This Is How She Overcame Skin Issues, Swelling and Brain Fog — No More Calorie Counting

If you are someone that has been working on optimizing your health, followed a lot of different nutrition plans, tried to quote unquote eat healthy, but you're still stuck and frustrated and feeling like you aren't seeing the results that you should be, this episode is for you. Today I'm going to break down how my nutrition philosophy focuses on changing your long-term physiology and the pillars that we incorporate from a nutrition perspective in order to do that. And then I'm going to share a story of amazing woman in our community, Jana, so that you can learn more about her journey of losing 40 pounds using the Noom program and then really struggling with her relationship with food after being in this food prison, as she explains, and not feeling like she could continue to sustain this way of living even though it did help her lose weight. She needed a new focus, which is what so many women actually need in order to make this a long-term approach that is a part of who they are instead of something that you feel like you're constantly forcing yourself into. So the Being Collective Kickstarter is the on-ramp to my membership program, the Being Collective. In the Being Collective, we help women that are just like you that are working on decreasing their inflammation, improving their energy, improving their hormones, improving their body composition, and they want to be a part of a community of other women who are on this journey with them towards health optimization. And feeling good every day, to have the support to keep them going, to keep them feeling inspired, to keep them feeling accountable. And alongside that beautiful, incredible community of thousands of women that we have, we also have the dietitian support and the coaching calls to be able to not just take AI-generated information, but take actual coaching frameworks and principles that work, that we've used in more than 25,000 women to show you how to expedite the results and to actually change your long-term physiology. So let's start with the 6 key areas for changing your long-term physiology. From a nutrition standpoint, we want to focus on 1, blood sugar and insulin support, meaning improving blood sugar balance, improving insulin sensitivity, which is the key for so many other factors of decreasing accelerations of aging, improving hormone balance, decreasing inflammation, and so many others. This is at the heart And after women are, you know, above the age of 40, insulin resistance goes up, which is one of the reasons why what you have always done feels like it's no longer working. Number 2, hormone support. Making sure that you're not in extremely large caloric deficits, that you're not going extremely long periods of time fasting, that you're not adding too much of a stress toll that impacts your hormones. Inflammation is number 3. A nutrition approach and philosophy that helps to decrease chronic inflammation. Number 4 is gut health, supporting the gut microbiome with enough fiber, with enough plant diversity, with enough prebiotics that are naturally incorporated into the meals that you're eating every single week to help to support gut health, since this is the epicenter of your health. Number 5, muscle and bone health. Improving our muscle mass and bone mass is one of the most critical things that we can do as women as we age to prevent the increased risk of osteoporosis, early death, and a number of other things that low strength and frailty is associated with. And number 6, cellular and mitochondrial health— actually giving our cells the nutrients that they need to fuel and to thrive, meaning not just your macronutrients but your B vitamins and other antioxidants that help to fuel you on a cellular level, improving your mitochondrial health and improving and decreasing the rate at which you're aging. So what this actually looks like from a nutrition standpoint that we incorporate into the Being Collective is more energy and better sleep, stable mood improvements in building strength and bone health, supporting brain health and focus, a healthy gut microbiome and daily bowel movements without a lot of GI symptoms, and lowering risk of chronic disease. This is something that we are able to help our members with because of the strategy within the plans in addition to the beautiful community support. So in focusing on optimal plates and a minimum of 30 grams of fiber and at least 30 plants per week, adequate protein, phytonutrient variety, low carb but not too low carb— there's a number of different principles that we incorporate into the meal plans that we create every single week so that you don't have to think about it. You don't have to think about what's for dinner because we've already helped plan that into your schedule for you, saving you at least 2 to 3 hours per week and making it easier to get dinner on the table every night in a way that is able to optimize your health. And opposite of what most of diet culture preaches, which is the idea that you have to rigidly count your calories and you have to rigidly eat extremely healthy and that if you mess up then you're a failure and fueling off of meals like grilled chicken and broccoli, this is the exact opposite approach. We focus on simplicity. We focus on making food and nutrition enjoyable so that not only do you feel so amazing, but you also are like, I cannot believe that this is actually healthy. And also things that your family loves, things that you feel proud of because you're not only fueling yourself well, but you're able to extend these benefits to the people that you love. One of my favorite things is hearing women talk about how their husbands are going to their doctor and lowering their cholesterol levels and improving their blood sugar levels, or that their kids or grandkids are starting to eat these meals and that they can't believe how delicious they actually are. And then another big aspect is continuing to uplevel your habits and your mindset and knowing that whatever has happened in the past is in the past and that every single day creates an opportunity for us to move forward in a way that supports our future goals. So we do the planning for you. We save you hours every week. We incorporate these mindset principles the community, the deliciousness around nutrition, and this level of empowerment to know that if it is possible for one other person on this planet, it is possible for you too. And that is why I'm so excited to share Jana's story with you today. She was gracious to take the time out of her day to share her experience being in the Being Collective, her health journey, and what that has looked like. I am so passionate about what we do, but in really being able to deliver more conversations, unfiltered conversations around women's health and the journeys that women are going through in a real, authentic, vulnerable way to help you not feel so alone. And that is exactly what Jana's episode did today, is that she was able to share her actual experience of going from losing 40 pounds on Noom and feeling so rigid and in food prison and having ongoing symptoms and hormonal imbalances that she was fighting through, and then being able to understand why this long-term physiological support is the key for optimizing your health and having it done for you in a structured way that saves you hours and gives you the community support. And I just feel so much gratitude for her for sharing her story. So without further ado, Jana, welcome to the Being Brigid Show. One of my favorite parts about what we do is the incredible women that are in our community and being able to celebrate their wins, um, help them navigate the different health journeys that they're on and help them better understand how to listen to their body and how to use food in a way that supports a number of different symptoms and improves their quality of life. And I could not be more excited to introduce you to Jana, who is one of our incredible members of The Being Collective. She is such a generous person in that she was very willing and eager to sit down and talk about her journey going through The Being Collective Kickstarter into The collective so that we could have a real look at and real understanding of just someone else's health story and the journey that she's been on and some of the improvements that she's had to help you better understand if you are stuck with your health, where you can start. So, Jana, thank you so much for taking the time to be here with me today.

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Let's start with what you were struggling with and the health journey that you've been on, the primary reasons that you felt like you really needed to take a next step in better understanding your body and navigating your health?

Yeah, well, I joined the Kickstarter and the Being Collective because I just had signs of underlying hormone issues, a lot of skin issues, itchiness, acne, and then brain fog, that sort of thing. And also over the last year, I lost 40 pounds through counting my calories. And so I was in kind of a big calorie deficit for the better part of a year. And I found myself getting, A, very exhausted with counting calories. It became very burdensome and then just, kind of food becoming a little bit of an enemy, it felt like. And so I really wanted to regain control of, you know, how my relationship with food, how I felt about food. And so those were my big motivators in joining the Being Collective.

Because you knew that something was off. And also given that you had taken this approach to— you lost a lot of weight in a 1-year period of time using a very popular program called Noom. So I'd love for you to tell us more of like what that experience was like for you and then what that negative relationship with food became, like what it felt like.

Yeah. Well, I just think by, by nature of having to document everything that goes into your mouth, it felt like it was always this cost-benefit kind of analysis. And I felt like I was almost— I was at war with food and my appetite, and it always had to be something that I managed. And so it just became, yeah, just something, it kind of consumed a lot of my thinking and maybe going to social events, the holidays, you know, going out to eat, you know, how am I going to handle these situations? And then feeling like if I messed up, I couldn't get back on track. I didn't kind of know what to do next. And so this is kind of the, kind of the relationship I was starting to have with food, and it didn't feel very healthy at all to me. And also, too, just being in that calorie deficit, I don't think I was getting— I obviously wasn't getting optimal nutrition. And so feeling a little depleted and tired and on edge a little bit just from just not getting what I needed. I mean, it was effective in losing the weight, but long-term, I knew I couldn't live like that and having to put everything in an app that I ate. So yeah, that really motivated me to want to try something different and find something that could become part of my life and something I enjoyed.

So making it your lifestyle and in a way that creates a healthy relationship with food. Because I think that so many people can resonate with exactly what you're talking about, where they feel like they're in prison with food and that it's like this constant mental ping pong game of like, should I eat this? Should I not eat this? Is the calorie deficit worth it or is the food worth it? And going back and forth to like, I mean, basically just like drive yourself insane at times. And it is, I think something that's not talked about enough is how much some of these diet programs out there can create such an unhealthy relationship with food and how important having a healthy relationship is a healthy relationship with food is in just creating an actual healthy life. You know what I mean?

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And it was our first coaching call from the Kickstarter. You talked about this cycle that you can get into where you're deprived and then you binge and then you just, you go into this cycle. And I felt myself, I was like going into that cycle. And that's one thing that with the coaching calls that was so great about the mindset shift was even if I don't make a good choice, it's okay because, you know, I have the meal plan, I bought the groceries, I have the ingredients at home. Like, I know my next meal is going to be that meal. And so it gave me a lot of just like peace. With even if I do mess up or not even labeling things as good or bad, but if I had something that was less optimal, I know that at home I have what's best for me and my body at home and I can get back on track. And so that just has really, really helped me.

Yeah, it's powerful. And people, I think, even don't realize how much they struggle themselves with an unhealthy relationship with food because we always normalize what we know. And in the same way that you had said to me that some of the changes that we'll get to from a symptom improvement standpoint, that you were kind of like normalizing without realizing until they got better that they were actually like holding you back a bit. And I think the same thing is true with the relationship with food aspect, and why I also try to extend from a nutrition standpoint in all of our programs the true understanding of it not just being about calories but about all these other elements. Because when you're focused just on this caloric deprivation and that's your measurement of quote-unquote success, you miss out on these micronutrients, on, you know, the balance of macronutrients that supports blood sugar stability, and the antioxidants and the polyphenols in this like super holistic view of food and these synergistic properties that nature created for it to have, and how much that can help to not only heal our relationship with food but heal our bodies when we're given the right inputs. Is that like an experience that you had that changed how you view food?

Yeah, absolutely. And one thing that was, um, as I progressed through the Kickstarter plan, I noticed like the first week, yeah, I kind of wanted like not optimal foods sometimes, more, you know, more or less. And then I— the switch really for me was like second, uh, second half of the third week. And, um, just really feeling like my cravings going away. And actually, my husband and I traveled and we were at a French restaurant, so I wanted French fries. And, you know, I had some and, you know, they weren't like I remembered them being, you know? So it's just amazing. Kind of even that happening, me having those French fries, it kind of was this moment where I was like, oh, wow. Like, You've come a long way in actually really not that long of a period of time that I was like, mm, they were okay. But you know, I think I would've been good with my TBC snack instead of those french fries, which is really, you know, mind-blowing for me really.

It's mind-blowing and it's amazing. Yeah. I mean, like you said, 3 and a half weeks and you realize how, addictive, the addictive property of foods. Because you told me like that you ate healthy before the Being Collective Kickstarter. It wasn't like you were eating unhealthy, but this addictive nature that these foods can have that you don't realize until you've like removed yourself enough from, from it. Where I was like, where it's like, oh, I was craving that because I was in this addictive cycle that didn't— like my taste buds were hijacked. All these things that made me think that this is what I wanted. When then you start feeding your taste buds with these more nutrient-dense foods that alter that alter your palate, that are like, oh, wow, I actually crave the salads. And I never thought I would be a person that is like that.

Yeah. Yeah. Or a person who puts cauliflower in their smoothies. I just didn't know I'd be that person. But I am now. So, yeah, it's been great. And all the recipes are delicious. I have to say, it is enjoyable. Cooking and eating the recipes.

So I'm so happy to hear that. So tell us the primary— you started to say some of the things that you were struggling with before. And so the primary symptoms that you had was some— your skin issues that you talked about, the acne, the skin itchiness, more of this facial swelling, brain fog. Once you then— and this was after doing a year of Noom that had helped you lose 40 pounds but hadn't necessarily helped to resolve some of the underlying inflammation and those sorts of things. What were the most notable changes that you experienced just in those first 4 weeks besides what you talked about with the cravings?

Yeah, I think it was actually just like a couple days after removing dairy. I looked in the mirror and I always kind of had like little, like a little bit of a dark circle under my eye and I was like, wow, it's like getting better. You know, that was just so unexpected. And like you, you were saying, you know, I had some slight swelling in my face and then one morning I'm like, hmm, it's like going away. And sleeping better. I've always been a person that's had a hard time winding down at night and just feeling kind of like I can rest. That I can be in that restful, natural state where I just always would kind of be spun up. And by taking out those foods and adding in the right foods that support me, I've found just better sleep and that I can let go of my day and sleep well. So that's been huge.

And then you also had said that you feel like removing dairy from your diet specifically helped your skin. Is that right?

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Very, very quickly I noticed a difference and it's just, I've decided to keep it out for longer just because I've just noticed healing in my body and I want to give it more time to do that. And so I've just noticed just progression of healing in my skin. From cutting out dairy.

So it's so interesting because skin is something that we hear about really often, and I think that it's the combination of decreasing inflammation and then also, you know, giving your body the antioxidants and phytochemicals that it needs that serve as continuing to help to offset the inflammation, to help with, you know, like the clarity and the less redness and all these things a lot of people experience, and how much your skin health starts with what you're putting into your mouth, not necessarily the, the creams and prescriptions that are prescribed when people have acne or have rashes, that you can't do those things topically without addressing the things that are happening in your body, like what you're actually feeding your body that's impacting that reaction that's surfacing on your skin.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's such a picture of like probably what's happening inside, you know?

Exactly.

And so it's a little window into into just inflammation that was in my body, um, that has just really improved through, through the, uh, changing my diet.

Yes. Any unexpected wins that you didn't necessarily think were associated with food that you experienced?

Yeah. Um, I think I, I kind of shared a little bit, but really just some mental benefits that I really wasn't expecting. I just thought, you know, I really was focused probably more on like the physical and on my skin, but just having some better mental clarity, feeling a little lighter and just being in a more stable mood. Not that I had huge mood swings, I didn't think. You could ask my husband whether or not I have that, but I think I'm pretty steady. But just feeling just a little more even and and I had shared how I have a hard time winding down for bed and kind of just being a little bit hyper. I felt like I would kind of be that way mentally. I always go, go, go. And just feeling like I can be more in the present and be clearer in my thinking. So that was not something I expected. Another unexpected win really, uh, was back to like relationship with food and having dieted last year. I don't think I realized just how like controlled I was by food, um, until, um, joining the Kickstarter, joining the Being Collective and getting these whole nutritious foods, um, and just feeling just— I know I've said this already, but just more at peace with food and where I'm at and confidence and like, I can make good choices and, you know, I can keep this up. You know what I mean? I think I had a lot of fear about, I'm going to gain all the weight back because I, you know, it's stressful putting all my calories in this app and I don't know how I'm going to do this for the rest of my life. That's kind of how I would feel. So, um, just a lot of freedom around, around that.

So, oh, I love that. I love that for you because of how, how much that can improve your quality of life. I wanna just also highlight the, like, changes in your mood and feeling more present and calm. Um, how much blood sugar regulation plays a part in this with increasing our resilience. So this was something that came up actually many years ago when I was running nutrition programs with Fortune 500 companies. And their leadership teams would say, I feel so much more resilient during extremely stressful periods of time where we are under so much pressure, where like in the past my health would just, you know, like be completely ruined because we'd be like pushing through and have these quarterly goals or whatever. And then I'd end up with like a huge flare, all these gut issues. And, and now I can go through these stressful experiences and not have that. And I think that what you're talking about with with just like the peacefulness and not just peacefulness with food, but like more steadiness that it speaks so much to how much blood sugar impacts our cortisol. And even without having diabetes or even prediabetes, how much some of those like fluctuations can really impact our sympathetic state that keeps us in this overdrive feel.

Yeah.

Yeah. So the fact that you experienced that, I think like that's the reason why.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And even too, just, um, like I had a busy day today. I had to get to an appointment and I was just kind of reflecting, probably in the past I would've just reached for a cup of coffee, but I had, um, in the, the pantry, you know, some Chomps and I had some carrots and I remembered that snack from, uh, the Kickstart. And I'm like, well, that's easy. I can eat that before I have to go. And yeah, I think just previously I just would've gotten a cup of coffee and I would've gone and then wondered at the end of the day, why can't I unwind? Or why am I, you know, still all spun up? So, so true. Yeah.

I love that you made that point. Yes. And now you better understand your body. So Janet, if you could tell us, after doing everything that you've done in this past year and then joining the Being Collective Kickstarter, now being in the Being Collective, what do you feel most proud of accomplishing or most proud of improving upon since this started this year?

It's gonna kind of sound silly 'cause they're two small things, but they were kind of a couple parts of my routine that I thought were going to be hard to change. And one was fueling before coffee. And so my previous morning routine was to make a cup of coffee and I would drink it and wake up. And then I would, you know, go on with the rest of my day, have breakfast and that sort of thing. And I really loved that time, that moment, you know, just like before I have to step into the day, I'll have my cup of coffee. And so I thought, I can't really do that. I can't change, you know, that routine. You know, it was like very sacred to me. But, you know, I have, and I've noticed a difference, you know, by fueling before I have caffeine. Um, and then the, the second— so I'm proud that, you know, I made, made that change because it was kind of a— it was something very ingrained in my morning routine. And, um, and then secondly was dairy. I thought I was gonna have a very hard time giving up dairy. I love, um, yogurt and, um, yeah, goat cheese and all those things. And I thought I I don't know if I can do that for 4 weeks. And so I have, and I actually enjoyed the food and I enjoyed my life. And I thought I couldn't do that without having those dairy and my morning cup of coffee before I did anything. But I think it's just those small successes or those small changes build up into bigger things, you know? And so, so yeah, just starting with those small things like, you know, what do I do next? And, you know, making the best choice in that moment and kind of just seeing after the 4 weeks went by, you know, what, what I was able to accomplish by doing that.

I love it. So in the Being Collective Kickstarter, which is the 4-week on-ramp for the Being Collective, we have a number of— we have 5 primary markers since we have the meal plans. It's basically 5 nutrition recommendations that we have, and what she's talking about, 2 of these are 2 of the 5. Then, you know, we don't necessarily recommend dairy-free, for instance, when people are members of the Being Collective because we walk through a reintroduction process. But I do think that being able to remove gluten and dairy for a 4-week time in the structured way that we do it can be extremely beneficial for people to better understand certain symptoms. Alongside the blood sugar balance support, alongside some of these other things. And then we walk through a reintroduction process so that you can start to identify symptoms that you have with either gluten or dairy, so that then you can decide whether you incorporate them or continue to remove them in the Being Collective. So the Being Collective recipes— actually, pretty much all of our recipes in Being Collective are gluten-free, but some of them do have dairy. So it's not necessarily that the Being Collective is a dairy-free program, but we do, in the 4-week on-ramp, recommend removing which is what she's referencing there. You started in the blood sugar reset, is that right? When did you do your first blood sugar reset?

Yeah, I did my first one, though I followed it imperfectly, in 2024. Actually, my employer sponsored it, so we signed up for it. They would reimburse us for the cost of it. So that's actually how I came to know about the Being Collective and the Blood Sugar Reset and all of that. And then this fall, I learned that you were hosting another one, and so I joined that one, and I followed that one much more closely and got actual results through that. And then when I learned about the Kickstarter and the Being Collective, I knew I needed support. And you all have offered so much support through the coaching calls and just everything that goes into it. Yeah, it really sets people up for success. So it's been a great experience.

Oh, I'm so happy that you've been able to be a part of it and that now you're a part of our community in the Being Collective, because I really— I feel so strongly that having a group of other women who are working on health optimization alongside you in this community environment is something that we need in order to continue to focus on upleveling and learning and implementing and seeing what's working for other people. Um, so that you can continue to iterate and to feel your best. Um, which is of course what we all wanna strive for. So if you had recommendations for someone that is thinking about joining the Being Collective, what would you tell someone who is thinking about like, should I do this or shouldn't I do this?

I would tell them that even small changes over time make a huge difference. And as I shared, I did a couple of blood sugar resets, then joined the Kickstarter, and then now being part of the Being Collective, all of those steps have led me to really seeing some changes in my health. And so I would say just start. You'll be happy that you did it. Your future self will thank you. And you all break it down into bite-sized pieces that it's not all or nothing. You don't have to be perfect. You just commit to it. Do the best you can and you will see results from it. You know, it's the way your body was made is to, to be fueled by these whole foods. And so, yeah, you'll, you'll thank yourself for, for joining.

Janet, thank you so much for sharing your journey, being so vulnerable with us, and for sharing your experience in the Being Collective. I'm so grateful to have you. You as a member of our community and so grateful that you were able to be here today. Thank you for listening to The Being Brigid Show. If you are interested in joining us in The Being Collective, we would love to be able to support you. You can go to beingbridgid.com/the-being-collective in order to join us for the next round of The Being Collective and to join our incredible community. Until next time, I'll see you soon.