Success Story: After Following All Restrictive Diets Out There and Gaining Back Every Pound She Lost, Lisa Finally Found the Secret to Sustainable Body Transformation

Podcast Transcription: Success Story: After Following All Restrictive Diets Out There and Gaining Back Every Pound She Lost, Lisa Finally Found the Secret to Sustainable Body Transformation

Ted Ryce: Lisa, so grateful to have you on today. Thanks so much for coming on. And be willing to share your story with people who might resonate with it and get inspired by it.  

Lisa: Great. Thanks, Ted. I'm glad to be here.  

Ted Ryce: Yeah. Let's start off with some basics. Can you talk a little bit about who you are? And let's just share the results that you've gotten in the program so far.  

Lisa: Sure. So, I'm a mom. I'm a single mom. I have four children and I have a high-level position at my company. And I have a ton of responsibility. And I started the program January 30th, and since then, I've lost Pounds in total. But I've also gained a lot of muscle. I don't exactly know how much, but I've gained significant muscle and a lot more strength.  

So, in terms of results, I think when we started the program, I had a goal size in mind for my jeans. In that goal, size is a little too big now. So, certainly making good progress.  

Ted Ryce: Excellent. Thanks so much for sharing that. And I think it's worth mentioning you and I actually know each other personally. We connected years ago. You actually helped me get my first keynote talk. That was a lot of fun for the Network of Executive Women. Got to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  

And we also have worked together professionally a couple of times. You worked with me years ago when I had a previous coaching program. Can you talk a little bit about your diet journey, weight loss journey up until you joined the program recently?  

Lisa: Sure. So, kind of going all the way back to the beginning. As a kid, I was chubby And I can remember trying to go dress for shopping for the holidays with my mom and being in the little department store, being upset and crying because nothing ever fit me. And it was always just rough.  

And I remember we came home one time, we were Easter dress shopping, and my mom's like, “Well, you have to have carrots and your brother and sister can have cookies.” And I've always struggled with my weight. And in high school I got involved in sports.  

So, my weight came way down and I lost weight on the high school cross-country team and stuff like that. And then I got to college, stopped working out, and in my twenties, I tried Weight Watchers for my wedding, just all of these things. I was always looking for some sort of a fad to kind of help me lose weight so I could get back to where I wanted to be.  

But I always ended up Gaining the weight back every single time. So, before you and I worked together or somewhere in that mix, because time gets fuzzy a little bit. I did a Whole 30, which was great, and I lost a lot of weight. I think that's about the same time you and I started working together and then I added exercise.  

But I also realized I probably wasn't eating the best variety of foods and I was missing things that I really liked. And it wasn't sustainable because when life got stressful, I went back to my old eating habits and kind of let all that progress that I had made go.  

And even I tried some things on my own. I got to a really tough place January of this year because my birthday's in January and I just knew that I had a high level of trust in you Ted and you're a good friend and a really great human being. And I was just in this spot where something has got to change.  

I had bought and sold a house and did all these home renovations and my 44th birthday hit, and I knew I had gained weight and my clothes were tight. I didn't actually realize until I stepped on the scales and weigh in for this program how much weight I had gained.  

And I was shocked because it kind of piles on pretty quickly. And there's a lot more Lycra and spandex in clothes now than there used to be. And I was like, “Whoa, okay, well, so we're doing this.”  

And truthfully, it's the best thing I've done for myself. I've done… And it was the best investment in myself that I've made because I've been able to not just lose weight and gain health, but I've been able to, through getting stronger, work through a lot of emotional issues and different things that have happened in my life to kind of come to a better place of peace. So, it's not only that I'm physically healthier. I think I'm from a total well-being perspective, more healthy.  

Ted Ryce: Thanks for be willing to go there and share that. And I think sometimes, at least this is my perspective when I'm talking to people and they're conversing with me on social media, asking me questions. They kind of think that what I do with coaching and what other coaches do, but just keep it in me. It's like, “Oh, I give you a workout program and then I give you a diet and then you go follow it and everything works.”  

It's like it's never that. It's really about emotional regulation. It's about behavior change, understanding the steps of behavior. Well, let me shut up. Let me ask you what you think. It's about based on your pre…You have a lot of previous experience starting when you were young and going on Weight Watchers right before you got married.  

I think you said to what we're doing today. Can you talk a little bit about the diet culture you've been a part of and then we can talk about how what we're doing is different.  

Lisa: I think diet culture that I've been a part of, and some of them were good, it's not all that is bad. But I think it was never about what is sustainable for your life. It was about achieving a quick goal or getting to this quick place. But I can remember in Weight Watchers, buying low fat baloney, this is ridiculous, but and getting excited because I can eat this baloney. That was zero points.  

And I was so happy that I could eat a lot of the zero points baloney. And the steps in…It has been, gosh, years since I did that. But it that's ridiculous. Like that's not sustainable to build a healthy lifestyle. And it was really…At that time, it was how could I cheat the system to be able to eat as much food? But I wasn't really teaching myself how to be healthy.  

I was trying to find the same unhealthy foods, but in the cheapest way I could get them so I could still have them. And I think the way we talk about it now is it's different. It's about really honoring yourself and doing the right things and doing that consistently enough so that when you want to have the real deal, you can have it.  

I went to a very lovely steakhouse on Thursday night and had a delicious meal and I didn't have any guilt, any regrets, and it worked into my plan and it was fine. And I enjoyed it in the moment and I had a great time. And then I moved on and I went right back to the protein shake for breakfast the next day and everything else just fell into place.  

So, that, I think, is the biggest difference. I think it's the way and it's some of your philosophy and how you talk about things, about if it's not sustainable and you can't have some of your favorite foods and enjoy them without guilt, then you're never going to make the shift. And that for me is huge.  

And there was something about this time around because in the beginning or the first phase of the program was about rapid fat loss. And you're very smart about designing it that way because you get quick results, you get excited about what you're doing. And there is, you know, because my background is in research,  

I’ve done some research projects where we have deprived people of paper towels and they have to figure out how to clean their house without paper towels. And then you can look at other behaviors or start to observe your own behavior.  

So, throughout the fat loss phase, it’s pretty intense and you really do have to step away from some of your favorite things. And there is something about that part of it where when I knew I wanted…. I'm a muncher, I eat to manage anxiety. But through this time around, I've been able to conquer that, because I think more so when I was in the rapid fat loss phase, I was going to completely blow my progress, if I put my hands in a bag of snacks.  

And so I would check in with myself, like, why do I want these snacks? Am I my really hungry? Because I know I have these other foods I can eat that will make me feel full. And I was able to identify that my desire for these crunchy snacks was because I was feeling anxious about something.   

And having that part of the program as a backbone and a guide in goals that I was trying to meet, gave me the opportunity to examine my behavior. And I think that for me was really helpful because I was able to start to connect the dots and see why I was overeating at times, or why I was trying to get to certain foods. 

 It was because I was in an emotional place and I knew that was going to make me feel better. So, when you're able to see that, you can't unsee it anymore. And I was sick of it, so then I learned to cope with other things, like just taking a walk outside for a few minutes, realizing, okay, I'm having feelings and that's why I want to eat this. I don't want to eat this.  

Let me just be with my feelings for a minute and let them pass. It's not easy. Trust me, I have four kids running around like lunatics. Sometimes it's just like, “Oh my God.” And I'm not going to say that I was perfect and I didn't have potato chips when I was stressed out. I have. I would be completely lying if I didn't make that statement. But I had less and less and less and less and less.  

It is seven and a half months and I've been in this program, and I really don't stress eat the way I used to at all.  

Ted Ryce: Amazing. And you said something important about the diets and the quick fixes. And I think that I don't look at them as necessarily a bad thing either. I feel like everybody has to do what they do… Everybody is at a certain place and not everybody is ready for coaching.  

You have to really be all in when you do this, otherwise, you're just going to, hmm, hmm, you’re just… you've got to be all in, right? Because it requires a lot of change and changing the hard things, not going on a strict diet and getting rid of carbs. That's what we... I think that's the comfortable thing to do. Doing a strict diet when your motivation is high enough because you're sick of what you see in the mirror or sick of the number on the scale or your clothes don't fit, whatever it is.  

Then you're like, “Okay, time to do the strict diet.” But that's really the easy thing. We say it's a hard thing, but it's really the easy thing. Because the hard thing is the thing that you actually don't really want to do. And it takes a while to get there. And I've been there myself, So, at least people can step by step get to a better place.  

Until like, you know, me personally, I've made a big sustainable change in my health. And like you, you've done the same. And it's hard to say, like, “Well, we could have just done this initially,” but I don't know if I would have been ready. What do you think?  

Lisa: Same. I wouldn't have been ready. I think there is some of that trial and error has to happen because it's experience and you have to sometimes learn enough about what doesn't work to figure out what does work because it gives you some contrast. I think you were spot on. You have to be ready and I was ready. I was at a place where I turned 44.  

I was probably 20 to 25 pounds without batting an eye. And I didn't even realize I did it. I knew I wasn't as strong as I had been in the past. And I was kind of like, this is not good. This is not where I want to be. I want something different for my life. And I was just really ready to make a change. And I think now I have all the right tools to make it sustainable.  

Someone in our coaching group said this and it's like “There are lots of programs, there are lots of systems. They've always been there. But the change has to come from within and you have to be ready for it.” And it was great when he said that in our group coaching call, because I was just like, “Yes, that's exactly it. That's exactly it. It has to come from inside.” 

The motivation for me on the inside was tremendous and the dividends that's paid back has just been…The amount of personal growth and change that I've gone through this year like, I don't know, 100 foot. I do still need to write it all down. I told you I would do that at one point, but it's like I still kind of pinch myself when I think about how I'm showing up in my life today on a Tuesday in October versus how I showed up on a Tuesday in February. I'm a very different person.  

Ted Ryce: How would you say the difference is? I know we've actually worked together before in a different variation of coaching. And this is why I'd like to think it's way better and way different. But how would you describe coaching to someone who's maybe on the fence about it and they've never done it and they might think, well, I'll just get some information online and just do it myself, or maybe I will get a book and just follow the book, or maybe even a course or get a workout? How would you describe the difference between coaching and some of the other things that you've tried, like in your own perspective?  

Lisa: So I think...And it's kind of... So, I think the difference is... because there's a lot of great resources out there, to your point, there's books, there's YouTube, there's all kinds of things that you can look on on your own, but you are going to hit stumbling blocks, whether you're in a coaching program or whether you're working on your own.  

And I think the difference is when you're on your own, you're kind of in an echo chamber of your own head, and coaching helps get you out of that. So if you do have a stumbling block or an issue, there's been a lot of support from you and other stuff and another trainer in the program, and the group itself, that when you are reaching a stumbling block, there's support to get through it.  

And that, I think, is the big difference, because you are going to you are going to stumble. You're going to have, you know, a bad day. You're going to have a bad couple of days. You're going to have something that happens that you don't know how to overcome. And having the support of the group around you can help you work through that.  

And we're all human, like things happen. It's not that things aren't going to happen. It's how you move through and get back on track when things do happen. And that, to me, is the big difference with coaching is, there's a support mechanism to help you get through the stuff that pops up. Or even your own frustrations, because it can be frustrating at times, but that's how you grow, is to work through the frustrations.  

And so, like if you're in your own echo chamber, you're in your own head and you can get really down on yourself and then get highly demotivated, "No, this isn't going to work. Let me give up." Because when I initially signed up for the program with you, I only signed up for, I think four months or whatever the initial period was.  

And I had great results then, and I looked a lot better and it looked different and I felt good. But I remember when you and I talked, I was like, "Well, if I'm really going to get to my goal..." and this is a new behavior for me, like, really being goal-oriented with my health and fitness, "If I'm really going to get to my goal, probably need to do this for a whole year, probably need to just stay in this longer and keep going."  

And that is one of the smartest things I've ever done, because I've been able to achieve a lot more in the shifts. I think once you get past like the first few months, you'll make great progress. And I did. But there's something that happens. There's like a magic in the back half that I'm just like, "Ooh," and it's, it's very different than just following something that's about weight loss only.  

Ted Ryce: Can you talk more about the magic? What is that magic? When did it happen?  

Lisa: It started happening in the beginning. So there was a couple of big hurdles in my life that I was able to address, that I wasn't...There were some conflicts and things, that I was able to overcome. But the magic is starting to see myself as a different person and starting to realize that I can overcome, you know, when I'm talking, I don't want to be too vague, so I keep repeating myself.  

But I think the magic happens when you start to realize that you're physically stronger. That gives you mental strength, and you start to... I've started to see myself as a different person, so I'm able to wear clothing that I wanted to wear that gives me a little bit more confidence.  

And you know, a friend of mine, we were out for lunch sometime in early September, and she just looked at me—and I was able to overcome a really difficult relationship with someone I had been involved with for some time. And she just looked at me and said, "You're glowing. Like, you just look so different."  

And that's kind of where I think like the magic is, is you start to present yourself differently. And I have different types of conversations with people now. I'm a lot calmer, I am a lot more present, a lot more present. And things don't bother me the way they used to. My kids said, they're like, "You don't get as upset. Like you're kind of really mellow." Or, "Is everything okay? Like, what's going on with you?"  

I'm like, 'No, I'm really good. I think I'm really good." And, you know, even like with my staff, I think I show up better for them and I'm able to be more joyful. And that is huge for me because I have had long periods of my life where I've not been able to be joyful. So those are the kind of the shifts that I'm talking about.  

And my body has been changing. I know my weight... We've looked at my statistics. My weight hasn't dropped a ton in the last few months, but my body is changing, so I know that I'm gaining muscle and the shape is different. And I like it. It's going in the right direction. And I never really thought I could look this good at 44, almost 45. And I feel like I look way better than I did at 34/35. So that's great. That's exciting. And that's kind of where it's like, "Wow, what else can I do?" So it kind of...  

And you always challenge us in the coaching group and even in our message, you said, 'What's your next goal?" Kind of what's your next thing? I think that that's the difference with coaching, is there's, you know, a good coach—and you're a great coach—helps you push yourself to the next level. And when you're working on your own, you're kind of always looking at your missteps, or "What did I do wrong?" Or you’re kind of just in a tighter spot and you're not able to see the bigger picture.  

Ted Ryce: What do you think is one thing that happened…? Well, let me ask like this. When people join, they want to lose weight. They want to see the number on the scale go down. They want their clothes to fit differently. But what you just said is more about how you feel, how you're showing up, how you're showing up for your children, how you're showing up for your team at work.  

And so what do you think about...? Like, I guess what I'm trying to ask here is, how do you see this health thing, like, how does it help you with those things besides the fitting into your clothes better? Can you talk a little bit about that? Is there something else you could share?  

Lisa: Yeah, because I think once you start to get your health, your diet and your exercise routine handled and you have some traction, the first few months, it's probably not going to happen. It probably takes—I was talking about that magic—like four or five, six, it's when you start to have some success and some confidence that you start to have better boundaries and you're able to... 

You know, when I've had to say no to the indulgent foods and really just stick to what was on the plan. Because you do have to say no to indulgent things from time to time so that you can gain that consistency. But it's once you start to have the…it's almost pride in knowing that you can be consistent for yourself, and it's really about treating yourself the best way.  

So it's the consistency of showing up for yourself. So the more I did my workouts at night, well, I really didn't want to because that was the time I could do it. You know, starting a workout, running to pick somebody up from soccer practice, driving back home and doing a few more sets, going to get the next kid, like... But that's how I had to do it.  

And just being that consistent and showing up for myself because I prioritized myself, kind of helps trigger that, the inner wellbeing piece. Because then you start to have better boundaries of people, you start to have better boundaries with, obligations and commitments and you know, somebody saying, "Hey, I really want you to do this for me right now."  

And it's, you don't want to. You can say no. I have more confidence now to say no to things I don't want to do. And then people, you know. And so it just, the more you care for yourself, the more self-love you have. And then when you have more self-love, that, I think, is how you show up differently.  

Ted Ryce: Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah. Thanks so much for sharing. I know it's like, you know, it's a more emotional journey than people want to admit, even when guys, when they talk about emotional eating, some guys on social media, not actually in the coaching group will say, "But I do like that word 'emotional eating.'"  

And it's like, well, what do you what you want to call it? Stress eating? It's same thing, but it's your emotional and you’re eating. It's not a judgment. It's just an observation. Right? Otherwise, you wouldn't do it. And I used to do that. I used to drink alcohol because it's not because I like the taste, but I had all this anxiety and I was trying to change my emotional state by using alcohol.  

And it worked, but it just came with side effects, and the same thing with emotional eating. So, thanks for going there and sharing that, Lisa. What do you what was the hardest point, or part of the program for you? Was there something that was really challenging?  

Lisa: This is going to sound weird, but when I decided to sign up for the full year and the payment terms were arranged too and I agreed to pay in full, there was something about I've never spent that much money on myself in one transaction, ever. Like, on something, like not...Like, I've gone to college and stuff. So that's a little bit different.  

But that was the biggest amount of money I've ever just spent just on myself. And there was something about that was hard, and it was silly because I had the money. It wasn't about the money necessarily. And once I did it, it's the best thing I've ever done, like it is the best thing I ever done.  

I'll tell you, I had a lot of anxiety pushing Send, and I don't know why. And I think it's kind of comes back to seeing myself differently and treating myself because as a mom, I have daughters, so I always buy them new clothes first. I don't buy myself clothes first, so I always do first. I do other things for people first.  

So, it was kind of like rubber meeting the road, where I was really committing in time and money just to focusing on me. And I've never really given myself permission to do that. So it was doing that. And I think in making that investment, I'm worth that. Like, I am worth that. I am worth, you know, I work very hard.  

I'm worth investing in myself in that way and not thinking about, well, I could have spent money on all these other things for the house, for the kids, for the... But now I made the decision to spend that on myself, and that was big. And it's the best thing I've ever done. Hands down.  

Ted Ryce: Why do you say it's the best thing? You know what Dan said, it was the best thing he's ever done. And just if you're listening, Dan, I've interviewed him and he's also in the group with Lisa. They're both signed up for a year. Like, what do you mean by that exactly?  

Lisa: I think because it... I haven't really delved into it to think it through, so it's going to come out kind of raw and a little fuzzy. But I think it was the first time I ever felt that I was like, worth it like that. I matter enough to do this for myself. And if I'm not willing to go all in on me, who else is going to go all in on me, if I can't go all in on myself and really do this?  

And when I say it's the best, the amount of growth that I have been able to achieve and the inner peace and sense of joy, I couldn't have gotten that investing in external things. I had to do it by investing in myself. And that, I think, is why it's the best money I've ever spent, because I spend it on me. I invested it back into myself.  

I wasn't like...Like, there's a lot of analogies with like leaky boats. Like, it's kind of like I was shoring up all the leaks on the boat and helping the boat rise, kind of a thing. And I was investing it back in fixing me. And that's the best investment you can really ever make, is putting things back into yourself.  

Because I'm able to give that back then and showing up better for my children, just being a happier person in the world. We live in a strange time and there's a lot of negativity and a lot of stuff. And if I can show up as a happier, kinder, gentler person and give more of that back out, you know, investing in myself, it kind of pays dividends to other people as well.  

Ted Ryce:  

Lisa: Yeah, thanks for answering a very difficult question. What was the best part of the program for you? I definitely think that the group coaching piece is the best part. The best part is having... I hit 100 workouts about a few weeks ago,  100 workouts since February, strength training workouts. It doesn't count my cardio and my walking and stuff.  

And that, for me, was huge. And it was huge because I remember years and years ago, like health insurance companies, if you would go to the gym and dial some phone number and worked out 120 times a year, you would get like a discount or something. So there was some reason that metrics was in my head and I was able to get that pretty, pretty quickly.  

And I'll definitely get through 120 workouts this year. So that was kind of set like as a bar, and to me that always felt unattainable, that's, "How could you actually do that many workouts in the year?" And I'm going to do it. So that was really a big one for me, but I think the best part of it and when we talked, I was like, "Well, I want to do the group piece," because I just thought I could get something out of it.  

And I was feeling a little bit isolated at the time. I wanted to have the opportunity to talk with people, but I think the learning from each other and seeing all of our collective humanity and the struggles that everybody else has and being able to kind of ping off of each other and support each other and learn from one another, really, I think, helps enrich the group.  

The last time you and I work together, there wasn't a group component to it, and I honestly think if I had to do it all...I wouldn't want to say that personal one-on-one training doesn't work because I'm sure it does, but I wouldn't probably choose that again.  

Ted Ryce: Yeah, fascinating. And certainly, there are some people who do better with the one-on-one, but the group, especially for people who are feeling a bit isolated, like you work from home. You have your daughters, but if you're looking for other, right, some interaction and also interaction in a group that's all focused on the same thing and everybody in the group is having success with what their goal is to improve their health, to lose weight, but ultimately to improve their health in a sustainable, emotionally healthy way. Right?  

So it's quite powerful. It's interesting to do the one-on-one calls and do the group calls. I've learned that I’ve got to shut up more on the group calls and let people take over more. And it's funny. It's really interesting and it's very powerful. I love both. But that group energy, it's very different. Hard to beat.  

What would you say to someone who's on the fence about investing in coaching? Maybe they've heard Dan talk about it or Trevor or one of my other clients and they're still wondering if it'll work for them, if it's worth you know, hopping on that phone call with me, what would you say to someone? What do they honestly need to know about? Or what would you say to yourself when you were thinking about it and going back and forth?  

Lisa: I think... I think you need to be prepared to change because you're not going to be the same. If you do the program and really commit to it, you have to be prepared to let go of who you were. And that's not always easy because there's a lot of comfort in who we are, even if we're not happy with who we are.  

You know, there's a lot of comfort in staying the same because change is scary. Humans aren't great at adapting to change, so you have to be prepared that your life will look different—for the better. It's not going to be bad, and you'll probably have to feel it. You just have to be prepared for change.  

And it's positive change. It's not negative change, but even positive change is hard because for example, the first few months, I went to lunch with my girlfriends and I didn't eat the way I normally did. I eat, like, I was careful. We track things on My Fitness Pal, and I was tracking my calories.  

I was trying to figure out because I wanted to have a beer at lunch because we were at this microbrewery place and I was just trying to work it all in so that I could be in my calories for the day. I one of my girlfriends was like, "Why are you fat shaming us, Lisa?" Or something to that effect.  

And I'm like, "No, I'm just trying to be good for me. Like, I'm just doing my thing. You all do whatever you want." And we've been friends for 20 or 30 years, so it's like, we're like sisters in some respects. But you are going to push up against people who don't want to see you change. You have to be prepared that there's going to be some resistance, but you have to really want the change.  

Ted Ryce: Yeah. Can you just share how you've dealt with that? Have you had a lot of people who were putting pressure on you or uncomfortable with you changing and how you dealt with that?  

Lisa: Not a ton. I've had it more in the past. I've had like...There's comments that come from, "Well, you've gotten sort of skinny," but I'm thinner and I'm thinner and I look leaner, but I wouldn't say that I'm skinny. I'm healthier. And it's definitely around like, "Oh, you're not going to have some of that?" "No, I'm not. I'm okay. I'm full. I'm full." "But don't you want some? Don't you want 

And so there's a lot of peer pressure with food that I think that's hard. It hasn't been a ton. Because I think because I'm stronger and I'm able to maintain my boundaries when I say no. If you say no with conviction and grace, people kind of back off. And there's something about building the strength.  

And if they know...Like, it's an energy you put out. If I'm not going to waver. They're not going to keep trying to push me to do it. So, I think people around me have gotten used to that, the new sense of boundaries that I have too.  

Ted Ryce: Was there anyone who you had to stop talking to as a result of changing?  

Lisa: It's a tough one. This is a very tough question. In some respects, yes. Someone close to me has had some health issues. And the more I've changed and gotten healthier to watch that person have significant health issues and how some friends of mine tried to extend some help, it was met very poorly.  

And it's been difficult, but I couldn't really watch that person suffer. And there were a lot of bad habits there and we haven't really been speaking as a result. It's been tough.  

Ted Ryce: Thanks for sharing. Yeah, it's really tough when someone—when you start to change, you become more aware about your habits and why you're doing things, and then you start to see things in other people that they may not see.  

But if you try to bring it up to them or offer guidance, they may not be ready or have any desire whatsoever to change. And then it's like, what do you do there. It can be challenging. So, let's end this on a positive note here.  

Lisa: Yes, let's do that.  

Ted Ryce: What would you say like the most positive change that has happened or something surprising, something happened in a positive way that you weren't expecting?  

Lisa: I wasn't expecting to find as much peace. I wasn't expecting to just feel as content as I do. I didn't think that would come from starting this program. I just felt that I would lose some weight and look better. I really didn't think I would evolve as much.  

Ted Ryce: Amazing. So, starting out to lose a couple of pounds and then you lost a lot of, let's say, the things that were irritating you along the way or disturbing your peace along the way. Fantastic. 

And I think what you're saying there, it's a good, you know, I'll say this: there was a psychologist that I worked with for a little while, a Brazilian psychologist, actually. And what she said when she talking about—when we were having a conversation and we were talking about change and we were talking about how to change. What she said...  

And she's had a dramatic body transformation herself. She runs a body transformation group in Brazil, it's very successful. And what she said is: don't focus on the spirituality. You can, but if you want to be spiritual, take care of the vessel that is housing your spirit. Right? And it kind of stuck with me. Did that relate you? Did that resonate with you?  

Lisa: Yes, because I spent a lot of time doing the inverse. I would spend a lot of time working on the spiritual piece, meditation and some other things. But it wasn't until I really focused on my body that it all came together. And I feel like my capacity to be more spiritually aligned, if you will, is so much stronger, and my peace is so much better by working on my body.  

Ted Ryce: Yeah, it's fascinating how that happens. Fascinating. That's not to say if you're going... Don't stop going to church or do anything meditating or whatever, but just know that by changing your habits with how you take care of your physical health, it can lead to some dramatic internal shifts if it's done the healthy way, right? So amazing. Lisa, thanks so much.  

Lisa: You're welcome. My pleasure.  

Ted Ryce: It's been fascinating. I've been dying to hear you share this story and just sitting down for, you know, a few minutes and just asking you these questions. It's, always learned so much.  

So, thank you so much for being open, honest in and really sharing the good as well as some of the challenging moments that you've experienced. And I'm just excited. I'm excited where you're going to be by then. We'll do another one at the end to see… 

Lisa: I know. 

Ted Ryce: …What the final transformation is.  

Lisa: I'm excited too. It's... Yeah, it'll be great.  

Ted Ryce: Okay. Well, thanks so much. Looking forward to... 

Lisa: Awesome.  

Ted Ryce: …Doing it again soon.  

Lisa: Thanks, Ted. Have a good day.  

Ted Ryce: You too.