I was 40 pounds overweight, depressed, hated my body, and couldn’t look in the mirror. The more depressed I became, the more I struggled with my food. My name is Lisa Lynn, and I'm a food addict/compulsive overeater.
I've tried every diet from Ketogenic® (then called Atkins®) to Weight Watchers® (that was too liberal), to even becoming a vegetarian. I even became addicted to over-exercising, and yet, despite 3-4 hours of working out every day, I still gained weight.
It seemed that every time I went on a diet, I gained more weight and became more depressed, to the point that I would only get up to eat and to teach aerobics class (I taught two high-impact classes daily). My issues became worse, so I decided to follow the experts advise (experts who didn’t understand my disease) who said, diets don't work! That led me to an all-time high that was 40 pounds plus overweight (I stopped weighing myself) and the lowest I've ever felt emotionally. I had lost all hope... until I learned how my metabolism worked and how my body was different because of all of the yo-yo dieting that changed my biology and made my body resist weight loss.
I learned there are foods that promote weight loss and that many healthy foods actually cause us to gain weight despite their health claims. Sadly, these were foods I ate every day, like almond milk, nuts, seeds and nut butter, yogurts, vegan protein products, cereal bars, and many more.
I also learned how to combine three crucial aspects to undo the damage done to my metabolism—eat leaner and cleaner and use natural botanicals to address my underlying issues and improve my thyroid function to help boost my dead metabolism. I also learned how to stay active every day without overdoing it. The combination of these easy, doable things helped me lower my out-of-balance blood sugar levels that were causing the insatiable cravings that would lead me to overeat, even though I was trying my best not to overeat so much.
These aspects also improved my mood thanks to B vitamins, which was something I didn't expect but needed desperately. This system helped me lose 20 pounds, but I still had 20 more to go... so now what?
I had to address my hypothyroid issues that were the root of all of this, and medication was not helping. I've since learned that medication for hypothyroidism only addresses the symptoms and not the problem underneath. The thyroid requires certain nutrients to remain healthy and function optimally. Thanks to protein, my body received the nutrition it needed, which also prevented my metabolism from slowing down, despite the decrease in calories required to lose weight. Consuming protein regularly helped me more than I realized. The glutamine they contain killed my cravings and helped me overcome my food addiction, combined of course with a specific plan to follow every day. It was life-changing for me. I needed a plan that told me what to eat, when, and how much, because left up to my resources I was making wrong food choices, and it wasn’t working.
Too much freedom gave me binge rights... not good for me! I needed a safety net, not more freedom.
The funny thing is I feel freer now living on a plan than I did before. I'm no longer trapped by my food addiction, and I enjoy exercising again. It no longer feels like punishment, and I'm not traumatizing my body, which is more common among overweight individuals than most people realize. It's dangerous and unhealthy.
Finally, I surpassed my weight loss goal and lost 40 pounds, transformed my body (I really believed I had big bones LOL). I also became happier, and it seemed like the world noticed, so I began getting lots of inquiries, and that's how I met Martha Stewart.
Martha was working out at the Golds Gym that I worked at while I was in school. She watched the transformation take place and asked if I would train her. She said she never had a problem with her weight until she hit menopause. Her following was huge, and her business was booming, so she needed something that was simple, easy to follow, and convenient. She also mentioned that she had to taste food all day long and felt that she had to starve to lose any weight at all.
We all know that starving isn’t the answer, so I began researching everything I could to understand the metabolism, how it changes, and what we can do to lose weight, improve health, and boost mood. Thankfully, Martha got into the best shape of her life!
I was having Martha do a metabolic boosting Complete Protein Shake made with water or black coffee with no fruit or milk of any kind for breakfast and lunch. She would have a green apple for a snack and a lean dinner that focused on fish and leafy green vegetables. This system worked perfectly for her because she ate out so often.
Drinking two shakes daily did more than boost her metabolism, it also offset the extra calories she consumed from eating out. (Eating out is 30-40 percent higher in calories than most people realize.)
The focus was lots of leafy green vegetables, no starch, and I had her take the supplement stack that's now known as the Metabolic Boosting System because it contained the specific vitamins, minerals, and botanical nutrients needed to boost her sluggish metabolism and nourish her body to keep her healthy.
Most women aren't really aware that after age 35-40 their body requires 200 fewer calories daily, but we tend to eat more. Teaching Martha these metabolic boosting principles, and using specific supplements, allowed her to live in the real world of delicious eating without worrying about weight gain. Of course, I had her walk 60 minutes daily, and we did 30-minute metabolic body-shaping workouts (she did not want bulk) three times weekly to transform her body and as she says, “Keeping it in working order” to allow her to continue to work her grueling work schedule.
Fast forward to how did I wind up on the Martha Stewart Show? One day a guest that was supposed to be on her Martha Stewart Living Show canceled at the last minute and they asked if I would be willing to fill in for them and do a fitness segment (eeeks, I hated TV and cameras and still do... that's why you won't see any selfies from me). They said that they had been receiving lots of inquiries about Martha's incredible weight loss and it was time to show some of the food and exercises I had her doing (now called my Anti-Aging Workout, condensed down to 10 minutes). So, I turned on my “yes” button, even though I was scared!
That led to more than 55 segments on her show. We did informative segments on food, workouts, stretching, cooking, etc. Yes, I cooked with and for Martha Stewart... can you believe it!?! Talk about scary...! I'm beyond grateful my
journey lasted for more than 16 years with Martha, and we became very close friends. She is brilliant, and it's an honor to be in the same room with her. We still keep in touch to this day.
Why don't I still train Martha, you ask? When she moved further away, I decided it was time for me to begin helping more people in need, and I had missed seeing my kids in the morning for those 16 years. I wanted to see them wake up and feed them breakfast. I used to get up extremely early to be at Martha's house, and now I start at 6:30 a.m., which seems late in comparison!
Stay tuned for more on how that inspiration from Martha helped convince me to start my own product line. I hope you enjoyed reading this and please feel free to reach out if you need help or have a question. It's my pleasure watching you succeed!