WEBVTT - Releasing Excess Baggage ( w/ Jenele Hughes) 0:00:01.480 --> 0:00:05.320 Welcome back to Vitamin D. Dawn Day here ready to 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.559 introduce you to your best self. On this episode, we're 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:12.360 gonna be talking about cycles, specifically vicious cycles. You know, 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:16.200 those strongholds and those situations and sometimes even relationships that 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:20.239 you keep finding yourself in over and over and over again. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.240 Like for me, my vicious cyclists always been my weight. 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.319 I have battled my weight my entire life. In fact, 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:29.440 as an adult, I standed like five five and I 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:31.440 don't even say five five and a half on a 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:33.880 good day. And my heaviest has meant to a fifty four, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:36.879 while my lowest has been won ninety one. And I 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.120 felt just so fitting to invite this special guest on 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:41.960 the show today, Janelle Hughes a k a. The Black 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.080 Vegan Chick. Why would I put dead animals and dead 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:49.720 flesh into my body when I could be putting living, growing, healthy, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.400 beautiful things that were placed on this earth to give 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.319 us nourishment. It's just like me. She's battled her weight 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.600 to her entire life, except she has lost a hundred 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:01.080 pounds on three separate occasions. Janelle sat down with me 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:02.920 to talk about how we can get out of these 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.440 visious cycles. How to break them and understanding our relationship 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:08.760 with them, and in the course of the conversation, we 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.560 found ways to apply these same concepts to other aspects 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:17.840 of life. So, without further ado, take a listen right 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:26.920 with me and get excited about how are you good doing? 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:31.200 Get nervous but good? What Listen? We had our we 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:36.959 had pedicures and manicures. We're just gonna talk. I was 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:38.800 sitting here and I was just thinking. I was like, 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:41.760 I'm getting prepared, and I was like, you know, I 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.319 feel like some emotions might come out on this because 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:47.480 this is this is this is real and you know, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.960 being a plus sized girl for my whole life and 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.560 then actually having to uncover to get to the root 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:59.240 of it. And it just reminds me because I'm trying 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.480 to I'm working on the process of identifying my relationship 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.160 with food. And you know, have you ever heard the 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:09.640 quote like, don't live to eat, but to eat to live? Yes? 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.040 I quote that all the time. What does that mean 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.240 to you? It means like you have to understand that 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:18.480 for me, food is not It's no longer a form 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:22.720 of entertainment. It's a form of nourishment. And when you 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:26.960 change your ideology behind food, like and you understand it, 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:30.000 it's for nourishment, then you'll put things in your body 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:33.320 that's gonna help you live, that's gonna give you life, 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.440 and not things that they are giving you death. Um, 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.040 which is one of the things with like veganism. For me, 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.239 Why would I put dead animals and dead flesh into 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.960 my body when I could be putting living, growing, healthy, 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:47.639 beautiful things that were placed on this earth to give 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.200 us nourishment. Well, ladies and gentlemen, there you haven't Welcome 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.960 to the Vitamin D Podcast. I have the one and 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.640 only Janelle Hughes with me and A k A. The 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.440 Black Vegan Check, and we're gonna be talking about your 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:05.359 incredible journey on your weight loss. I was reading and 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.959 coming to the understanding I didn't know this even when 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:11.120 we've met years ago on the shirt Curvy Style with 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:15.919 Timothy Snell on b ET where you were coming in 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.800 to get a makeover. We were making over curvy plus 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:23.639 size women and it was interesting even all those years 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:26.120 ago and how we're sitting right here in front of 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.200 each other when you were selected to have your makeover. 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.919 We had a manicure and pedicure moment. And talked even 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:37.480 more about life aspirations and and it was then that 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.160 you told me how your your past, your modeling career, 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:44.000 you were dissolving a relationship. You know, you were talking 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.600 about raising your children. But what we did not talk 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.560 about is the fact that there was not once, not twice, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:54.680 but three times that you lost one hundred pounds. Man, Well, 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:56.960 at that time it was only two times. This is 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.600 the third time that this time is actually hundred and 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:09.320 thirty one. That's a whole adult person. Congratulations than you. 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:11.720 And you know, I used to work out when I'm 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:14.400 with assist. A motivational speaker. Her name is Lisa Nichols, 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:19.000 and she has Okay. One of the things that she 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.640 talked about because she too has a weight lost journey story, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:27.039 and she discussed how you don't lose weight, you release 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:30.679 it because when you lose something, you're on the flip side. 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.839 You're looking to find it that's good and if it's 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.320 a way, let's get it away. So let's just talk. 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:42.440 You've lost one hundred pounds over three times. This was 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:45.400 the third time. What was your relationship with food? For 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.039 me growing up as a kid, I have a sister, 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.520 she's nine years older than me. So growing up, I 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:53.599 was kind of like the only child. UM. And because 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.640 I was already obese as a child, I was bullied, 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:01.160 spit on snacks, shoes thrown in my head every day. UM. 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.560 I had a really traumatic childhood when it came to 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:08.160 being bullied and um so much so that honestly, I 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:11.600 attempted suicide three times by the time I was fourteen 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.120 years old. So what I did is I found myself 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.039 going home every day after being beaten up and talked about, 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:18.720 and I would just it was me and food that 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.719 was my comfort. Um, that's what filled me up because 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.240 I was so feeling so empty inside and so I 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.680 just used food to continue to eat and sit by 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.599 myself and try to make myself feel better, which in 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.839 turn made me feel worse. But that's where my relationship 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.360 was with it. Where you tease because you were overweight, 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.800 or tease for something else. Yeah, tease because I was overweight. 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:42.240 M I think back when my earliest like encounter relationship 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:46.240 with food. UM, my grandfather will oftentimes stay with us, 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:48.080 and it was this thing. And I don't know if 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.320 it's like in a black culture or just in general, 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:54.200 eat all your food so you can become big and strong, 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.839 and that's what I felt like. I said, Okay, so 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.920 I'm being and strong, and I would stuff myself something 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.919 times sometimes to almost where I'm about to puke, and 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:09.240 it's like, what M now? The only difference Like for me, 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:14.320 I wasn't necessarily teased for, um, my weight, and if 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.880 it was, like I don't know, I feel in ways 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:18.760 I compensate for what It wasn't the look thing like 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:20.560 you knew, but it wasn't something you tease. But of 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.800 course I'm not gonna be invincible and say I didn't 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.000 have those things. But I think also looking back and 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:29.279 even looking at my life now, I see how I've 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.080 let weight get in the way the ways that I 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.159 didn't know, and how I used food as a coping mechanism. 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.520 And I like how you said that how you know 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.080 when you use or not. You are just a general 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.880 A person can use food to cope, but you don't 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:43.960 realize the effect and how it can get worse in 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:49.600 your life exactly. Yes, it becomes an habitual habit um 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.240 and then if it's not food, eventually it turns to 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.479 other things. I mean, that's just addictions in general. Um. 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:57.880 Even if it's something that's simple as social media. You know, 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.279 there's so many things that you can replace when we 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.159 when we need healing, like real internal healing to go 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:07.880 within um. And for me, it just happened to be food. 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.440 And like I said, now food is no longer my 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.000 source of death, but my source of life. I love that. 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.480 So what was the highest wait that you you got to? 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.320 You know? I was like three O nine. Uh yeah, 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:21.880 I was like three O nine. That was like in 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:26.760 two thousand nine. I believe I had actually auditioned for 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:28.760 the Biggest Loser. I went to l A, was there 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:30.680 for a week, um, try it out for them. I 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:32.560 almost made I made it to the final round, like 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:34.720 the final day, and they sent me home like the 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.560 day before they finished the cast. And I was so 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.360 stay because it was like the whole six month process 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.360 that I basically had to go through to get there, 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.480 but with them once again making me feel rejected like 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:48.600 I wasn't good enough to even be on the Fat 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:50.480 People Show, you know, that's kind of how I felt. 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.000 So I took that motivation and came back home to 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.800 Kansas City and I was determined that I was going 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:57.880 to get that weight off so that was the second time, 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.000 um that I was able to do so okay, And 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:03.200 I don't know if I mean what happened the first time. 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:06.200 The first time was I was getting married girl, and 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.160 I was like, I will not be a fat bride. 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.320 That ain't happening. And I used to see all the 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.480 beautiful dresses. And when I had gotten engaged, I took 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:17.920 my best friend with me. She was like aside two three, 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:20.320 and none of the dresses in the stores were my fide. 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:21.920 So I would take her with me and make her 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:24.000 trying to dress, and so I can you know, imagine 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:25.560 what kind of dress I wanted? And I was like, 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:28.080 forget this, Like I'm gonna have to lose this weight myself. 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.560 So I got a trainer and worked out with the 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:32.320 training for about a month and a halpen and I 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:33.960 just took it on my own and then the rest 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.280 and I got into my dress. My bloody dress actually 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.200 was too big and almost fell off at the reception. 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:42.920 Uh yeah, So it seems as though as far as 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:44.920 when it comes down, when once you put your mind 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.280 to it, it's going to work. But I thought something 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:49.520 was interesting because you said growing up not having I 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.640 guess the best self esteem because people teached you. Did 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:54.560 you ever find it become a factor when it came 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.320 to dating, because I can imagine somebody that did suffer 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.120 with that, and they're like, well least she got married 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:01.840 and you have children, girl, you want to get deep, 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.720 don't you. I don't know, because I think about I 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:06.959 think of ways that it probably has prevented me from 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:09.080 meeting people of just not knowing what I was gonna 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:13.120 wear and be comfortable and wearing it. Well, I would 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.840 agree that I'm sure that is an issue for me. 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.000 I met my ex husband when I was fourteen, so 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.400 we were hiding the sweethearts and we were together from 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.400 fourteen up until we got married and then eventually divorced. 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.360 But now that I'm in the dating scene, um, I 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.080 took a year, a couple of years after just work 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.400 on myself and find myself. Now I'm in the dating scene. 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:34.880 But I'm a smaller side. Um, so I don't have 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.000 no problems down. Okay, So you did you find did 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.720 you find a dating heart when you were larger? I 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:45.920 wasn't dating because I was married. I was in a relationship. Okay, okay, okay. 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:47.640 But and then once you got back to Jay and 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:50.760 it was after you released the way that is amazing. 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.880 So you know, when you you ever hear of somebody saying, oh, 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:56.160 you gotta be fat and fabulous? Is that such a thing? 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:59.640 I mean the face that you made is exactly what 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.480 I feel, because it's like, yes, embrace who you are, 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.520 but at the same time, are you really loving yourself 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:09.000 like you should be? How can you I agree with that. 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.200 I feel like that's an excuse. I feel like that's 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:13.720 a mental excuse that people will say instead of me 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.199 doing what I need to do to be the best 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.840 version of myself, I'm going to quote unquote except myself 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:21.440 because I don't want to put in the work to 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.199 get better. I mean, it's it's hard work, it's emotional 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.679 and mental work to get to that type of thing 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.280 to become the healthiest version of yourself. And instead of 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:31.960 people wanting to do that, they'd better just be like, 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:34.520 I'm fabulous, I'm fat, I'm thick, I'm this. I mean, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.080 it's just so many excuses. Yes, you're still a beautiful 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:41.000 person at a larger size. That doesn't take away from 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:44.760 our beauty, But can you fully be really fabulous if 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.360 you're not at your best? And when we're overweight and unhealthy. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:49.760 We're not at our best right. And I want to 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.839 be clear that, of course this is not to shame 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:56.480 anybody if you have any diseases or illnesses, but it 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.480 is also to say that if that's not the case, 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.280 it are you doing because because and just because you 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:04.360 may be a large York Because I've always been active, 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:06.679 and I've had times that I've healthy, and I've never 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:11.520 I've I don't think i've ever been I can't remember 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.000 the last time I was a sized well maybe as 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.400 a child, like young young, but I was always active. 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:19.840 I was always playing sports and so things like that, 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:22.480 and and and just like how you were saying how 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.240 you use food to do that coping mechanism, I did 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:28.040 the same thing because it was like my moment, my 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.920 private moment that I can eat, my relaxation, my getaway, 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.080 you know, to say that, Okay, Dawn, let's enjoy this 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.840 food for self. Be there, done that. And I was 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:39.880 just looking at your Instagram account, and I was just 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.880 looking how you're grinding. You're talking about all the consistency. 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.720 What do you think calls you to maybe let's go 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.960 from the second and third time to gain the weight 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.319 and bring it down. Gain the weight and bring it down. 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:54.719 The first time when I regained the weight, that was 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.480 due to pregnancy from my first child. And that's actually 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:00.120 when I got the largest, when I got to to 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:02.640 three or nine. After that, and when I auditioned for 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:06.280 the Biggest Loser, not only was I my self esteem 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.160 bad for myself, but here I am I have a 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.160 whole husband at this point in time, and now I 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:14.280 have a whole child, and I felt like I can't 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:16.240 let my guarter go through what I had to suffer 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.000 through as a child. There was no way I could 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:20.760 do that. And people thought I was crazy. Let me 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:24.040 tell you. I mean from breastfeeding my children to um 0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:26.840 not allowing them to eat certain food as as they 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.120 were younger. I heard it all people not wanting them 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.559 to have the formula because of the preservatives and things, 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.800 and that I got dogged, and but I did not care. 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:38.120 I was determined they would not suffer like I had 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.240 to suffer that if I had anything to do with it, 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.160 that they wouldn't. However, if they weren't gonna suffer, I 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.719 needed to be an example as well, and so that 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:48.199 was my motivation. UM, I wanted my husband to be 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.040 attraction to me, you know, like that was part of it, 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.679 and the other part was my my children. And then 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.240 the third time after getting the worce, knowing I was 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.320 going to be getting back into the day and feel 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.920 this was going to be my first time dating as 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:05.000 an adult. I had never been on in the date 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.040 as an adult, like I was fourteen the last time, 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.079 and I just didn't want to go into It was baggage, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:15.679 you know, I knew that there was all that was 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:19.560 so much baggage tied to childhood trauma and triggers and 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.480 things that I needed to work through. And I wanted 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.000 I want a healthy man, you know, when he comes, 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.360 and so I wanted to be my healthy version of me, 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:29.480 because I mean, I believe we marry each other there 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:32.040 How can I go into relationship and ask for something 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.400 from someone else if I can't even do it for myself? Absolutely, 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.040 and if that's gonna be your better half, Like you know, 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:41.320 I want to reflect an almighty, like a king, a queen, 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.120 you know, whatever your thing is, but just reflecting being 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.280 exactly what you're saying. And so when you found that 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:51.199 you were seeking that what made you go the route 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:53.400 of being a vegan how long was that? Was that 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.000 the contributing factor to the weight loss? That's a great question. 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:01.240 I had always been interested. I watched the documentary years ago, 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.400 What the Health UM, and the first time watching that documentee, 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:06.920 it struck a chord with me, and there was something 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.160 about it that it just resonated with me. And so 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.080 I actually became a pestcyterian for a year, which is 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.320 eliminating all of meat except for fish and seafood. And 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:18.640 I did that for a year and I loved it, 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:20.960 and then of course I fell off again and started 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:24.640 eating more. UM. Then I went to vegetarian for another year, 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.360 and I love that too, and fell up again and 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.520 gave the way back. This time was different. I was 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:34.760 on a spiritual fast UM in twenty nineteen UH from 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:38.680 January to the end of February. And in February, on 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:42.400 my birthday, that evening, I got extremely sick and was 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.640 I had to brush myself to the hospital. UM. I 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.000 had stomach pains that were so bad I crawled through 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.760 the parking lot to get to the emergency room. UM. 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.440 When I was there, they were like, oh, there's nothing wrong, 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:54.800 you know, we can't find anything. You might have gas 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:56.960 and they left me in the bed for like four 0:14:57.000 --> 0:14:59.320 hours until they figured out was wrong. Well about the 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.040 four hour mark, they rushed in told my parents they 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:04.240 could not talk to them, but they had to take 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.240 me down because I was super sick. So we found 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.200 out I had sept this um septic blood, which is 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.640 extreme bacteria in the bloodstream, and had emergency surgery that 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.400 morning um And they were like, if I wouldn't have 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.160 came in that night, it was so bad, I would 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.280 have passed away. I was already on the vegan journey 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.720 at that point for about three weeks, and while I 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.760 was in the hospital for that week, I told them 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.160 I wanted to continue to stay on it, and so 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.640 they continue to give me beging food that I ate, 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.960 and then from there that's just something that I really 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.960 wanted to continue to do, especially after having stepsis. They 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.320 don't know where the bacteria came from, how it got 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:41.160 into my blood stream, and I was just the first 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:43.320 thing my thought was food, my intake, the stuff that 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:45.960 I'm putting in my body. So I'm just gonna continue 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:50.400 to go on this route. And with veganism, I lost 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.960 weight so fast this time, it was amazing, almost to 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.120 the point like now I have to be careful because 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:58.800 I'd be like, dang, I'm losing my booty. I wanted 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.040 a little bit more moody than like a really let 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:03.560 me eat some more cars, because I wasn't trying to 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.360 get that skinny. But yes, this time it's been um, 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.640 it's much different than the other two times. It hasn't 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:10.800 been that much effort at all, because you don't have 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:13.800 all the preservatives, you don't have the hormones that are 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.960 being ingested into the animals going into your body, and 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.680 so your body just goes back to a natural state. 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.600 And I love it. So let me ask you this, 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.400 well I find and I find this challenge because right 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.760 now I would say like I'm a flexible vegan. I 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:29.480 have a vegan meal plan that I eat, but I 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:34.000 still have my moments because like I love food. I 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.680 love the color, I love the texture, I love the taste, 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.760 I love everything the environment of what it feels like. 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.040 But at the same token, I have to choose to 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.600 love me in the right way. And just like how 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.120 your story of just going up and down and up 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.920 and down, you know, getting to a place of keeping 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.360 it consistent. But the one thing that I see prevails, 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.800 and I find that a lot of people who may 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.440 be seeking out the path of being a paskeytarian or 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:03.200 a vegetarian, actually a vegan is the carbs. And they're like, oh, well, 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.800 that's just a fat vegan. Were you ever a carve girl? 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.200 That's always been my problem. How did you? How are 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.840 you stopping it? What's what's the secret? Tell me girl? 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:15.679 If I could be honest with you, I think the 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.160 carbs actually helped me because I work out so much. 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.800 That's one of the differences. A lot of people will 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.239 change their food but they don't work out along with it, 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.120 or they'll work out a lot, but they don't change 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:27.719 their nutrition. For me, I had both. I was walking 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:31.680 four miles a day every single like six days a week, um, 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:33.760 and so I could actually afford to and lift and 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.360 weight lifting. I weight lift for an hour forty five 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.040 minutes one hour a day on top of that. So 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:40.040 I needed the carbs in order to help with the 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.240 muscle and give me the energy. I wouldn't have survived 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:47.600 just stop of that. G So my suggestion would be 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:51.040 to do the nutrition and the physical. Um, that's the 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.080 best way to be all around. Yeah, they it is 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.679 your nutrition and then is to exercise. Now, let me 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:00.400 ask you this, experiencing such extreme weight while us more 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.879 than once, how did you get your scanning your elasticity 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.120 to come back weight training? That's how you do. It's 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:09.679 and it's not all the way back. Like now, I 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:11.760 haven't been lifting in like two weeks, and so my 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:13.680 arms I can tell my muscle mass is starting to 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.680 like shrink again. Uh, and the like the good thing 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.080 is that I have muscle memory because I've been lifting 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.000 weights for so many years. So it'll take an about 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.240 two weeks and I'll be you can look on my Instagram. 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.160 I'm like, hey, but yeah, if you weight training, that's 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:29.240 what a lot of people miss. They stick to cardio, 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:32.440 and you should do, in my opinion, more weight training 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.959 than you do cardio. And then and then I hear 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.760 people say, oh, I don't want to become muscicular. But actually, 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.480 like you said, and I've heard, you actually lose more 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.200 weight because of the muscle, because you know you're burning 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:46.359 a lot more because of that. Yes, So did you 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.720 ever get caught up on the number on the scale. 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.520 I don't use scales anymore. That's why I like now 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:56.560 I say one thirty ish Um, I don't believe in skills, uh. 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:58.919 I believe in the way my clothes fit and trying 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.399 on things I have. My phone is probably about to 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:03.480 go dead because I have so many before and after 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.320 pictures where I'll wear the same shorts and you see 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.879 me like thirty five million times, And to me, that 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:13.240 helps me know rather than a number on the scale, 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:15.320 because it can shift so much. If you have something 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:17.280 that's got a lot of salt and a lot of 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.840 sodium and it, then I mean you'll have water weight 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:21.919 on and then you'll get all the pressed and upset 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:24.160 because the number of the scales that so I tell 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.679 people all the time, throw the skill away, period and 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:29.520 if you just focus, get you a pair of jeans 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:31.359 that you want to fit into, hang him up in 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:33.240 the closet, try him on every three weeks and go 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:36.520 from there. Wow. And even talking about that and how 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.879 you're you're talking about walking every day and keeping the 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:40.520 closes in the measurement? How long did it take you 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.960