Heather Goodwin is fond of saying that she was born at her ideal weight, and that was the last time she ever saw it.
In her teens her weight was in the hundreds; in her twenties, the two-hundreds; in her thirties, the three-hundreds, and in her forties – well, you can see where this is going. A few years ago, Heather topped out at 436 pounds on her 5'2″ frame. As she put it, she was rounder than she was tall.
Heather could also see what her destiny would be if she didn't find a real solution, and she didn't want to experience a 500-pound body in her fifties. So she said goodbye to all the diets and pills and fads she had tried in the past, and adopted a strict whole food, plant-based diet.
And this time, it's working.
[powerpress]
Heather and I spoke shortly after she had entered “Onederland” – under 200 pounds for the first time in decades. We covered:
- growing up bullied and lonely as the fattest girl in school
- eating and TV as antidotes to sadness and boredom
- why it all got worse in high school
- her expanding medicine cabinet and long list of diseases, ailments, and pains
- the lie of the “jolly fat person”
- apnea, sleep problems, and “rolling around like a chicken on a rotisserie” all night
- a childhood of comfort and convenience food
- baffled parents who singled out the obese child rather than changing the family eating pattern
- “I'd run crying to cookies if you brought up my weight”
- the 20 times she lost and regained at least 40 pounds
- “I'd fall off the wagon, and then the wagon would back up and roll over me”
- battling her “inner brat”
- hiring a “furry personal trainer” who required two walks a day
- committing to a YouTube channel at 350 pounds to lose the weight in front of everybody
- finding Chef AJ and the missing piece
- the importance of environment: “If you don't want to slip, stay off the ice.”
- “being a food addict is like being an alcoholic who lives in a bar”
- the danger signs of HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired)
- Dr Klaper's Sugar Salt Oil video (throwing cold water on her addiction)
- weight loss as a daily mental marathon
- and much more…
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
The Butterfly Effect Extreme Weight Loss YouTube Channel
The Butterfly Effect Facebook Group
Chef AJ's Ultimate Weight Loss Program
Never Binge Again, by Dr. Glenn Livingston
Dr Klaper's Salt, Sugar, and Oil video available for rent or purchase
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Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons
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Announcements
Check out my online TV show, Triangle Be Well. This week I talk with Mark Leuchten about the health implications of being one with everything. Mark is one of my dearest friends and wisest teachers. I hope his words bless you as much as they have me and my family.
I can help you navigate the medical system and adopt a healthy lifestyle
I'm available for one-on-one consulting and coaching to help you navigate the medical system, make informed decisions, take control of your health destiny, and achieve true wellness and not just medical management of disease.
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Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive amazon gift certificates from your actions on such links.
Dr Howie Jacobson
This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).
My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.
Here are three gigs that I do:
1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation
I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.
At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.
My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.
2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance
I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.
We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.
The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.
3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams
I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.
So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.
You CAN Change Other People!
Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.
What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.
Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.
Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.
GREAT interview. Heather you are an inspiration! I love your story and I love your advice. “If you don’t want to slip, stay off the ice” is GREAT advice. Well done Heather!
Wonderful Wonderful Interview!! Heather is a real inspiration.
Hello Heather…..just want to say….after listening to several of your videos and making lots of your recipes (today I made the potato salad) want you to know that you are doing a wonderful job at losing all your weight. Give you sooo much credit. You’re a wonderful person and so thankful that you met Chef AJ.
I am 70 years old and have followed the PBWH diet for the last 15 years and been a vegetarian before that. When I was about 40, I needed to lower my blood pressure and cholesterol and never want take meds. This Dr McDougall came on the scene for me. Love this way of life.
You have been thru a lot but now you see the light at the end of the tunnel…please know I am cheering for you every week when I see your weekly reports. Keep it up..I am here for you if you ever need encouragement.
Love and prayers,
Charlotte ?
Hi Charlotte – I’ll make sure Heather sees your comment. ~ Howard
Would you please stop pressing buttons during the interview! It’s quite distracting and gets quite annoying. Other than that, great interview!
Hi Mary, thanks for the feedback! I’m not sure what you’re referring to, though. I type notes as I listen – is that the “button pressing” you’re referring to? If you can give me a specific example, I can listen and figure out how to fix it.