Success story: Nanci Pacheco

In this podcast episode, we’re thrilled to chat with our special guest, Nanci Pacheco. Nanci is midway through her 100 pound weight loss journey, but she’s been there a while. 14 years to be precise. After being stuck in the middle for over a decade, Nanci tried nearly every kind of weight loss program. But nothing seemed to ever work…and she certainly wasn’t at a ‘happy’ maintenance level.

Nanci has recently graduated from the six week reset with us and is proud to say she has lost 5 and a half pounds, the first weight she’s lost in 14 years. What a feeling!

After learning more about hunger hormones, satiety, and mindset, Nanci feels much more equipped to turn things around this time. 

Today, she wants to share her story and what has helped her kickstart her weight loss again so she can inspire others to do the same. So if you’ve recently hit a plateau and need some tips about how to reach the next level in your journey, this is a must-listen!

To read the full show notes for this episode, visit https://thewlcc.com/104-2/

Pull Quotes

17:19 - “It was a six week reset. I'm down five and a half pounds. I haven't lost five and a half pounds in 14 years.”

18:21 - “Food is just a thing. It doesn't run my life. It was so involved in all of my brain space, there wasn't a part of the day that didn't have some food thought in it. And I really don't have that now.” 

25:25 - “Everybody was very supportive. We were all on different paths, but we had this one thing in common and we were going at it from wherever we started and learning something new.”

26:11 - I am no longer concerned about hitting my weight loss goal. The tools that were missing from my toolbox are now part of my life and they would not have if I had not gone on the reset. 

“Instead of packing a suitcase of snacks in case I got hungry, I focused on the quality of my meals.”

Audio Stamps

00:42 - Keri introduces the background of Nanci’s weight loss journey.

02:08 - Nanci tells us more about herself and her experience with weight loss.

05:48 - Keris asks what has changed for Nanci since she joined the 6 week reset.

11:23 - Keri discusses the mindset of restriction when it comes to the ‘no sugar no flour’ aspect of the program

14:54 - Nanci talks about how the mindset work from the program helped her when she went on vacation.

18:00 - We find out how Nanci feels towards food at the end of the 6 week process.

19:30 - We discover the effect of balancing hunger hormones.

20:44 - Nanci tells us which of the three eating styles she chose in the 6 week reset.

22:33 - Nanci shares what the best thing was for her about the 6 week reset.

24:44 - Keri and Nanci discuss the benefits of the group interaction in the 6 week reset.

25:47 - Keri asks Nanci what she would say to someone considering joining the next 6 week reset.

26:48 - Nanci gives one key piece of advice for someone who is trying to get to the next level and get unstuck.

Transcript

0:27

Hello. Welcome back to the podcast. We have a very special guest for you today. Nancy Pacheco is here with us today. And Nancy has just completed the six week reset with us. She is a graduate of the six week reset. So you're in for a real treat today with Nancy story. She talks us through how she lost five and a half pounds over the six week reset, but that was the first weight that she has lost in 14 years. She's midway through her a hundred pound weight loss journey. So she lost 50 pounds. But she got stuck in the middle there and she got stuck for 14 years. She tried all sorts of different weight loss programs and nothing ever quite worked. So she wasn't really at a happy maintenance level. And it wasn't really, until she came across the podcast and started to learn a little bit more about hunger hormones. And hunger levels and what full really meant, and also the mindset work and how the thought work, really links into food. It was all of these things that really started to turn things around for Nancy. So. She shares a little bit of her story today in terms of what she learned in the six week reset, what really helped her. And she's sharing with you, our listeners, her top tips on what you can do to get to the next level in your weight loss journey. We absolutely love bringing stories to you all our listeners, because I think when you hear other women's stories about what is possible, it helps us all to appreciate that whatever it is that we're striving towards, it is possible for us. And I think Nancy story is going to be really inspirational for you today. I hope you enjoy it. So, welcome Nancy. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? Sure. I am in Massachusetts on Cape Cod, near the ocean, and I work for a special education boarding school as the admissions office manager. I have been on a weight loss journey pretty much for my whole, I don't ever not remember being Working towards a weight goal of some sort, even in at 12 years old. I have successfully lost 50 50 to 55 pounds and had been keeping that off. I kept it off for more than 10 years, which would be great if I didn't also feel that I needed to lose another 50 or so. So I've been maintaining. Been trying to actively pursue my weight goals and just been completely stuck that. you had lost 50 pounds. Mm. And you were still trying to lose another 50 pounds, but you got a little bit stuck in the middle there and things weren't moving for you. Right. 14 years of stuck. Oh, wow. Okay. I, I hadn't appreciated it, that it was that long. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. On my good days, it was, wow, I've kept this off for 14 years. On my other days, I'm like, for heaven's sakes, the pounds are get exhausted because I'm gaining and losing and gaining and losing the same five pounds year after year after year. But I'm not, I'm not chipping into the, I'm not giving back any of the original 50. It's just I'm not, I'm not progress. Yes. I love how you mentioned that actually, because that is something that, you know, it's a, it's a coaching point that we often bring up with people, you know, when they've lost a lot of weight and they wanna get to the next level. And you know, the brain goes straight into, well, you know, I should have been losing more by now. Why aren't I still losing all of that kind of brain chatter that goes on? But actually, it's the appreciation of. Wow. But you know, I've lost all that weight and that's stayed off. And then when you do that, you are in that very small percentage of people that actually lose weight and keep it off. Although of course you still have those other aspirations that it's, you know, things aren't quite moving in that direction. Yeah. So it is, it's an uncomfortable place to be in, isn't it? In that middle ground. Yeah. That's frustrating cuz it's not like I. It wasn't like I decided I was in maintenance and was staying there. I was actively pursuing food plans and exercise and just, it just wasn't moving. Yeah. And what I realized, I, I I'm able to, I understand the nutrition part. I understand the activity part, I have found, I've got my water in. I've put in systems in place to get all of those things done, but it still isn't, it wasn't resulting in what I, what I wanted. And so, mm-hmm. I changed jobs several years ago and I now have a half an hour commute, so I decided that I will take that half an hour and you listen to. Inspiring books or podcasts. And that's actually how, that's how actually how it came across here. Ah, great. Okay. So it was originally through the podcast that you, you got there. So it was 14 years of actively pursuing weight loss, not quite finding the right solution, and yet you didn't come to, into the program not knowing what to eat and not knowing, you know, how to move your body and all that kind of stuff. So what's changed for you then, since, since you joined? So it was really about getting, I, I talk, I joke with my friends that now I've got my brain on board. Mm. There. And that was really why I started listening to podcasts and, and different books on the topic because I figured that had to be the piece that was missing. And the, when I found your podcast, the, the line that you introduce with every time that says, improve your relationship with your. What is it? Improve your relationship with your, with food and your body? Is, is what we say? Yes. Yes. Yeah. I'm like, okay, that sounds like what I need. Mm-hmm. So listening to the podcast, even the, the things that have resonated with me were things like being, being the scientist of your weight loss journey. Mm-hmm. that was not something that I had even. Heard of. Mm-hmm. So really not, I did, I spent a lot of time I talk about the mean girl in my head. When I would have an an overeater, I would go several drinks, too many. It was always, what the hell's wrong with you? Why are you doing that? It was never, Hmm. It was like, well, maybe the, what is the reason? The other thing that's changed dramatically for me is the definition of emotional. In my, all of my travels, all of the discussions that I've ever come up with, emotional eating in my brain, that was when I'm stressed out, I eat and I don't, that isn't something that isn't a problem that I have. So having it described as anytime you're eating for a reason other than hunger, that's emotional eating. That provided me a different context so that I. I could, I could recognize, okay, it's not just when you're stressed out, you overeat. It's, you have to have dessert after dinner because you grew up eating dessert after dinner. And that's just a belief that you have in your head. A lot of that's a lot of what really had resonated for me. The, I also didn't know anything about The hunger hormones. Mm-hmm. I had, I had no concept of if I was hungry, it didn't have anything to do with whether I, when I ate. I had been in for years and years in a program that you had an allotment of, of points, and I was a master of figuring out exactly how I could get the most food possible or without going over my. So as a result, I had, I developed some crazy habits about like, snacking. Because of the foods that I was eating, I didn't, I never really considered the, the quality of the food that I was eating. So I was eating, I was having breakfast and then a snack, and then lunch, and then a snack. Cuz I was hungry all the time. But it was because I wasn't giving my body the nutrition that it needed. I wasn't I wasn't ever really letting it get to hunger, but now I now know that it's the, the honoring giving nutritious food. I, we joke, I joke with you guys all the time. The, the first thing that you said to me was we were going to limit, we were, we were going to go to a no sugar. No flower format. And I'm like, well, how the heck is, I'm like, how am I gonna do that? How is that not restrictive? Yeah. I'm like, all right, you signed up, you're gonna do this. The other thing was when you said full fat that's right. Yes. I'm like, I haven't eaten full fat cheese unless I'm being bad ever. Everything is non-fat. Everything. But I went with it and I trusted you, because instead of packing a suitcase of snacks in case I got hungry, I focused on the quality of my meals. And I focused on, based on the, the list of recommendations that you had, you guys had given us in the beginning of this. And I eat three meals a day now and I'm. Nothing bad happened when I ate full fat cheese. In fact, I it, but I don't have to overeat it because I now look at my food as fuel. I literally never thought of it as that. Yes. Love it. Love it. Yeah. I think the, what was the comment that you made last night? Like, I ate full fe cheese. Nothing bad happened. Nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing happened, yeah, exactly. That I have. Have it in my brain. Exactly. Exactly. So it sounds like then before, before you came into the program, you were listening to the podcast, but. I was laughing when you said, you know, you'd become a master of having all those snacks. And, you know, getting as much food in within those point limits, because I, I can completely relate to that. I've done exactly the same thing. You know, it's like, oh, it doesn't matter because this is a carrot stick with some hummus, you know? Regardless of the fact that I'm not actually hungry right now, you know, but yeah. But this is healthy, you know? So those kind of beliefs are, are quite interesting. So you were eating quite a lot in terms of the snacking, the regularity, the frequency of what you were eating. You were eating like good quality food, but you were having low fat by the sounds of it. And just making sure that you can get the maximum kind of amount of food in within those limitations. So it was, you know, the full fat that changed for you as we came in. And then the no sugar, no flour, and not seeing that as restrictive. That was a big change for you. That's interesting. I, I think, you know, there's a lot, a lot of people, and I've done this before myself, go straight to if you have no sugar, no flour, that automatically equal. restrictive. And it's really interesting when we start looking at that and pulling that apart a little bit, because I think there can be like the, the action of restriction. It's like, right, you know, we, we do something, we take that out, we don't have it. But then there's also the feeling of restricted, like it feels restrictive, and then we can start playing with the mindset and having a look at. you know, is it really restrictive? You know, is there anything else available? Maybe actually I'm opening up to, you know, not having a better night's sleep and actually, you know, starting to release some of the, the water on my body and my joints feel better. And, you know, and then when we start thinking about it in that way, it doesn't feel restrictive even more, even though we are doing technically a restriction, you know, with an action. So it's, it's interesting how we can play with. Yeah, but it was only, my initial reaction was, good grief, how am I gonna do this? But it literally, I feel, I feel free. Interesting. I'm eating, I'm going out to dinner. I, I sat on the call the other night that I've, for some reason, my social calendar is going berserk, but I'm not, I am not stressed out about my food choices. Mm. And it's because I know, okay. So I know the things that I would prefer to stay away from, but again, nothing bad happens if I don't. It's one meal out of however many you have in a week. Mm-hmm. and. I, I go in with a plan. I look at the menu before I go, and I've kind of always done that, but it, I feel like I have different. Choices now. I mean, no, no flour. Okay. Stay away from the bread basket, which I try to do anyway. Hmm. And that's kind of okay. The things that I like to eat, most of them I can do. I can eat, I can find my way around a menu without that, not that I won't eat it, it's just I do feel better. I do. I do have, my sleep is better. My, my, the joint, I have arthritis in several of my joints. And I realized probably two or three weeks in that, Hmm, I'm, I'm not feeling, my knee is not bothering me, even though I was on the chest the other night and I did a little bit of running, which I don't usually do. Mm-hmm. So. So it's, it's, it's small things that I, I didn't necessarily notice, but now I'm like, razor focused on paying attention to mm. That I just did before. Mm. I think it's the impact sometimes of these foods that you just don't recognize, cuz you, you just go about your day, day-to-day, oh, well I've got arthritis, you know, the, of course I'm gonna have joint pain. And you know, sometimes you take these foods out, it's like, oh wow, that actually has a big impact. Yeah. And that was. You know, mate, mate and I were actually quite amazed as, as well at just how many people in the program were saying they slept better as soon as they started eating that way. Like we knew that it had an impact on sleep. But, but like, to that degree, you know, it, it was almost unanimous that everyone was sleeping better. So that was, that was quite amazing. Yeah. So you, your joint pain has changed. Your sleep has changed. You're feeling more free around food. You've got more freedom to eat, you know, the full fat options wherever you go. What else has changed for you through this process? In the middle of this I had a vacation and so on annual I go on a vacation that to a resort that is all inclusive. So I was a little bit freaked out in the very beginning when I realized what week this was gonna fall on, but I actually spent less time concerned again about my, it, it's my attitude of the, the catastrophizing. I think someone in. Labeled that term, and I'd never heard it before, but it was perfect. Mm-hmm. I was able to go on vacation. I enjoyed myself. I paid attention to my food choices. I didn't over-indulge, but I didn't, I didn't feel the restriction that I have felt for years that I'm gonna gain five to 10 pounds because that's what happens when I go on vacation and I go and there's buffets and it's all inclusive and anything you wanna eat and drink is there. And I actually, I didn't gain weight. Mm. I've never gone on vacation and didn't gain weight. Amazing. And it's, it's, it's literally my mindset around food is fuel. That, that is, I'm not sure if that's a appropriate as a mantra, but that's, if I keep that in my mind, it's like, nope. Okay. I don't, it's not that I don't decide to eat stuff that isn't. OHSU is on the On the menu. Yeah. It is not fuel It's a conscious decision. It's not just. I'm not lumping all of it together. Yes, absolutely. And yeah, that's actually, it is, it's interesting that you highlight it that way because I think that's, that's how I've reframed food over time as well, and that I find that personally very, very helpful. I think of it like fuel, like. This is going to help my brain, this is gonna help my muscles, this is gonna help my digestion. You know, so I think of it in, in that context, and it's like, I'm nourishing and nurturing and energizing my body with this, but then sometimes like, yeah, I want the chocolate, I want the crus on. You know, there's some of my things that I like to have. I like the tiramisu sometimes as well. So, you know, it's, it's those kind of choices that we can make. And a bit of wine sometimes, things like that, you know, so we don't have to be, you know, puritanical about it, but, I personally find it a very helpful mindset to think of few food like that. Yeah. And to, I mean, we did a, it was a six week reset. I'm down five and a half pounds. I haven't lost five and a half pounds in 14 years. Yeah, that is incredible. Five and a half pounds after 14 years. I love it. Yeah, so encouraging. So encouraging. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely is. How much more do you have on your weight loss, Jenny? Do you still have a goal that you're working towards? Yeah, I still have about 50 pounds. Yeah. Yeah. So you've, so I know on the call last night what we were doing as we were wrapping up because it was a final call last night, we were looking at, you know, what worked for you in terms of weight loss, in terms of maintenance. So how do you feel going forward now knowing that you've been through this process, you've lost five and a half pounds after that time. I, I feel great. I feel I'm, it's not even motivated. It's relieved. Mm-hmm. It's the, the, the piece that's been missing. Mm-hmm. For all of this time I've been, work harder. I've been working harder, not smarter. Yes, I really having my, I call it having my brain on board that it's, it's food is, it's, It's just a thing. It's not, it doesn't run my life. It's not, it was, it was so involved in all of my brain space, all of my, there wasn't a day, a part of the day that didn't have some food thought in it. And I don't, I really don't have that now because I feel like, When it's time to eat, I eat when it's time to plan my meals. Okay, I'll, I'll do that too, but it's not well, what am I gonna have for dinner tomorrow? And what am I gonna have for burger? I, I don't really need to do that because I have. A workable list of things, concepts, really not list of specific foods that I have internalized, and it makes it just that much easier. Amazing. I love that. I love hearing, hearing that, that you know, The food chatter. It's incredible when that really goes down and you, you just realize, wow, my brain was so dominated by food before. Yeah. Yeah. Would you attribute that to getting your hunger hormones in balance and, you know, having a look at, at how your body's responding to foods in that way. What, what do you think was a big shift there? I'm assume, I would assume that that is the, the biggest kind of physical change because I had never, I was, I was torturing my hunger. Home runs The hardest part for me on this journey was I had zero concept of full. I mean, I know full, but enough. That was a big word for me too, because I had always understood that you should eat when you're satisfied, eat until you're satisfied. But that, that word doesn't mean anything to me. If there's chocolate on my plate, I'm satisfied. Mm-hmm. So again, it's that feeling, isn't it? You feel satisfied. Well, at what point do you feel emotionally satisfied? You know, that could be like, A long way over the line when it comes to chocolate, that's like a bar and a half for me, potentially. Sometimes you know, if I'm premenstrual. So, yeah. Yeah. It's tricky. Like the word enough has a completely different context, and so I, enough, I did learn what that was, and it, it took a, it took a couple of weeks, but I, it, I attribute that to the, the hormones and just really not treating my body the what, giving it what it needed on the. Yes. Yeah, remind me. Cause we've got three different eating styles within the six week reset. So do you remember which one you chose? It was the one that had GL in it, so it was, yeah, the, I think we called it the low GL goddess, which is the middle, the middle one. Yes. Yes. Yeah. We've got the one if you are just starting out on your no sugar, no flour journey and, you know, so it's still very, very, like I mean, you know, there's plenty in there. And then the, the next level is right. Let's have a look at those ones that are really low sugar. They're not gonna have a big impact on your blood sugar. Over the course of time. And then the next one is when you're getting into the last 10 pounds territory and you've really gotta tighten things up just to get yourself over the line for that. Yeah. So you went with that middle one? Yeah. Right. And I, I did that because looking at the food lists, I do eat brown rice. I do the things that were part of. I didn't feel like I needed to change everything to give this a shot. Yeah. So that I looked at that list and it had, it was the closest to the things that I currently eat with some tweaks. So I figured that would be the easiest way to handle the food part of it. Yes. Yeah. And actually, you know what, when we, we first set out, we didn't actually have that in there, but once we had enrolled everyone and talked to people we realized that the group was very, very, some people were just starting out on their no sugar, no flour journey. They were still eating a lot of sugar, eating a lot of flour. And for them, if they were to go like the full shebang, it would've just been really difficult to, to do that transition. So we had those, that staggered approach. So you can choose, you know, your next level up and. Manage what, you know, there, there is a transition period, isn't there when you, you stop the sugar and flour and, you know, sometimes people get a little bit headachey, a bit low energy just until the body, you know, normalizes again and figures it out. But once you are there, you do feel a lot better. Yep. Yeah. Yep. That's exactly what my experience was. Great. So what was, what do you think was the, the best thing about the six week reset for you? It was, It's not any one thing. It, it's just that the, the information that I gained that has allowed me to just really push through this, I'm gonna call it a mental block. I, I wasn't thinking. I was, I was doing things that I thought were supporting me, but I, I wasn't. It's, it's the, the reasoning behind it, it's the stopping and the thought work. I had never even considered that. Mm mm-hmm. So between the, the hunger. Regulating the hormones and then thinking through when I do, do something that doesn't really support me, okay, well what was going on when I did that? Why, what would I do differently? Even when I was on vacation, that was still a part of, of what I did. So I, I, I love. I have tools, phrases, there are, there are something in the way that you all phrase your stuff even in the podcast. That's what I, that's how I ended up here. Hmm. It was, you say things that I can keep in my brain. Hmm. It's a reminder. Yes. That, that resonates very well with me. I mean, even before I did the reset, I was listening to the podcast through the holidays. And the holidays are always good for. Eight to eight to five, five to eight pounds, and it went through the holidays and I lost a pound through the holidays. That's incredible. I love that. And that's just a podcast. Yeah. Yep. So, all right. These people have it. They know what Yeah. Yeah. That's some of our fa that's the, you know, some of the, the Favoritest times. I know Favorist isn't aware, but I'm gonna use it here. You know what I mean? You know, one of our favorites things is when we get emails from people and they'll say, I've just been listening to the podcast and, you know, this has happened. That has happened. We absolutely love hearing from, you know, so if you're listening into this and you've got something that you wanna share with us, please email us. We love hearing from you guys. Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's really, really good. And actually, do you know what, I think one of my favorite things of the six week reset was just seeing how the group came together and you actually made your own things together. You know, like you mentioned before, the stop catastrophizing thing that, you know, someone mentioned it and then it took off and it was like, yeah, that's my goal. That's, that's this week I'm gonna stop catastrophizing. And, and then suddenly it was a thing in the group. And I, I loved seeing that because we couldn't have come up with those words ourselves. That's what you all needed. And by sharing that, you were able to find that within the. So that was great. Yes. Group interaction was, was fantastic. It, it's, it's a, I've had the group work in other parts of my life and I, I respond very well to that. It's, it's kind of adds a social thing to it, so Yeah. And everybody was very supportive. We were all on different paths, but we had this one thing in common and we were going at it from wherever we started. Yeah. And learning something new. Definitely. Definitely. And what would you say to anyone who might be thinking about joining the next six week reset? If they're a bit on the fence and not too sure, what would you say to them? As I would say, do it. Experienced it? Yeah, do it. Do yourself a favor, because I, I. I questioned whether I was going to it's money. Am I gonna be able to stick with it? What are they gonna tell me that's different than anybody else? All of that went away after a week or two because the, the stuff that I picked up, even in the very beginning. I know is going to, I, I am no longer concerned about hitting my weight loss goal. Mm-hmm. I know that I have the tools that were missing from my toolbox are now part of my life and they would not have if I had not gone on the the reset. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, that's, that's wonderful. I wonder, just to wrap up this podcast, so just like you, there's probably women out there who are listening along to this podcast. What one piece of advice would, would you give to them that might help them to get to the next level to get unstuck? Now that you've done the six week reset, what have you learned? What, what advice would you give people? The. The biggest piece that's that I apply is the being the scientist of your weight loss journey and really digging into the facts, the data to, to remove the emotion and really pick through the data of what's happening. That to me, and I'm, I'm, I'm an X IT person, so data's a thing for me. But that really. Resonated. Hmm. Hmm. Fantastic. Be the scientist. Absolutely. Well, Nancy, it's been so lovely to talk to you today. Thank you so much for taking the time to, to chat to us. And I'm sure you know your story is gonna inspire lots and lots of women. We love sharing people's stories here on this podcast. Cause I think it's hearing other people's stories. It's not just top down. It's not like me and Matt mate are saying, this is what you should do actually. So much wisdom that can come from other people on this journey. So thank you so much for taking the time and contributing to the community in that way. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thank you. Thank you guys for, for changing me. Oh, you're so welcome. Oh,