthcare being what it is currently, I work for several entities and do not have insurance, sick or vacation leave.  LIke so many others in the US,  I literally cannot afford to be sick, or down for any length of time.   I was in pain, fatigued and generally desperate for change.  This was the impetus that drove me to start looking for a way to restore my health – my family depended on me.

“After finishing school and taking my boards as a sleep technologist I began seeing patients who were in the same shape as me, and some who were much worse.  Most of my patients are also insulin resistant and metabolically messed up like me, and dieting wasn’t helping them either. I figured there certainly had to be a physiological difference between a 400 lb person and a 120lb person when it came to metabolism and how they process food. 

“With that in mind, I started searching online and in books.  I realized I was metabolically resistant and started looking for answers.  One of the resources I found was Slim Is Simple – a non-profit started by Jonathan Bailor.  I started listening to the Smarter Science of Slim podcasts and changing the way I eat.  I am learning so much from Carrie, Jonathan, Jimmy Moore and some other science writers – I confess I am a bit of a science nerd!

“I started at 407 lbs and after day 27 am down 12 lbs and 2 inches.  The best part is – NO HUNGER!!

“Since beginning a SANE lifestyle I am seeing a return of stamina and energy, evening out of moods, less overall muscle fatigue and aches, and more restorative sleep.  Plus my scrubs are starting to fit looser!!  

“My goals are to regain my health and avoid comorbidities (I’m pretty healthy relatively – no diabetes, hypertension, etc ), and also to provide inspiration and information to my patients, most of who have pretty much lost hope.

“I have a long way to go, but this is so do-able – and it makes so much sense to me!  I didn’t gain fat because I ate too much, I ate too much because I was gaining fat.

“So there you have it, you can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control your response to them – as well as what you put into your body.

“The next step is starting to add the eccentric workouts this week!  Wish me luck!” 

 

Barb is going to be checking in with us every month to share her successes and struggles, and to let us cheer her on.  We are so happy to have you join our merry little band, Barb!

If you are also new here – WELCOME!!  However long you’ve been coming here – what’s your “why” for choosing to live a SANE lifestyle?  And what’s your #1 Tip for Barb as she starts her amazing journey to health?

 

 

 

3 comments
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  • KarinWelcome, Barb! My tip for you: If/when you slip “off the wagon”, just recognize that you made a bad choice and get right back on track making good ones.

    Don’t use it as a excuse for more bad choices and certainly don’t punish yourself for it. Look at that choice honestly, try to determine why you made it (stress, peer pressure, mood, so many options…) so you can recognize that trigger next time and have a strategy to avoid the bad choice when the situation comes at you again.

    That came out longer than I meant it to. I’m just very happy for you to be on the road to better health. With Carrie, Jonathan and the rest of SoSers, you are in good company! :0)ReplyCancel

  • Rod & Kathy PearceWelcome Barb!

    First off, you made the right choice in deciding to get healthy. Carrie Brown has many great recipes that are delicious and easy to make. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from Carrie, Jonathon, or your SANE peers. We are all in this together and the support is awesome!

    Second, don’t give up! And more importantly don’t feel bad or beat yourself up on those days when you went completely INSANE. It is not the end of the world, accept it for what it is and move on.

    Third, if you haven’t done so yet, go back and read through Carrie’s posts she offers many tips and suggestions on how to do things like organize your kitchen, buy those hard to find items, and how to eat out without going INSANE.

    Kathy and I have been eating SANEly since January and have been having some wonderful results. Like you, we found more, energy, better sleep, and overall health improvement. Our biggest challenge is how to eat SANEly when our days are so packed with other activities and we don’t seem to have a consistent schedule. This part takes planning; again Carrie Brown has some wonderful suggestions on how to prepare in advance for those crazy days.

    Finally, it will pay off! Hang in there and stick with it and don’t forget to reach out when things get a bit rough. We all get it had have been in your shoes, remember we are here for you.

    Rod & KathyReplyCancel

  • AllisolBarb, welcome! I really enjoyed reading your story and I’m SO GLAD you found SSoS! Changing so many things at once while you clearly have a lot going on in your life can be hard. If it gets overwhelming just change one or two things at a time. Once you’ve mastered those, then you can add in another change. Sometimes it’s hard to look at your whole life (or at least your food life) and go “Where do I start? How can I remember all that I have to change?” so don’t let that throw you off. I remember once I started trying to get in 30g of protein at every meal. At first it was a real chore but now it’s just habit. Then I added in a protein shake every day. At first that was hard but now it’s routine. So just take each day as it comes and know that you are headed in the RIGHT DIRECTION. I admire you so much for doing what you gotta do. You clearly have the internal strength to get healthy. Congrats.ReplyCancel