299. Wendi’s Story: 40 Years of Diets. 1 Program That Finally Made a Difference.

Wendi spent decades stuck in the cycle of dieting, regaining, and self-blame. 

From childhood teasing to weight-loss programs that worked (until they didn’t), she did what so many women do: followed every plan out there hoping this one would finally fix it. But nothing addressed the root cause—insulin resistance—or helped her build a sustainable, shame-free relationship with food.

In this powerful episode, Wendi opens up about the emotional toll of 40+ years of struggling with weight and body image. She shares how family comments shaped her self-worth, why willpower-based diets kept failing her, and how discovering Zivli gave her the tools she needed to lose 70 pounds, but also to rebuild her health from the inside out.

You’ll hear how community support, mindset shifts, and small, consistent changes helped Wendi break generational patterns and finally find peace with food. Whether you're in the thick of your own health journey or supporting someone who is, this episode will leave you feeling hopeful, validated, and ready to take the next step.

Click here to watch the full video now!

>> Register for 3 Big Mistakes That Sabotage Weight Loss After 50 at https://www.zivli.com/training

Resources From This Episode

>> Insulin Resistance Diet Blueprint - https://www.zivli.com/blueprint?el=podcast

>> Free Low Insulin Food Guide - https://www.zivli.com/ultimatefoodguide?el=podcast

>> Join the Zivli Program Waitlist - https://www.zivli.com/join?el=podcast

>> Test Your Insulin at Home - https://www.zivli.com/testing?el=podcast

Have a question? Email us at: support@zivli.com

Transcript

I couldn't figure out why I could be smart and successful and resourceful and strong in every area of my life, but that one. How is this one thing so insurmountable for me? How does that track? ⁓ Couldn't figure it out. And so was a constant source of frustration, low level frustration. But a of times I was too busy and you know, being a mom, being a nurse,

Just getting by to think about it too hard.

Hi, I'm Dr. Morgan Nolte, founder of Zivli. As a geriatric physical therapist, I saw the heartbreaking effects of insulin resistance. At Zivli, our mission is to help you prevent and reverse insulin resistance for long-term weight loss and disease prevention through a low insulin and inflammation lifestyle. Each week on this podcast, you'll learn simple, actionable tips to lose weight, keep it off, and get healthy. If you're ready to create a body and life you love,

you're in the right place. Let's get started.

Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Reshape Your Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Morgan Nolte. And today I am delighted to bring on another Zivli member. Her name is Wendy, and she's going to share a little bit about her story, her weight and her health story. And we were talking offline and I told her, said, you've earned joy. Like you can just tell from her story. She's been through some things and she's just a light.

⁓ anytime I've had the opportunity to connect with her in a group coaching call, or she'll comment in the coaching call, it's always fun and it's always joyful and positive. And I think that you're going to see that side of her today. ⁓ and I'm excited to learn more, Wendy, like I I've connected with you in those calls, but I'm really excited to hear your story, like start to now. So thank you for agreeing to come on the show. Sure. It's wonderful to be with you. It's always good to talk to you.

Thanks. So let's start, just tell our listeners a little bit more about yourself and get into that weight story of like, when did your issues with weight or body stuff start? Sure. ⁓ it's a lifelong story. As soon as I was old enough to have a body image, it was a bad one. So I have been, ⁓ I was on the, out I was on the chunky side when I was about 10 and you know, the cottage cheese diets came out and

⁓ just to continual effort, continual effort. was overweight in high school. And at the time I was in high school, that was pretty unusual. It's more typical now. ⁓ but during the 1980s, it was not. And so I did struggle with that, my body image and weight and everything was so weight centric, especially for young women and young girls at that time. That's also changed to encompass all the boys now as well.

Um, so it was always at the forefront. It, there was never a time it did not exist. So since I'm 53, that makes over 40 years of thinking about it, dealing with it, doing something about it, not doing something about it, ignoring it, being upset about it, just a lot of battling. before we get too far, is there like,

A memory you said, as long as I've had a body image, it's been a bad one. Like if you think back, was there a memory or a stressor that caused you to have a poor body image? ⁓ in, in my family, there was a lot of teasing around it. Okay. And my extended family, my immediate family, not as much, but I had a very big extended family. Okay. So there was teasing you. Yeah. Yeah.

It was, it was fair game. And you're so, you're so impressionable, you know, at that age. remember like part of my body story was an eighth grade. This guy, no, I was in seventh grade. He was like the cool eighth grader and he called me Manley Morgan. And then he said something else that I won't repeat on the show cause it's inappropriate. And just because I was like big, you know, I was five eight and strong and fast and

Manly Morgan. And so I got a necklace and earrings and I wore them every day the rest of the year to like try to be more feminine. And everyone has a weight story. And I just think it's so interesting how we carry those kind of core memories around with us and how they influence us. so yours kind of started with some teasing from extended family and then on and off diets, ignoring it. So how did that

Like what was your weight story like in adult life? Cause you have some children. So I was just kind of wondering how did that evolve over the years? Um, I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart and he of course loved me just the way I was. So that worked out and I had some complications during my first pregnancy that were weight related. Um, I was, I was really classified as obese from the time I was a teenager.

by definition. And so I was obese when I got pregnant for my first child at 25 and had preeclampsia. My grandma had also had preeclampsia with her first and high blood pressure. So it was wasn't something I put a lot of thought into, even though I know the obesity was tied to it. I knew it was also something that happened in our family and my grandma wasn't obese. So I was able to just get through it.

just get through it. And I did lose 30 pounds then before I got ⁓ pregnant for my second child and did not have the same level of complication. That was a much easier and smoother pregnancy. ⁓ Third pregnancy, same. I was kind of returned to the same pre-weight, ⁓ not ret normal weight, but not as obese as I had been. ⁓

I call my fighting weight the 160s. So I was at my fighting weight. So for my second and third pregnancies. And so they were much less complicated. We got through that. ⁓ And from there, being a young mother, I was at home with my kids and I did a lot of scratch cooking and ⁓ ate a lot, just ate what I wanted to try not to think about it off and on. It's always on your mind.

When it's a problem and you want it to be different and you want to be a certain way for whatever reason, it's always on your mind. but there were times that I was able to just ignore it or probably look like to anyone else that I wasn't thinking about it. ⁓ then, ⁓ when my ex husband and I split up in our mid thirties, I did lose 60 pounds, ⁓ pretty rapidly. I just didn't have an appetite and had a lot of stress.

And I kept that off then for six years. Eventually I started eating again. ⁓ after nursing school, it was after I got to you went to nursing school in your thirties. did. Okay. That's cool. I entered nursing school at 36. ⁓ my kids, his dad, ⁓ my ex-husband was in Iraq. He had been deployed at the beginning of our divorce process.

And so I was going to nursing school. He was in Iraq. Um, I was staying real lean in those days, a lot of stress, a lot of, um, a lot going on. And it wasn't until after I had gotten through nursing school and was going through some other things in my life that you never know why it just, it's like a switch. I never thought I would be heavy again, honestly, when I was at, in my one, when in, in the one thirties and.

So then something happened that got me emotionally really off center. And I just started responding little by little with food more and more. And so then I put weight back on and pretty much stayed there and then just fought it continuously from, so I would have been probably 42 at that point. So for the next solid decade after that.

Yeah, so what kinds of things did you try when you were say like I was fighting it? ⁓ It'd be shorter to tell you what I didn't do. ⁓ I was even I was in tops with my mom. That was that was a really fun based what the kids would call based program. ⁓ I don't know the lingo. What is based mean? Solid basic in a good you're based. Yeah, OK, you know what's up. Good so.

Yeah, that was, it'll be gone tomorrow, but for today, that's the lingo. Okay. Based. Yeah. So being cool for today. Right. Exactly. It's a very short-lived experience for me. So being in, I, I did tops for a while off and on, and then, ⁓ I've been in weight watchers. I did do the cabbage soup diet for a hot minute. Most of my diets didn't last a whole day. didn't, they might make no really.

I'd good. Noon, starting to falter by the time supper and bedtime rolled around, done, forgotten thought many, many, many days. I have years worth of days like that. Yeah. Here in the morning, gone, gone by afternoon.

What kind of did that take on you? Like, ⁓ yeah. It was very difficult. It was really difficult. I was, I couldn't figure out why I could be smart and successful and resourceful and strong in every area of my life. But that one, how is this one thing so insurmountable for me? How, how does that track? Couldn't figure it out. And so was a constant.

source of frustration, low level frustration. But a lot of times I was too busy and being a mom, being a nurse, ⁓ just getting by to think about it too hard. Some of the things I didn't do, most of my efforts, none of them revolved around exercise, I can assure you. Most of them revolved around food, cutting calories, cutting fat, because that was the thing for a long time.

I never at that time really experimented with more fat and protein. I just knew I had kind of a really like hypoglycemic reaction. I knew I always felt better if I less sugar, more protein and fat, but it was just kind of background knowledge for me. I didn't have any programs that like reinforced that. And then some of the things that I definitely didn't do were like the MetaFast,

or having my jaws wired shut, ⁓ surgery, bariatric surgery, even, even like Ozempic and what go V I just didn't go that way. I, I felt like where I was sitting for me personally, my body had always responded to a calorie deficit. And I, I was not in that enough danger. The risks did not and benefits did not.

balance each other. The risks were too high for the benefits for my particular situation. So I always steered clear of those. And of course, the longer I was a nurse, the more I knew about the ramifications of some of that stuff. And I had a dear friend who was a nurse, a hospice nurse with me ⁓ that was a young girl and she had ⁓ a sleeve, I believe, I think it was the sleeve.

And she ended up passing away from the complications after a decade. ⁓ my goodness. What do you know? hope you don't mind me asking what complications, because a decade later is. Yeah. If you was young, malnutrition is a big one. Malnutrition is a huge one. ⁓ the two things about bariatric surgery, which I think is wonderful. If that's what gets people, if that's the vehicle that gets people where they need to go, then I think it's wonderful. You can eat your way out of it and you.

It also has tremendous complications for some people. And I think her having those complications where she had to have revisions and ⁓ she was very ill, got infections afterwards. Some of that was just her. And then, you know, later on she ended up passing away. And I think she just had like a chronic malnutrition issue after that. It helped me see, you know, the possible price that could be paid. So I didn't think my situation warranted.

even though other people's might. So those were some of the things I didn't do. So what drew you to Zivli? Because you tried a lot of stuff. I feel like a lot of people, when they find us, feel like, how are you feeling at that point? I'm kind of curious. I know how most people feel, but how are you feeling? Like having tried a lot of things, not wanting to do surgery or medications. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, ⁓ okay. Okay. One more thing ⁓ that I'm not going to be able to make work.

That's really what's in the back of your mind. One more thing that I'm not going to be able to make work. But what drew me to it and what made me take the chance was just seeing into the soul of the program through the videos that were coming into my feed. On YouTube.

Yeah, yeah, at that time, it was on YouTube that I was accessing them because I was into a lot of like medical type podcasts and stuff. And a lot of them were about lowering your insulin and your inflammation. And I started tracking my own in about 2019. And so within a few years, you know, I'm those are terms that are known to me, and I understand more about what they mean. So when Zivli was hitting on those, and I was hearing that

And the way you approached the topic ⁓ was more than medical. There was that very emotional component to it. I was like, ⁓ now we're clicking. Now we're firing all the cylinders. and that's, that's when I was like, and really at that point I was like, what are you going to lose? You know, you're not doing anything. Right. Come on. One of the most powerful things I ever heard. Well, two things.

When I thought about starting this business, which is scary, like it's scary to leave a stable job and start a business was like, I would rather try and fail versus like not try and then regret it later. That was the first thing. And then I heard someone say somewhere on a podcast, because, know, that's where we hear all of our life-changing things. ⁓ You're already living your worst case scenario.

you're already living your worst case scenario. You're already working in the job that's okay, but not what you really want to do and what happens if it fails. You come back to working this okay job. So you're already living your worst case scenario. And I think those two thoughts are helpful, at least for me, when I'm questioning making another choice that might or might not work out. So yours was you were kind of feeling like, okay, this is one more thing that I'm not going to be able to make work. So

What motivated you? Like, how did you get over that hump to try it and to try that one more thing? For me, it was the emphasis, the way Zivli was put together. I could tell it was different and I could tell it was different because the emphasis was on low insulin, low inflammation. There was a lot of thought and care that went into it. I could really tell even in the name itself because it had a meaning and I'm very into names and what they mean with all my kids.

And there's a power in words and in names. And so the fact that there was a whole thought process that went into the name ⁓ and it was so unique, I thought, well, if this is the name, then this program's got me something. It's got me you. It took us a long time to pick that name. So I am really It doesn't seem like it. It was like, of course, that's what you'd call it.

Nope. You want to hear a little bit of background really quick behind that? Just some fun behind the scenes. So we had a few criteria. Number one, we had to be able to trademark it because it has to be... course. You have to run it through the trademark thing. Yep. And you have to afford the domain, the .com domain. That was one of the biggest barriers because if I was a smart kid in the nineties growing up or the eighties or whenever they came out,

Like we would have been buying up these .com domains like it was cheap real estate and then like reselling them to people 30 years later who want these things. But ⁓ I really liked HealthKey, like lowering insulin was the key to improve your health, HealthKey, unlock your cells. That was like a hundred thousand dollar domain. And I'm like, not have been here. yeah, Zivli for those who don't know, means Ziv is to live in Croatian.

I am not Croatian. It's just that all of the live words were taken in English. They were too expensive. And then the L I is low insulin and low inflammation lifestyle. So that's what Zivli means. Uh, and the Zivli community, it's not a real word word. just made it up. And, uh, so I'm glad that you liked it because I loved that part. And I could tell too, just the way you talked about things. I didn't think you had ever been obese. I guess I didn't have a, uh,

like a preconceived notion about that one way or the other. But you just had like an empathy and a compassion around food issues and you don't have to be obese to have that knowledge and or to have that compassion for people. And you had, had a nursing background and you had a ⁓ PT geriatric background. So I felt like there was that relatability there and

As the longer I've been a nurse, the more I'm like, okay, people gotta move. I tell my patients all the time, you gotta move, you gotta move, you gotta move. ⁓ I actually told one of mine not too long ago, I said, I'm gonna tell you something, because I like you. I said, you're on the razor's edge of not being able to live at home and take care of yourself. Every muscle you have while you're laying in this bed, I need you to move it any way you can.

And that's where I'm at now in my nursing career is appreciating that importance and selling that importance. When people are worried and emotional in their illness and they're thinking about all kinds of little things that don't matter. ⁓ I got to get them focused. So, and a lot of it comes back to that movement as they're laying in bed. Being my patient. Well, I think it comes down to control too, because when you're in a hospital, there's a lot.

of things that aren't in your controls, you know, but that is something that you can, you know? And so I think what a blessing you are to your patients to be leading by example. And that was something that you put on the prep form a little bit. Can you speak to the importance of that in your life, like for your patients and your kids and all of that stuff? Yeah. Yeah, the importance of having the answers, going into ICU was a definitely...

a different kind of experience than I thought I was going to have. I thought I was going to go in and take care of critically ill patients. I didn't realize that a lot of them were going to be my age, my peer group. The first week when I took care of someone I had known as in childhood should have been a clue. And it definitely was. And I thought, if I don't have the answers for myself, how am I going to tell them?

These are people my age. It's one thing to tell somebody older, you know, who maybe didn't have a lot of healthcare or, know, they're a certain way because of generational things. They didn't go to the doctor a lot. It's a one thing to be able to educate those people and give them a baseline knowledge. But from my peer to peer group, who's working, raising families, tight budgets, got things on their mind.

If I don't have the answers for myself, how am I going to give them the answers? They don't have any more time to exercise than I do. I don't have any more time than they do. So I had to be able to come from, when I say something, I have to be able to come from that authentic place in order for it to, in order for it to hit the way I want it to. It wasn't enough for me to be able to tell them they already know. Yeah. And.

What about your children? like, cause you mentioned in your form too, that you came from a very food centric family as, do I, and we still are. ⁓ I've shifted, you know, my mom eats healthier and she cooks healthier and that kind of stuff, but, ⁓ it can be hard, you know, it can be really hard to make different choices than your relatives make and to feel that food peer pressure, ⁓ and to be around food pushers. So.

has that been hard to kind of change your identity around food and naturally in that relationships? Well, and it is interesting because those relationships have changed anyway. My big extended family, the ones that used to tease me all the time, they were also huge eaters and huge food pushers. So there's some irony for you. ⁓ Yep. But now my grandparents have passed away.

And my mom has also passed away. So I'm in the matriarch role. And so we're all adults. All the grandkids are adults now. And they're breaking off into those little segments. And it's only like at a big reunion that we would all be together again. ⁓ So in a way, carrying on those traditions feels like the last link to those people.

And in other ways, it's not necessarily a package I want to give my kids in the ways that it has cost. ⁓ The way that we ate was fine if it was only one day, but that was not really what it was for any of us. It was our entire lifestyle. The holidays were just an opportunity to

eat all day instead of an actual meal for us. So yeah. And it's hard because it is like, it's so ingrained in our culture and our family of origin for food to be comfort, for food to be loved, for parents and grandparents to show that. It's part of being human. Yeah. But there is, you know how you were talking about like the risk and benefit ratio of like a surgery.

There's kind of that same thing for like having a family culture that's super duper into sugar or sweets or food. There's that risk benefit ratio to that. The benefit is, it's fun. I always think that like sugar augments my positive emotions and soothes my negative emotions, like makes me feel even happier and more excited. ⁓ But it also soothes it. But then there's that cost.

of generational habits that aren't great for us, you know? So that's and I need to be able to give them something better. The generations that came before me were always trying to give us something better than what they had had. And for me, it's not even financial so much anymore, because it was that way in our family at times, trying to give the next generation a leg up. So it's not such a struggle.

Now it's a give giving them something better for me looks like giving them the opportunity to experience breaking bread together. And the joy around that with a beautiful meal, a simple meal, nobody's stressed out and emotions are not running high enough that that food is our steam valve during that get together.

And that takes a lot of work on the other side of that gathering. And that's all going into those gatherings for me. I don't necessarily want them to be the place where we get together and needle each other about all the things nobody wants to talk about, but we can talk about. And then, know, food is there and it's.

It's everything and there's all this stuff around it. And you could tell my relationship with food is very complicated. ⁓ I needed to be able to give them a simpler, more beautiful relationship with food and family. That's an ongoing project as they're getting used to be young adults. I just, wrote down emotional brain training because I was talking with you offline. We're adding it to the program.

And it's really about erasing and replacing these old wires and circuits. And you said like, I have a lot, a lot in my mind around food. We all have a food circuit and a body circuit and a love circuit and a mood circuit. And it'll be so interesting. I hope that you take advantage of those tools and resources. How have your kids responded? I just out of curiosity, have they noticed that shift in you? Have they appreciated that? Have they pushed back against it at all?

no, they haven't pushed back against it. Honestly, they're they're really wonderful. They're very they're at they're at that age where they're very much doing them. They're 21, almost 25 and almost 27. And they're like I was where it's you know, love you, mom. You're awesome. See you sometime. You know, we're in we're in contact, but it's on me a lot of the time to put together

the moments. And so I have to be very intentional about that. And if they're like I was, they don't appreciate it now like they will later. And so I'm banking on that. I'm confident you've done such a lovely job with them. I'm confident that they will be appreciating that. But more importantly, do have any grandkids yet? No, I didn't think so. They are going to appreciate your health so much.

when they have grandkids. That's been so surprising to me, like appreciating my mom and mother-in-law and how they're able to support my marriage and my children and form deep relationships with my children because they have the health and vibrancy to do so. It's huge. I didn't have that on both sides when I needed it the most. Really. My father-in-law was sick with COPD and he was passing away as we were divorcing.

And my mom was getting very sick with early onset Alzheimer's. Neither pair could really be there for us when we needed them the most, when the kids needed them the most. And I think about that and I want to be able to be there for them. That breaks my heart. Yeah, it was. breaks my heart. My heart was breaking.

because I'm going through all this stuff and I'm bolding my kids to me and my ex-husband is going on deployment now and we're divorcing after 20 years together and no one can help. No one can help. And everything was just shattered. And there was, it's not like any of it was anyone's fault. ⁓

my parents just were not, nor were my in-laws in a position to help. And they would have wanted to, they would have wanted to. But that speaks to what you were saying earlier, like you want to give the next generation better. And like you said, it's not so much financial at this point. It's like better of like more time, more help, more attention, more memories, more intention. the reason I got emotional there was like my...

Eight out of nine of our grandparents, so one of them was divorced and remarried, ⁓ were present at our wedding.

Yeah, that's so rare. And like I went into geriatrics to pay a forward because I was so close to my grandparents and learned so much from them. ⁓ and one of my, ⁓ one of them still alive, you know, one of my grandma's and one of Justin's grandma's and, ⁓ it's a very, I think they can be very, influential. so there's that ripple effect, Wendy, you know, and it's like, so by you changing your health habits, by you, and it's almost like a cycle breaker. Have you ever thought of yourself as a cycle breaker?

I have not, I would only be so honored to be a cycle breaker. I would love to be. That's a cycle breaker. Yeah, it is a big word, but you are. And so by changing your habits, you're influencing your children and you're going to be able to influence your grandchildren in a bigger way. And that's so, so cool. Like that's to me what it's all about. ⁓ Okay.

getting super deep here. So I want to kind of back up just a little bit. And I would love to hear a little bit more about just what you have found most helpful about Zivli. We can start there and then we can talk about your results so far. There's been a lot that's been super helpful. And it's actually changed throughout the process, because I didn't have a pod for the longest. But I would say the thing that

helped the most at the beginning was doing the course and then the reboot and having all the materials to work on the homework, just the sheer volume of it was really good for me because I like to get into stuff and like dig down and never run out. And that's how the whole program still feels to me, which is why another reason why I really love it. Cause I feel like I'll never get to the bottom of it. There's always more layers to peel off.

And so doing the course and the reboot was really good. The personal faith formula was ⁓ super critical. And I do the journaling every day still. I do it in a way that's very like bullet journal. It doesn't take me long. It's a three minute, but I hit all the things and I still do that every day. And that's been really important. ⁓

I catch as many of the calls. The community aspect is so important for me. I really love that part. having my pod now has been really fun. I never thought I would like something like that. But that has, we've had a great time with that. So, and we've, we keep each other accountable in all the right ways. Like we don't really put each other to the fire, but you know, we talk about like, what did you catch this week? What are you, what are you learning about? What are you doing? How's that going for you?

and talking about our different goals for the week. So it's been wonderful. That's great. And I love hearing that. No one's explained it like that before. Like, well, when I started, this was the most helpful. And then now that I've been doing it a while, this is the most helpful. So I really appreciate that. like our program is lifetime membership for a reason. And I think that that's kind of the reason that I've never been able to put into words. It's like, well, the needs change. People like life happens. People have to.

come and go or they might have to come and go. And it's like, we want to be there to support them when they need it. We're definitely not static. We're definitely not static. And I'm in a different spot with the program than my two pod mates are. when I talk to them and they're still working through the actual program, that's really refreshing for me. Cause I'm like, yeah, that part's so good. And when they...

When they say, OK, well, what do you do? And I say, well, this is what I'm this is how I'm structuring my program right now. This is what I'm taking out of it and running with right now ⁓ and explaining how I like to kind of dip in and out of the Kajabi material, the Kajabi Community app. You know, I'm back and forth. I do work a lot, so it's, you know, little pieces, parts that I'm putting into my entire day. Really, I'm layering it in and then.

My pod calls are like my one non-negotiable. I love that. I love that we are with emotional brain training. One thing that I'm learning is so much of that self-sabotage happens in the emotional brain and the emotional brain needs connection. It absolutely needs love and support and connection. So we're going to put even more emphasis, I think on that community aspect moving forward, because it, the people that you talk to that

are the most successful are the people that aren't doing it alone. Like they're just getting support. They're getting love. So that's cool to hear you reinforce with the science supports essentially. Can you share some of your results so far that you've had? ⁓ sure. ⁓ I have, when I came into Zivli, I had already lost, ⁓ I think almost 30 pounds on my own. So since joining though, I've lost a total of 70.

And that's in a three year time span, which sounds great to me. Doesn't that sound like a sell? It sounds like you're 70 pounds in three years. But that's the thing. Works for me. That's what people need to hear. Because what does that mean? That means you're not gaining it back over the three years. You're continuing to improve. And that is what's most important. You can lose weight a lot of different ways. But the key is to keep it off and to keep growing and progressing. So I love that. Yeah.

Going slow was the game changer for me because it gave me time to change my default settings. I could not apparently have changed my default because the first time I lost the 60 pounds, that was fast and hard. And I just ran literally to keep it off. And so there was no normal.

normal eating structure, normal life structure that supported me being a lower weight. It had to be built 1 % at a time, a little bit fewer calories here. Okay. That didn't kill me. So good. And then just, I'm still alive. I'm awake. Very slow buildup changed my defaults. And that's what I had to have because my defaults were so deep and they still can be at times when I went on vacation.

I just did whatever I wanted to do. And then when I got back, I kind of still wanted to do whatever I want to do. And I told myself, well, that's cool, but you're going to track it all. good for you. Like good. If like you yourself where you were at, good for you. I'm like, well, just start at the beginning then start tracking it all. So yeah. And then it just then, and now it's easier to just get that pendulum back once. Once you know what it looks like and you've lived with it and beside it.

for a period of time, it's much easier to get it back there than when it's a becomes your new normal. It's almost like, you know how you had that certain lifestyle and that was what was comfortable for you. And when you tried to quote unquote, be healthy, that felt uncomfortable. And so there's that slow shift of like the healthy lifestyle, the healthier choices becoming the comfortable choices.

your default choices. And then when you go on vacation and you do whatever you want, that's going to feel uncomfortable now. So I think that's kind of ultimate switch. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I didn't realize that because I'd never given myself the opportunity to do it that way. Doing it the way I've done it is a first for me in 50 some years. Gosh, I'm so grateful to hear that. I'm so grateful that you like tried one more thing. know, you're like, okay. Me too.

That's great. Okay, so 70 pounds in three years sounds great to me. Yes, so all the metabolic syndrome numbers and ⁓ statistics, the symptoms that they give, I had all of those, including high blood pressure. I've had high blood pressure pretty much all my adult life. So the biggest change there in the blood pressure was going from four medications to two. So that's a two in my world. ⁓

The fasting glucose and fasting insulin changed a lot. My fasting insulin has been as high as 22. When I got, at the time I joined Zivli, it was hanging, I think around 12. And then the last time I had it checked, was 3.9, which was definitely the lowest it's ever been. And my glucose used to hang right below 100. So I was always flirting with disaster there. And it's the last one I had was 73.

⁓ So those both looked really good. The HOMA IR dropped a ton ⁓ because of that shift with the triglycerides and the HDL ratio. My HDL, I've always struggled to get up there and I've actually taken a lot of fish oil too. so between that and I need to exercise more, that's my next attack on HDL. ⁓

My HDL actually got over the low threshold and I think it was 40 something and now it's 52. Yeah. Yep. And that low threshold for women, they want anything over 50. I know. I know. And the ratio improved to the HDL triglyceride ratio. I've never had a huge cholesterol problem. My fractionated is not so hot, but my numbers have always been fine.

And the triglycerides themselves, I want to say they were almost a hundred at one point, but now they're down at like 67. So the automatically with the HDL up and the triglycerides down, the ratios improved quite a bit. Um, there's been all kinds of things. My waist circumference, which I had always had like a really relatively small waste, but you know, that changes a little bit as you get older. Um, I had always had like a 12 inch difference between my waist and my hips, but the waist was still.

over the 35 inches and it was like 36, I think, or 37. And now it's down around 32. And so it's come down below, like all the metabolic syndrome numbers and symptoms have been addressed. And that's huge, because metabolic syndrome is something I didn't even understand as a nurse. It's like right there. Well, it's right there. It's like so obvious. And nobody talks about it, but it's like a magic eye picture.

Like once you know it's there, you can't not see it because now you know what to look for because those numbers, all of that triangulation of all those different symptoms are, is there, but you, it's not what people talk about. Now they do, but it wasn't for a long time. So it's been good to have all of that addressed. My parents both have a type two diabetes diagnosis. And so having done wound care nursing and having seen.

like that side of diabetes too, it's not, we treat it so casually and it is anything but. It's anything but. It is, it's vicious. And so I did not want to give it the chance. And I knew with two parents having had the diagnosis that it was right there. So I had to try and get out of those crosshairs. That was important. So I think we're there. I think we're out of the crosshairs.

Um, I'm so proud of you first of all, and your story has been so amazing. We're not done yet, but I just wanted to reflect. said you reversed all these metabolic, um, metabolic syndrome markers in tops and weight watchers. I'm guessing not the cabbage soup diet. Cause there's no education there. You just eat cabbage soup. any other, yeah. You just suffer was, um, I was going to say you just suffer and fart.

But I was thinking it, but I didn't say it. So thanks for saying it. I said it. You just suffer in part. Was any other program as health centric? Like, did they teach you about these numbers and like, or was it right? no. They were all, they all try. Well, not all of them, but like the, the best ones tried to have you eat a balanced diet, but it was always like food pyramid for food groups.

That kind of thing. Low carb, there's a million reasons why carbs are such a focus in our diet for so long. ⁓ But those were always the base of everything. It just switched to whole grains, no sugar. True. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So no, of them were ever focused on metabolic health. Any improvements in energy or joint pain or anything like that? yeah.

All of those. I don't snore as much. Nice. Yes, not as much pain overall. Definitely. I work with a lot of younger nurses in the ICU and I can keep up with them. I always could even when I was heavier, but now I don't have to limp out to the car after my shift. So there's been big payoffs there. Yes.

Um, that was one of the things about the 212 was the physical misery. I'm not good at it. I'm not good at it. Yeah. And yeah, that was a real breaking point for me because I've always said I can handle acute pain. Just don't give me chronic pain. Well, and you didn't mention anything about 212 yet. Do you want to tell the listeners what that means? Cause they might be thinking like, was she doing like two 12 hour shifts or like, what does that mean? Oh, 212. Yeah.

212 200 was always what I thought was my body ceiling because I would never go above that when I would gain weight typically I would really I could settle down at like 194 and You know and then then I just hang there, you know for a few years and I think okay Well, you know my I guess I'm just never not gonna get above 200 and then all of a sudden I'm at 212 I'm like, well sky's the limit apparently ⁓

And it was just such a physically miserable place to be because people can weigh 275. They can weigh 325 and they may not be their healthiest. Obviously their body might be struggling, but they might not feel like I felt at 212 at 212. I, it was pain when I opened my eyes and pain when I closed my eyes and I knew I like this cannot, I can't, I can't do it. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this. I'm trapped.

but I don't know, I can't do it. So I had to do something and that was the tracking, just tracking. And then once I had the idea of where I was at, then just giving up the 1%. And then, you know, it's like anything else, the momentum builds and the benefits come and the sacrifices come and then more benefits come. And so now I feel very much at home in my own body.

And that's worth a lot. That's a, there's no really replacing that. No, it doesn't mean that I'm super skinny or that I like to, you know, wear certain clothes. I don't necessarily, ⁓ I just don't, I feel at home in my own body. Like I can get on the ladder and clean my own gutters. I can work 12 hours and walk upright out to the car.

I can do what I want to do. That's amazing. Amazing. So if someone's on the fence about joining Zibli, like if they were where you were, like at a weight they thought that they would never be worried that they were just going to fail again, what did, but they're like curious and they're like, eh. There's Ziv curious. Yeah, there's Ziv curious.

And they're like, okay, don't think it's a hoax. I don't think this is, you know, a scam. ⁓ What if you're very, you're very cute and polished. people, people might be tempted to be like, she don't know when they see you and, it's in your feed for a reason. Just saying it's in your feed for a reason. Somebody knows something about you. Yeah. And, something about what you need.

And really you have not tried everything because it'll exist and you haven't tried that. And it's a very solid based as it were program. Based. Yeah. That offers the latest that we know the latest and the best of what we know now.

And so for me, like I would recommend it to anybody. would recommend it to any of my patients. I would recommend it to my family. Yeah. It's my calling card. So thank you. And for those who don't know, I think I did a YouTube video about this a long time ago. I think I've now lost over a hundred pounds in my life. did. I did see that one. Yeah. And it's not all at once, but there are still skills every single time you.

my gosh, like I'm still, I, you know, I'm 12 weeks postpartum today at the time of this recording. And so I'm still in it. I'm not done yet. And I learned something. And this is number three. Yeah, this is number three. But I'm so grateful for that because it does give me, think that experience ⁓ knowing that it is hard even to lose five pounds, even to lose 10 pounds and keep it off as hard.

And then also like that combined with my geriatric experience, just like what you were saying of like, you've, see the end stage disease and you're like, I definitely don't want that. And I don't want that for anybody else in the entire world. So let's do something about that. I definitely have a lot of compassion. Yeah. So what message would you give to new members? So let's say someone's listening. They're like, ⁓ I'm going to do it. I've been listening to her podcast for like two years and I've

tried it on my own and I'm just ready to see what this is all about. So they, you know, they purchased it, they enroll and then they get the welcome email and they start reading things and they're like, my gosh, I'm a little bit overwhelmed because I know the next 10 weeks are going to be filled with learning. You know, maybe they're getting kind of bogged down in the details. Like what advice would you give to a brand new member who just joined?

I enjoyed the floodgates being opened because I'm that person. I enjoyed the fire hose because that's what I do when I get into something. I'm like, yeah, crank it. Of course I'm stopping wet and sad. ⁓ But so during those moments, you can still feel the hope that you can see the practical framework start to take shape. You just start putting the day together.

On the end, whichever end is your easy end. If you're a night person, it'd be the nights. If you're a day person, it's the morning. Everybody says morning is the time. That's the time that works for me. You just start putting those little pieces together a little at a time and just be patient with yourself. And I have that monkey bar analogy because that's what it feels like to me. Like where you're just swinging, you're getting going. You're just swinging. You grab the bar.

And then you see that next bar and then you like get enough momentum where you can just grab for it and you can see it. So like make sure you can see it, put the work in, put the swing in. And then when you can see your next skill to grab onto, just grab it. Just grab it and go.

I love it. thank you, Wendy. Like this has been such a delight for me. I hope it was so valuable for people listening, whether they're an existing Zivli member and they're like, okay, I really want to dig into this even more now, or they're going to join us and fall. And they're like, okay, this was, this was the story. Like this was the one I needed to hear. ⁓ I've heard a lot like that. I've heard a lot like that. There's good takeaways, I think, from all of them.

We all kind of had, I think.

shades of the same experience. It's not been identical, but there's that common thread. And so when you hear it in someone else's story, it's like those connections you talked about. It's like there's that little connection that ties you to them. And you know, it's that lifeline, that little rope, making that little rope that you need. I feel very, very excited that your journey isn't done and that you're going to still get one percent better every day. And

that you are just going to grow like in that internal joy and confidence and vibrancy and freedom that comes from putting in the work, putting in the reps. like, is what gives you the feelings that often people attribute to just being at a certain weight or being at a certain size. It's not, it's like who you become along the way and the person of integrity and growth ⁓ and authenticity.

I'm just, I'm so impressed by you. So thank you. well, thank you. I am super excited about the EBT that you're bringing in. And I feel like your passion for the program is what creates and fuels all the good change in people because there's always more, the program itself evolves and you let it, you don't hold it to be one certain thing.

⁓ you let it evolve. And I think that's going to be really key moving forward. I think that's part of the, it's great success is that you don't try to make it be any certain thing, but you just kind of have an instinct for it. And then you respond to the cues that you're given. And it turns out Wendy, there's science to that. Yeah. It's like, ⁓ emotional co-regulation. And so like when a toddler is upset and they go to their parents.

for comfort. Like that's kind of what is happening on a neurological level is someone's stressed out and they're coming to you to be less stressed, to be that source of hope, to believe in them when they're not even sure if they believe in them. it's like, so I really view that as a big part of my job is to hold space for the members and hope for the members. thanks for saying that because I do try to do that and I appreciate that. Cause you were attracted, who knew? Yeah. Well you succeeded. So it's the energy transfer that you're referring to.

Yeah, yeah, like it's been a part of my nursing to a lot of it's built on physical touch, because it's important to me to physically touch my patients if it's appropriate. But that's always been a big part of my nursing, but also that eye contact has always been a big part of it too. And that energy transfer that you get from that, because I feel like I do that as well. And in my role, so I know what you're talking about that feeling where

You're like, I'm sending you the vibes and picking them up. Like we're doing this. Thank you again. I appreciate your time today. You too. You take care. Thanks. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to the reshape your health podcast today. To learn more about Zivli, our online course and coaching program to reverse insulin resistance for long-term weight loss and disease prevention. Check out our website at www.zivli.com.

That's z-i-v-l-i dot com. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a rating and review on your listening platform and share it with a friend. I'll talk with you at the same time, same place next week. Bye for now.