EP 200. She Stopped Dieting Forever and Gained 20 Lbs of Muscle - An Interview with Lusharn Colvin

All right, I'm over the moon excited to have this conversation with Lulu on my 200th episode. I know, right? Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. So this is episode 200, and I thought it would be fun to do like a Where Are They Now podcast, and you are my very first client's interview, my very first client success story that I had on the podcast way back in 2020. I think it was episode number 5.

Oh yeah.

And so here we are, episode 200, which is like almost, almost 3 years later. Wow. And it's been that long since we've coached. I thought it would be fun to just like— I've seen you like on social media and we've like exchanged messages here and there, but we have not talked. We haven't had a conversation, so I'm dying to know how you're doing, what's going on, what's been happening since we were coaching. So let's do this. You introduce yourself first, and let's just go from there. I'm just going to let it flow. Let it flow.

Okay. Okay. Well, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Lushawn Colvin.

AKA Lulu.

AKA Lulu. People call me Lulu. People here at home call me Sean, short for LaShawn, so, you know, I take it all, so it's okay. Um, so a little bit about me. I've been RN, um, a registered nurse. I'm in administration. I'm in psych and mental health now. Um, I just, uh, graduated, got my BSN in nursing. So look who I am with that. Yep. And so I'm on to— I'm going for my doctorate for nurse practitioner. Um, yep.

Y'all, let's just get ready. This is how the whole conversation is going to be. Oh, that's so good. Okay, keep going.

Yep. So I, you know, I lived in New Jersey for 21 years, so I moved back home 3 years ago here in Alabama with my mom and my brother. So, you know, it's a different, you know, type of living, but I'm settled and grounded and everything, so I'm enjoying being home now, and I'm enjoying being on your podcast.

Yeah, I remember when you made that move. So when we started coaching together, you were in New Jersey, you were working as an RN.

Yes.

And you got the job and you had to sell your house real quick and find a place to live and— yes, do all the things.

Yes. And all of that, and all of that, I was still on the weight loss journey because that whole process could have been enough to where, you know, you could start back eating crazy and gaining a whole bunch of weight. But thank God I had Jennifer Dent-Brown, the whole process, and kept me from, you know, packing on the pounds and helped me with the mindful, you know, uh, eating habits and everything. So it was great. She got—

okay, so let's— I know everybody wants to know, 3 years later, did she keep the weight off?

Oh, oh my goodness, let me tell you, um, Tell us the journey. I'm about to tell you. So first, let me just start when I first met Jennifer and she explained to me about how this program went. So at first I was a little skeptical because I'm like, you're going to sit here and tell me that all I have to do to lose weight is to think about what I'm thinking. I don't know. Let's see. Well, let's see how this is going to work. I was so skeptical. And I have to tell you that with the tools that I've learned from Jennifer, I've kept off my weight. And sometimes, you know how it is over the years, you go through seasons, you know, where your weight fluctuates. It goes up, it goes down, it goes up and it goes down. But the good thing about this program that she gave me the tools to learn how to really what I'm thinking about, because, you know, when you're stressed and you're going through those different seasons, like when I was moving, you know, I think that what helped me was to put everything down on paper, you know, what I was thinking and how I can change those thinking habits. And you know what happened? Is when I changed those habits of thinking, it actually helped me to make better choices, if that makes any sense.

You know, to me, 100% does.

Yeah. Yeah. So that's why we do this work. Yeah. And it was great because actually when I started with Jennifer in 2020, it's, you know, because that's when, you know, COVID hit. I actually got COVID, I think, was it a month after I started working with you?

You were the first person that I knew personally that got sick with COVID And I was like, oh, Oh my goodness.

I know.

Yeah.

And I mean, there were my thoughts, you know, because that was early COVID. Nobody knew about it. People were, you know, either dying or really sick with it. I could have just given up. Jennifer wouldn't let me give up. I was— and being that COVID was there, everybody was home. So I was just journaling everything. I was writing everything down. And I was like doing everything to change my thoughts through this and challenge me and motivate me. And the funny thing about it is that when COVID came around, people were at home. They weren't going anywhere. People were eating and gaining weight and doing all the things. And I remember I had a lot of friends because I think just in 2020 alone, or COVID, I think I lost my first 20 pounds. And people were looking at me like, how are you doing this? We're sitting at home and eating and watching movies. How are you losing all this weight? COVID. And so her name is Jennifer Dent-Brown. It's called Stop Dieting Forever.

Because you sent me— I think you sent me Lovette. Yeah, came through you.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it was a couple people. My cousin Karen, um, and a couple people. I think you had a counseling session with my best friend, so it was a couple of people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

How's she doing?

She's doing really well. She's doing really, really well. Really well.

I said hello.

I will, I will. So, um, yeah, so I would have to say that, um This is the— it was, it was actually a blessing for me. It showed me how to really think about my thoughts, and also it pushed me away from what I used to do years ago. I mean, I did everything from Weight Watchers to LA Weight Loss to paying all these different personal trainers, all this wads of money, and just all these different things I was doing that wasn't working. It may have worked a little bit, but the weight came back and it was just frustrating. So I do believe that after her program, I really feel like I don't have to struggle with that anymore. I'm off the struggle bus.

Yeah, she's off the struggle bus.

And so, you know, it's really good. And I know that life happens. Life, life is lifin'. And, you know, like I said, weight may fluctuate or whatever, but at least you have— I have the tools to know what I need to do to get back on track. And now since, you know, um, I've been with Jennifer I used to tell Jennifer, I'm not going to work out because I'm afraid I'm going to put on muscle and gain all this weight.

Do you remember that? Let me just pause right there. I just want to share before we get into the workout, because I've seen your workout photos on social media and you look amazing. Thank you. But I remember when we first started working together, you were— I gave you permission to stop working out. Do you remember that?

Yeah.

Because you were— you had this, like, love-hate relationship with exercise. Actually, it wasn't even a love relationship. It was just a hate relationship. And you would exercise because you were trying to, like, atone for your eating sins, right? I just remember you're like, but I gotta get to the gym. And it, like, was this big struggle and, like, a big stress for you to try to work out. So I was like, you know what, stop working out. Let's just focus on our relate— your relationship with food, all— and understanding all the reasons why you're eating what you're eating. Like, let's just focus there first.

Yeah.

And then I was like, your body will want to eventually get back into working out. Yep. Because our bodies were made to move. And so you just needed like the mental break.

Yeah.

To separate yourself from the working out. And then I also— there's another story. I just remember it was the first week or the first two weeks, and you decided— I was like, stop eating the low-fat all the stuff you were eating. You were eating low-fat cheese.

I was a fat-free freak.

Butter and all the fake foods. I was like, stop eating that. And I remember you were so excited because you started eating avocado and bacon.

Yes, it was wonderful.

Lost like— you lost a bunch of weight like in the first 2 weeks. You lost almost 10 pounds.

I remember very quick Yeah, yeah, it was. I mean, it was, it was a freeing experience. And I think in, in your program, it's, it's, it's, it's freedom. That's— I really do believe that's a part of the program, is freedom to do those things. I hadn't eaten like real butter or, um, like avocados because I used to be afraid to eat anything with fat, not knowing that there are some good fats. You know, avocado is a good fat. Olive— I can start cooking with olive oil. That's a good fat. Um, and then every now and then I had my bacon, you know, it was okay, you know. Um, and so it was— I was like, is this really real? It— I felt like, I think when I was in 2020, how old was I then? 40? I don't know, I'm 48 now, so I'm like maybe like 45, something like that. I want to say out of a decade when I used to kill myself going to the gym, hated it, I think that was the first time I felt free. I felt so free. And, and then I learned that everything that's fat-free is not good anyway. So it's not—

some things are just supposed to have fat in it. Exactly, exactly.

And so after, you know, going through the program, um, I think it started last year, then I said, you know what, I definitely want to do something with my body. I do want to tone, you know, I do want to tone, I want to look healthy.

So that was an '80s term. I want to tone up.

I would—

don't know, I just say you want to build some muscle.

Okay, yes, I want to. And I have built some muscle. I have built some muscle. And, um, and so I started back and I said, you know what, I'm not going to make a story about what this weight is going to say. LaShawn, you know what your body's doing. You know, you're doing a lot of resistance along with cardio and everything. This is what's going to happen. So I did find a workout studio, you know, that I really love. It's called F45. Um, I'm there like 5 or 6 days a week.

Okay. Yeah, I've seen you do the videos with your coaches and stuff.

Yeah, yeah. And let me tell you, they, um, it's, it's, it's— I want to say it sounds like similar to what you have, but they also teach us about not just mindful eating, but by how you think about the scale and what you're doing. Because, um, a lot of women, especially women, they're so afraid to do resistance and everything because they feel like, oh, I'm gonna bulk up and things like— no, no, that's why they say tone.

They want to use words like, I just want to tone up.

You want muscle mass. You want—

you know, you want to pack on some muscles. Muscles actually help and support your physical, right?

Exactly. So, um, you know, I didn't make a story about it. So they, they have what they call an InBody scan there. So, and it shows, um, they say like what your resting metabolism rate is, and they show like what your percent body fat is and what your muscle mass is. So as time goes on, what they want to see, the trend is you don't want to see your muscle mass go this way, and it will see your percent body fat loss go this way.

But what they also say, the same, yes.

That right there. So I said, LaShawn, don't make a story about it. This is what you're looking for. You want the muscle mass and you want to see a percent body fat go down. So I would say since last year, January 2023, is— this is March of 2024— my percent body fat has gone down immensely, like this way. And I have put on— I think when I started I only had like 30-something percent muscle. Now I have 57%.

Muscle. Yes, Lulu. Yes, I can tell. You look, you look amazing. And I'm so glad you mentioned this. I'm very familiar with F45. We have one near here, um, and the InBody scan. And one of the things that I like to coach my people who have lost their weight and all this, and they're like, but the number, the number, and they gain a little bit back, they're so attached to the number. And I'm like, Y'all know that's a vanity number, right? You know that's a vanity number. It's a vanity number because you think you're going to feel so good if you hit that number and stay at it. When you get to this point, when I call— you're in the Forever Club Lux, right? You've reached your forever weight. I want you to make sure you feel good. You feel good. Like, do you feel good? I had to coach another client, same thing. She lost her weight, 41 pounds. And now she's going to the gym, personal trainer, all the things. And she's like, but I'm 7 pounds away from my lowest weight. And I'm like, but how do you feel? She's like, I feel good. I was like, do your clothes still fit? She's like, they fit great. And I said, what's the problem then? What's the problem? And she was same thing. She has got the InBody scan, and we looked at her stats. She's gaining muscle. Yeah.

So, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it—

we, y'all, as a society, as women, we need to detach our emotions from the number on the scale.

Yeah.

The goal, the goal that we set, the weight loss goal that we set, is just for us to be working towards something, to know that we're making progress. We could use any other— like, we could use body fat percentage, we could use measurements to track our progress. You could use, you know, your neck size. Yeah, there's so many things that we can use. Weight is just the easiest thing.

Yeah, yeah.

It's also— it's the easiest thing to measure, but it's also, um, I think the hardest for a lot of women to disassociate their, their feelings from the scale and from the number on the scale. And that's why I think it's so important.

Mm-hmm.

Because I'm like, once you can get over the hump of like really seeing that number as neutral, it's like you are not scared of nothing. Nothing's going to bother you.

Mm-hmm.

It is a process. I remember you were one. You used to do all the little tricks, like, oh, manipulate the number on the scale and, you know, not drink water until 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Oh my gosh, you remember that? That was— oh my gosh. So let me tell you, I was incorporating intermittent fasting because intermittent fasting is is a very good thing. It really helps with inflammation and you feel even better.

Um, so as a registered nurse, I was—

oh, I was just so scared about that number. I didn't want to get on it, so I was like, you know what, I'm not gonna drink anything, I'm not gonna whatever till I get on the scale before I eat, and I'm not gonna drink any water. I'm like— and so Jennifer said, you're going till 12 o'clock or whatever without drinking any water? I was like, I didn't want the scale to say anything. And like, now when I think about it, I'm like, what were you thinking?

Because you were focused— your self-worth was tied to that number on the scale.

It was, it was, it was. Which is—

this is why we go through the coaching process, right? Which is totally normal for where you were in your journey. Yeah. This is why we— this is why we do this coaching.

Yeah, absolutely.

And so, so you have been emancipated from the number.

I've been free and emancipated from the number. That number means nothing because now I know what's behind the number.

Yeah. And you packed on how much muscle?

Oh gosh, I started at— what was it, 36% muscle or something like that? And I'm up to 57% muscle now.

That's amazing. That's so good.

So good.

And it's important because you're almost 50. Yeah. As we age, we lose muscle.

Yep.

It's harder for us to maintain muscle. So it's really, really great that you— and I've seen, um, Lavette doing the same thing. Yes. Um, you know, building that muscle because it's really, really good.

Yeah, it is, it is. I, I love it because it also too, like, for me, I think because I hated working out because it was the why behind why I was going to gym that I— and it made me hate it. It made me hate going to the gym because my whole thing of going to the gym was losing weight, losing weight, losing weight. I gotta look this way, I gotta look that way, because like you said, my identity was tied to how I looked and that number on the scale. Therefore, I was forcing myself to go work out, and I hated it. And that's what happens when you try to put yourself on a diet. You're gonna hate it, you know, because you're so tied to— this is what, you know, the way I look is tied to my identity, and you're gonna hate restricting yourself. You know, all of that is tied to— now when I go to F45, it's like I don't even force it, man. I look forward to it. It's been— I've been there a year and like 3 months now. Good. I love it. I don't feel forced.

Listen, somebody's listening to this podcast right now and they're like Googling F45 real quick. If I go to this 5 days a week, I'm gonna lose weight. Before they do that though, I want you to just think about it. Yeah, you're like, think about your journey of where you've been to where you are now. You didn't just walk into F45 the way you were in 2020 when we met and lost a whole bunch of weight and gained 20 pounds of muscle, right? You have completely changed your relationship with food and your, um, emotional eating, right? So you're not doing as much emotional eating because you're, you're so much more aware of what you're thinking and how you're eating. Now, are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No. We're all a work in progress, but this is our journey.

Yeah, right.

We're always on another level to, um, up-level our health. Yeah, no matter where you are. Absolutely. So tell us about, um, tell us about the transition when you decided Okay, I'm gonna work out. Like, what was— what was that like for you?

Um, at first it was a little scary, you know, because I said to myself, and I, and I was looking at myself, I'm like, okay, I've lost some— I lost this weight, but I could tell like certain things were— I don't say hanging off of me, but you know, I'm like, I feel like I need to do something different. My body is what's asking me for, for more. But it wasn't nothing with the eating, it was just more so of my body. So I think what I'm seeing, my other friends, like Lavette was one of them, um, the coach, her coach, Coach Craig, I watched him, and some of my other friends. So I was asking them about it, and so I was listening to the results they were getting. So, but, so I had to coach myself and say, Lasharn, please, you're going to have to emotionally detach yourself from that number, because when you start working out this is what you're going to see, but it's going to be good. It's going to be even better. And another thing that I had to do, it was— this was the transition before I even started in my mind. Lasharn, your body is your body. You cannot compare yourself to what everybody looks like. You have to get to know your body, okay? And my body is— I'm not— I don't say I'm not meant to be a size 0 or whatever it is. I know what my DNA— you know, I have curves.

I have good curves.

So, so, yes, yes. So it was a mind, like, transition before I even started working out because I wanted to have realistic expectations.

Because notice how you said— yeah, I'm gonna cut you off— but notice how you said I had to coach myself. You knew how to do that. Yep, you knew how to do that, right? If you didn't know how to do that, you would have repeated the same cycle that you went through before with like, oh, I gotta work out, I gotta work out, I gotta work out and still be so disconnected, so unhappy with your body. So like, I'm trying to do all these workouts to change my appearance so I can feel better, versus I can feel good right now the way that I am at this time on the scale, and I can go in and I can work out and just, you know, yeah, absolutely. That's the difference. That is the difference, y'all. That is the difference.

That's the difference. That's the difference. So You know, I did, you know, and I just love how everything just came out because at first the coach there was like, listen, she— he's like, I don't know what you're used to. He said, but this is what we use. We use the InBody scan. This is how many times we get on it. It's not a lot because we want to be able to see a trend. They explain what it was. So I said, okay. So that added to my coaching. So I wanted to have, like I said, realistic expectations. So, and the more I started putting up those videos that you were seeing and I was putting like before and after pictures together after 6 months and 8 months. And I'm like, okay, I'm starting to see some things here. And even my friend who's a coach at 45 New Jersey, he said even he could see it. He said, I can see that. I was like, okay. And then I started to notice little things. My face got smaller, you know, and everything. And I started seeing, you know, like, you know, like definition here and there. And I just felt like fit, you know. So I'm like, man, I was like, is this what I was missing years ago?

So feeling fit is part of your identity now, right?

It is, it is. And another expectation I had to, to, to tell myself and get used to is that, um, there's no such thing as perfection.

Oh, say it again, Lulu, say it again.

There's no such thing as perfection, people. So because you were one, you were one of my die-hard perfectionists.

Am I doing it right? Oh, did I do this for you?

I was so horrible. And it's like, it's gonna happen, you know. You're gonna have a wedding that you're gonna go to, whatever. And even then, you know, like, decide what you're gonna do. But it's no such thing as perfection. You know what it is? It's consistency.

Yes. Do you have to say, Lulu, you are very consistent with your coaching. Like, you showed up every single week, even if you were like, I don't know what's going on, and you were just like, I just— this happened and this happened and this happened. You were very consistent in showing up for yourself.

Thank you. Yeah, I mean, hats off to you.

I want you— I want you to acknowledge that the consistency doesn't just like drop out of the air because you had a lot going on, even when you were moving.

Yes.

Yes, you were like transitioning to go living back with your mom. You were like— there was— I remember you were working on the road, your first job. You were, you were like a motorist or something.

Yes, yes, that's what I first started with you in New Jersey. Yeah, it was so much, it's so much transition. Yeah, and you know, I used to always tell myself like, Lord, please slow all this stuff down for me, because we always think that we're going to start when this slows down, with this slows down, whatever. Life usually doesn't slow down like that. I mean, you have to make your own choices of just doing it anyway, because depending on where you are, it's— things are going to continue to happen. It's, it's a good example is somebody that says, well, I don't think I should get married yet because I gotta make sure I gotta save all this money, I got this got to be perfect and that has to be perfect. Listen, even when you get married, things are going to change. So you move with the change, you know?

Absolutely. So, um, yeah, go ahead.

So, you know, even as a single person, with the moving and, and, and going into a new job, and, and even now there's another season that has happened. So I just got my own place, my own apartment. So I've moved.

Okay, good, good.

And I said, you know, I'm only 15 minutes away from my mom, but I realized with some things I was seeing, because, you know It's good to help take care of your family, but you need that self-care too. I realized that I needed my own space, and but I'm not far to where I can always come back and forth to my mom's house to check on her. I've already got home health aides in here with her.

Such a good daughter. You're such a— you take such good care of your mom. Such good care.

Yeah, that was a whole nother change. And but guess what? I never missed a day of going to F45. I still journal through the whole— I mean, everything, all things.

Oh, and I just— I want you to really acknowledge that because now I'm just— I'm remembering now you were working night shifts and you would come home and you would like get on the coaching call. Like, you were determined to improve yourself and do your personal development. Yeah, period. You were like, I don't— I'm down. This is what's happening. The stuff is that the job was happening. And then, you know, like There were relationships happening.

Yes. Travel.

Like, we co— we coast on a lot of different things, a lot of different circumstances. And one thing I do have to say, that you are very, very, very consistent.

Thank you so much. It was— I think that's the reason why for your program, in the beginning, you always make us write down what our why is. So, and I, I felt like through the program Um, now I know why you want us to know what our why is, because no matter what's going to happen in your life, you know, you have to remember what your why is and go back to it. Because if you don't know what your why is, you know, you're going to give up, you know, you're going to quit.

Yeah, first, first thing that happens, you'll be like, oh, I'll do it later. Yeah, I'll go later.

Yeah, exactly. So I, I really, every, every single time if something is not where I wanted to be or whatever, I step back. I'm like, okay, what is my why? I like to think about it. Yeah, about your why. So, and the more you get into that habit, you know, you'll get in the habit of saying, hey, you know what, wait, let me stop, let me pause, you know. So it's, um, it's been great. And it— you will— it is amazing how you function in life and how, and how you operate in your thinking. Your thinking affects everything. It affects everything. And, um, you know, it's like I told some people in my gym, F45, that I go to, we talk and everything. I was like, whatever's going on in your mind, your physical is going to follow.

Say that again. Say it again for the people in the back.

Your mind, your physical is going to follow.

Yes. So give an example, right? Both ways. Give an example.

So I would say a good example is, okay, say for instance, um, I'll use one. Um, there was a test I had to take. I don't know if that was for my boards or another one, but anyway, I didn't do well on that test. Okay, I was upset, I was crying and all the things or whatever. And so guess what I did? I resorted to binging and eating, thinking it was going to make me feel better. And all of that. And next thing you know, the weight started to pack on. And, and I was like, and I looked around like, how did I get here? This is before I started with you, by the way. And I'm like looking around like, how did this— how did I get here? And when I went through your program, you know, I was like, I— when I look back at those things, I'm like, this is how I got here. Because I never paused and really took time at what I, what I was thinking, you know. I was thinking about all type of stuff. I'm like, I'm a failure. All of this, I was thinking all of that.

Yeah, girl, we— that little voice in our head can be nasty sometimes, and it's just subconscious. Yeah, we don't even— we don't even— we're not even aware that we're speaking to ourselves in that way. And the self-judgment and the guilt and the shame. But you just didn't have the tools yet. Yeah, once you got the tools and you started, your awareness started to open up of like, oh, right now. Yeah, exactly.

And so, you know, as I got used to that. And any thoughts that— because those thoughts are probably still going to come in your mind, but you have the tools to revert it, baby, redirect those thoughts. You know, like if I say to myself now, I'm a failure, I know that's a lie. You know what it is? I'm human.

Yeah. Oh yes, Lulu. Yes, yes, yes.

I'm human, you know. So what am I going to do about this? So, you know, hey, it's, it's wonderful because we all have the power of change. You have the power to change.

Don't make me have a moment. I'm just having like a little Outer Body Coach moment. I just am so proud of you. Thank you.

Thank you for being my coach and my friend.

I mean, you're always a superstar, right? You always had like the bubbly personality. You were always very very focused, always very positive. But here, y'all may not have seen this side of Lulu. I did because I'm your coach.

Oh, sorry about that. Sorry about that.

Um, I saw because I'm your coach, but sometimes people who are super positive, it's really a mask. To cover up, like, how they're really feeling inside. And when they're very much people pleasers, it's because they need the external validation from other people to feel good instead of finding it within themselves to feel good. So I'm just overjoyed and super proud of you, but I'm not surprised to hear you talk about where you are right now, your transformation, and how you've, like, taken control of your brain. And made it work for you.

Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's amazing that, um, you be— that I found that you definitely have the power to change your thoughts, you know. So never let your thoughts take control of you. You, you have control of your thoughts.

Oh, so good, so good. All right, I think we should end it there. I think that was amazing to catch up with you, to see where you are. Congratulations on starting a doctoral program. That's badass. Amazing. Um, when do you finish? When are you—

well, um, I'm just getting started now, so, um, so it'll probably be like another 2-3 years, but that's all right. It's online, it's slow, I can take my time and everything. So yeah.

Oh yeah, Dr. Lulu, party in the post!

Dr. Lulu, party in the post!

Party in a post! Yeah, well, come back and visit us sometime.

I am I am. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jennifer, for being my friend and my coach. You changed my life, and you're continuously changing lives.

Oh, thank you. I received that. I receive that. And I do what I do because of transformations like this. So good. So good. All right, my dear, I'll let you go. And everyone else, I will see you in the next episode.

Yes, thank you so much. And everybody, stop dieting forever. Get off the bus.

There you go. Get off of the weight loss struggle bus. I love it. All right, I'll see you later.

Bye-bye.