[Beginnings & Breakthroughs] Gut Healing + Getting Back on Track with Donna Barber

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Welcome to Beginnings and Breakthroughs. This is where I celebrate and coach.

People just like you who are on.

A mission to heal their metabolisms, feel better, fast and and live their best lives. We will be walking through what's worked for them and what they've discovered on their journeys. And then I'll coach them on their next best steps. And if you're interested in being a guest, stay tuned and I'll be sharing how you can join me too. All right, I will be right back with our awesome guest. Hey, it's jj and welcome to Beginnings and Breakthroughs. Oh my gosh, this is my favorite thing to do. It is where I celebrate your success. Talk about what you've done on one of my programs, whether it's Virgin diet or Sugar Impact Diet or one of the detox programs or using the loaded smoothies. And we unpack that and then we also look at where are you now? And where do you want to go next? And then I'll give you some coaching. And so, so this can be someone. Maybe you've had a breakthrough through one of the programs or maybe you're just starting and you just want to get started, right? Whichever way it is, I would love to share your story with our podcast audience because I know that a lot of times when you're listening to someone else, you're going, oh, wow, that worked for her. I think I can do that. And so you'll hear today as I'm coaching Donna Barber, there's a lot of things in here that you can grab a hold of and go, ah, that's a great idea. I think I'll do that. And I'm really excited about this one because I actually got to meet Donna in person four years ago. We did an event at my house and I keep threatening that I'm going to do another one of these and if this is something interests you, DM me on Instagram. We did something at a house with about 12 people and it was super fun. And Donna shared her story. She was a a part time librarian and got did the virgin diet and has become like the Big advocate. And so we went through today where she is now and what's. What's on tap for her, which she has something big right around the corner that was great timing to help coach her with. And so I'm super, super excited to share this interview with you. Donna is quite a lot of fun, as you'll find out. And if you are interested in becoming one of my. My interviewees, that would be. That would be fantastic. All you need to do is go to jjvirgin.com sign up for the information and application. All right, stay with me. I'll be right back with the awesome, amazing Donna Barber.

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All right, well, I am super excited about this, Donna. So you were at my house, like, five years ago. When was it?

Very close. July 14, 2018. Wow.

All right.

I have a photographic memory for dates.

Wow. That's very impressive. I just knew that I knew was I kind of rate everything kind of like by dogs and husbands.

Exactly.

Who's where, what. So I'm just going to give a little backstory, and then we're going to dive in here. And I know that you found me, and I'd love to Hear this story, because I know you as Donna, the now retired librarian.

That's me.

Who was the librarian that went on the virgin diet and then started turning everybody onto the virgin diet? And I'm like, who is this woman?

The whole city.

I love this woman. So.

And then we. Doing it.

Thank. Thank you. And we had this. And wait, because we've got it. We've got a new book, but it's coming out January 2024. Swap to drop. And I'll give you some highlights of that. You'll. You get. You'll get in early. But it was really fun because we did this whole thing at the house where we wanted to showcase success stories and get to know people. And you came out and you were the. You were the crowd pleaser. So there you go. Very fun.

I love a good audience. So that was. I was nervous for the first five minutes because I was like, I can't believe I'm standing in your house with you. But everybody there. That day was phenomenal. And, you know, all your staff at the time and the other guests, it was. It was just Cheryl Barbara Parker down in la, she said it was the most magical day. And that's what it was.

It was just magic. I'm gonna have another one, I swear. Now you say that. I'm like, I gotta do that. I'm waiting for you to get a date. I keep thinking I should do. Because I built my house here in Florida. We've been doing retreats here, and so that's why I built it. I built. We actually had a hundred people here at a retreat, so.

Gosh, I didn't realize that. Roomy. Wow.

Yes. We have a big, big backyard, and it's just set up that way.

Like, give me the date, I'll be here.

I like parties. That's what I like to do. So let's. Let's start from the beginning. Like, first of all, how did you find me and what were you looking for?

Okay. I was an assistant librarian for Santa Cruz Public Library. Not allowed to be called librarian because my degree's in economics, not like science.

Okay.

But that's just that backstory, basically. As a librarian, everyone in the town knows me. Everyone in the county knows me. I'm, like the friendliest librarian. They always had to stop me because.

No, you're the fun librarian.

I will share with you because I don't know if you're aware of this, the most popular topic that people come into the library for. Health and weight loss. That is the. You're kidding. No, I Kid you not health and weight loss.

Now, the only challenge is, do people still go to libraries?

Absolutely. Everybody thinks they don't. Because of the advent of everything on Internet and stuff, tons of people still use a library, which is.

Well, this is really. That is big news. Okay, I'm making a note.

That's what I want you to know. Very big news. And of course, the older folks like me, let's just say 60 and up, still totally use the library.

You know, we gotta really, like, watch the older folks. Because I don't know about you, but I'm noticing that older keeps getting older.

Yes, thank you.

Like, my mom is older, and my mom's 93 now, so. No, 92. So my mom. Right. And she is still, like, living on her own, walking up and down stairs, playing golf. Go, mom, go.

My role mod. That's awesome.

So she's older, so therefore, 90 plus.

But you notice I include myself. I said, we older folks.

I know. That's why I said, you're not 90, are you?

No, but remember, I just had the big 70. I'm in a new decade.

Right.

So still adjusting to that.

Okay, so here we are.

So working every day from all ages, especially 40s to 60s, they'd come in looking for books on weight loss and diet and health. That was always and literally a woman who I'd seen. Hi, how you doing? Drops a book in front of me called the Virgin Diet. And of course, when people return books, my job was just scan them in and then put them in the bin and they go off in the library. And I kept picking up your book, putting down the book, picking up the book. Of course, your picture was on the COVID And I said, who is this beautiful woman? And the title said, what was the caption?

Drop seven foods, lose seven pounds. Just seven days.

And I looked at it and I kept putting it. Yeah, right. What kind of gimmick is this? Seven pounds in seven days. Coincidentally, the very next day, I was taking a road trip with the dog to meet some friends in Southern California. So I had seven hours to drive. So I took your book in the audiobook version and listened to it for seven hours. And the entire drive, it was like you were sitting in the passenger seat going through your whole virgin diet book. And I was driving my car saying, oh, my God, I've been doing it wrong. Oh, my God, I've been eating that. What am I doing? I shouldn't be eating that. And I shouldn't be. The whole drive down, met with a friend, told him all about it. And he's like, you're right. What kind of gimmick? I said, I don't know. But when I go home, I'm going to try it. And after a few days, I went back home and jumped right on the virgin diet. And the first day or two, as you know, going through this sugar withdrawal and, you know, my God, this is going to be hard.

Well, you know, when you're eating those foods that you're intolerant to, you crave them, right? Honest.

Good.

It's so good when you feel that way, right? Yes. You gotta reframe. Reframe. Okay, well, so you're going through it, so that's good news.

I follow. And on the seventh day, eighth day, I jump on the scale, and I can't say it here, but I went, holy snap, I lost seven pounds. Seven pounds in seven days. And I just kept rereading your book, listening to the audiobook, and your very sentence is, okay, you've done it for seven. Now you can do it for seven more. Now you can do it for 7 more.

I know. It's kind of. I kind of trick you because it's really. I tricked. Yeah, I know.

Well.

But guess what? In four months, I dropped 30 pounds. And I. I mean, I always battled weight. And so even when I saw your book, I was like, well, I'd be happy to lose 10, but losing 30 to me was like winning the lottery. People would come in the library as the time progressed. Donna, are you feeling all right? And I said, actually, I never felt better. Why? Well, you've gotten so thin. I said, listen, the word thin doesn't exist in Donna Barber's life. Maybe slimmer, but not thin. And by the second, third month, people were like, you look younger. Your skin looks younger. What are you doing? I said, I'm just following a new eating plan that I discovered accidentally. That's when I started passing your message along, literally, to dozens and dozens and dozens of people. And several of whom, including myself, no longer needed certain medications because it's like, oh, we don't need those now. Now we're, like, totally healthy. And after I dropped the 30, I had to go see my doctor because I was feeling lightheaded and faint. And she was like, oh, we need to take you off blood pressure medicine. Your blood pressure dropped too low, and your cholesterol numbers are too low. Oh, you mean I don't have to take these pills anymore? That's what finding your book did for me. That's the backup story? Yep.

Okay, so that, like, you Know makes me beyond happy. Now you're here. And now we need to do a little refinement because from what I've heard, things have slid a bit. So what. What has happened? Like, where are you now? And then let's talk about where. Where you're going to go from here, because you're about to be your best self ever. That's right.

That's right.

Yeah.

I kept off the 30 for probably three years, and this all started five years ago. I found your book in 2017. Three years. I was. I mean, glued to your diet, glued to your plant. I can't say I gained it all during Pandemic, but as we all know, with the shelter in place and staying home turned to food. So I put on a good 10, and then I was like, okay, I got to get back on the track because I don't want to be 10 pounds heavier. I want to keep the 30 off. So the last two years has been a struggle with the same 10. Lost them, gained them, lost them, gained them. I lost seven of the ten. So I'm still struggling. Out of the 30, I'm down 22 pounds.

All right, well, we're going to fix this.

Yes, that's what I'm counting on.

Just so you know. And you said something, too. So what's going on with blood pressure medications, all that now?

Interestingly, right now I'm back on blood pressure meds, but half the dose I was on before. And cholesterol meds, some crazy number. Like, only two nights a week, but that's it. Thankfully, never diabetic, you know, no other kind of. Oh, yeah. And half a thyroid pill every morning.

Okay.

Other than that, healthy as anything.

What kind of thyroid are you taking?

Oh, Lord. I'd have to go downstairs. It's called Levoxal.

Okay.

All right. Okay, good. Okay, so first of all, I'd love to know, do you know your thyroid numbers? Because one of the important things to know is if your thyroid isn't handled correctly, low thyroid function, what's called hyperthyroid, which is actually, like, you'll have. Or hypothyroid. You'll have high tsh, but it's. Low thyroid function can cause high cholesterol. So I just want to make sure that's not the issue.

Going and looking in my medical file. I don't know the number.

When did the thyroid thing come on?

Oh, no, that's been years. That's been probably eight, 10 years.

All right, well, so I'm going to give you some things to do. We're just going to go through and give you a list. Okay, I got my pad. I'm ready. Okay, number one. Number one, we want to make sure your thyroid is still. Is still. You're still medicated correctly because if you're not, it will make it hard to lose weight, it'll make it hard to put on muscle, and it will also can cause elevated cholesterol. So you want to have the following things checked. They won't want to do this. This is what you need to have. And so you go in and say, I have all these symptoms so that they'll do this. It's TSH. You want your TSH to be between 0.5 and 1. Then you're going to get a free T3 and a free T4.

Did you say T3? T3.

Make sure it's free. A free one. And you're also going to look at thyroid antibodies. Wow.

Okay.

So that's step one. That's important. Next couple other questions. Do you have a scale that looks at both your body composition to your weight and your lean body mass and body fat?

Oh, heavens no. It's a scale that I get on and it just tells me what the numbers are.

You got to get a fancy scale. And by the way, they used to be really expensive and now they're not. So either Tanita T A N I T A or inbody. And especially if you can get one, what you're looking for is it's going to tell you your, your body composition. So you have on your body two things. You have body fat and you have everything else. Okay. So we just keep it simple. But they also can also give you a number called your visceral fat. Look for a scale that's going to tell you your body composition, which is based on total body water, your body fat and your visceral fat. Because your visceral fat's the bad stuff. That's where all the pro inflammation, blah, blah, blah happens. We want to make sure that we focus so much on losing weight. What we really want to focus on is holding onto and building muscle and getting rid of that visceral fat, getting it low. So it's a different way to look at things that may change the way we do this. So that's the next thing.

I have a great primary who I love and she's also into holistic and believes in western plus other alternatives.

Nice. Who is it? You know, let's, let's give her a plug. What's her name?

Oh, her name is Jasilyn. Gadbaugh. G, A, D, B, A, W. That's quite a name.

Okay.

Here in Santa Cruz.

Well, yay. Yay for her. I'm glad she's doing this.

Get in touch with her.

Yes. Because what we want to do. I want to know what your body fat percentage is. I want to see if we need to. If the focus really should be building muscle. I have a feeling, since you've always been pretty active, we're probably in good shape there. But I want to see, have you also had.

That's on my list of things to discuss.

Yeah. And what about your. Have you had a bone density, Bone mineral density?

I haven't recently, but I've had them, and they said the numbers were fine and no signs of osteoporosis.

Nice.

Probably five years ago. Yeah, well.

But still. So probably pretty stable now. And that's fantastic that you did that.

And I will check with her.

Walk me through what your diet looks like now.

Oh, God.

Yep.

I'm gonna hang up.

Yeah. Nope, you can't. You can't leave.

Well, here's the thing. I mean, I will share with you what I eat and don't eat, but what I wanted to discuss with you when they said, oh, ask J.J. anything. My gut is a mess.

Oh, boy.

Okay.

And I know you're always talking about gut, health and microbiome and, you know the subject that nobody wants to talk about.

Your poops.

Exactly. But we all do it.

Okay, well, tell me, because.

And to me, this stuff is more important than whether or not I lose five or ten pounds.

Well, here's the thing. Weight's just a symptom of other things not working well in your metabolism. You know, the whole thing we've got the bass ackwards, is that you have to get health, that you lose weight to get healthy. No, you don't. If you've got a good, healthy gut, if you've got your thyroid working well, if your blood sugar is balanced, you're sleeping well, you're building muscle, you're losing fat. So we need to change the way we look at this. So the big focus here is what do we need to look at on what you're doing to make sure you are your very best healthy self? The weight loss will be automatic if we do that. And when I say weight loss, I specifically mean fat loss, because you do not want to lose any of your lean body mass. So tell me what's going on with your gut.

Well, what I didn't get to tell you when we met four years ago, I lived for 25, 30 years with diverticulosis, which would often turn into diverticulitis and bad flare ups. And what you don't know is 20 years ago, my entire colon ruptured.

Ooh.

Yeah. It was not fun. I was at death's door. Wow. I literally. I mean, I didn't know how sick a body could be and recover from it. I know you always talk about your son and how he was near death and how you got him recovered. Well, I was literally near death. And it was a miracle that pulled through. They rearranged my intestine. I lived with a colostomy bag for a year. That was no fun. And I lost a bunch of weight, but the hard way. But what I had to learn from that was the list is this long of, you can't eat this, you can't eat this, you can't eat that. That's a backstory. About five or six years ago, I got really sick again in the gut thinking, oh, my gosh, it's happening again. I mean, we're talking. I don't want to say this and sound graphic. Not only diarrhea and bad poop, but the toilet was full of blood. I mean, we're talking the worst it could be. This happened a few years ago, and I got diagnosed with something that I just read. Your buddy, Dr. Hyman had something called C Diff. Talk about wreaking habit on your gut. I was a sick puppy. The problem with the diet was I had to live for weeks and weeks and weeks on things like white rice, applesauce, toast, all the things that you always tell us we shouldn't be eating. I had no choice. I mean, I had to live on what would sustain me to get over all the illness. All of that's in the rearview mirror. Until about two months ago, I got microscopic colitis, which basically means my intestines were so swollen and that feeling of being so bloated, like, oh, my God, I have to go. And I was going seven to ten times a day. It wasn't the going that was the problem. It was, can we stop going? The backstory on this, not to be graphic, is I have a really messed up gut. So we need to heal my gut.

Yes, you do.

More pills.

Tell me what you're eating now. Did anything change in the last year, dramatically in how you're living or stress or anything like that?

I'm happy to say, and I brag about this to everybody, I believe I live the most stress free life on the planet. My House is five blocks from the beach. My bills are next to nothing. I have two pensions from two retirements. I've worked several fabulous jobs and except for Daisy and Daffy, I have the world's greatest dog who's laying right here watching, doesn't make a sound. I have great friends, and until all the gut issues, I'm in great health. And nobody believes I turn 70. So it definitely can't be coming from stress. I don't have any financial worries. I don't have any. I'm not in a relationship. I don't have any relationship problems. So no, nothing like that has changed. I have great friends, have money to go.

You don't change your diet at all in the last.

Well, one thing that the gastrodoc and you're not going to like this made me stop was my JJ chocolate smoothies. He decided, and I think he's right. I used to load him up with berries and strawberries and raspberries and blueberries. Because my friend JJ is always telling me the health food, blah, blah, blah, the superfood, they were causing me. Not the smoothie themselves, all the berries causing. Yeah, there's a, there's of the problem.

With what you've got going on. There's other things we do that are better for you.

So unfortunately, no more berries, no more strawberries, raspberries, blueberry, all the things that are so healthy my system cannot intake.

So what are you eating now?

Well, you'll kill me. Usually I start the morning with a bowl of cereal, which is Cheerios, gluten free and almond milk. After that a banana, usually some hard boiled egg. Lunch. I make something like a Cobb salad and sometimes I can do the lettuce. Sometimes I take the lettuce off. I found something at Traders called egg wrap. So they kind of look like a burrito, but they're like gluten free, dairy free. And I can put eggs and avocado in those and I can eat them and they seem to be fine. I do a lot of chicken. Share that with the dog. And instead of white rice, brown rice and the two, well, three veggies that seem to my body seems to handle. Okay, broccoli, spinach or green beans. Anything else. The term I use is I wind up paying for it.

Okay, can you do cauliflower?

I don't like it, but I'd have to try it.

Well, you try cauliflower rice and don't make that baby face.

Oh, okay. I'm gonna write it down. Okay. Yes, ma'.

Am. Okay. All Right. So nothing changed, and it just kind of. Did it creep up over time or did it happen overnight?

No, it probably took a couple of months. Probably started February, March. And because I've had so many intestinal issues, I just ignored it and said, well, that's how my system works. And by April, I said, no, this is. Something's going on.

Okay, what supplements are you taking?

Oh, again, I'd have to go downstairs and look at them. Basic.

Off the top of your head?

Yeah, a basic multivitamin, vitamin D. I take a combo of one called calcium, magnesium, zinc, bromelain, because a good friend who does acupuncture swears that that keeps sciatica at bay. And a vitamin C. Oh, and probiotics.

Okay, what kind of probiotics are you taking?

Oh, gosh. Their true nature from Costco.

Okay. We probably need to kick a better probiotic. Okay. All right, so what are we doing? How is your sleep? And what are you doing for exercise?

You know me, my least favorite word. Exercise. I don't do burst training. I walk. My exercise is walking as many blocks as I can handle with the dog. I walk to the beach and back. I try to get a couple of miles in a day. But the other bad note is the arthritis is. Is winning, and I'm losing. And in August, I'm set for knee replacement surgery. Okay, well, so at the turning 70, I've had a lot of things happen to me.

I've had a knee and a hip replacement, so.

I knew you had the hip. I didn't know you had the knee.

Yeah. What? When I was 17, I blew my knee out, and then I had an ACL repair. I blew that out. Then I had it again and blew that out. I mean, just. And that was just because I was. I was. Thought I was better than the knee surgery. Right. And you were a runner, and I was being stupid. It was just stupid. Anyway, I finally couldn't wear my high heels anymore, and I gimped into the doctor because I couldn't wear my high heels. He's like, oh, my gosh. And they were like, we don't even know how you're walking. I had such a collapsed joint, and it was a. It was the greatest thing I ever did. And. But I also had a hip replacement because of the wear and tear on the knee. And then a dog attack that happened.

Right in front of your house.

Right. So the bottom line is, I will tell you what we need to do. If you are having a knee replacement in. Did you say six weeks?

Is August 16th.

We've got to get you really dialed. Because when I'm doing this kind of stuff, I train for it and then I recover from it. Like, I really focus on that. So there's some very specific things that we're going to want to do. The biggest one is get your. Your gut settled down.

Yes.

Please remember, like, in order for you to heal, you have got to have a good gut, because your gut's how you absorb all your nutrients. If it's, like, you know, going crazy, we're going to have a serious issue here. So as far as your blood pressure, like, in looking at all this stuff, to me, my guess is we tighten up your diet a little bit and get your gut healed and get some focus on, again, holding on to muscle. Especially if you're going through knee surgery, the blood pressure is solely because you put on some weight. Sounds like.

And it's not too bad. It's like 135 over 80, 140 over 82.

Yeah, but we don't want that. We want you to be totally metabolic right now. Like, there's something like before the pandemic, they said 12% of the population was metabolically healthy. And what classified metabolic health is a waste for a woman? Your waist is less than 35. Your blood pressure is 120 over 80. Your triglycerides were under 150. I think that's too high. Your blood Sugar was under 90. I think. I still think that's too high. So, I mean, it just. And your HDLs were above 50, so there was a lot. And, you know, just a couple of those. You're not metabolically healthy. We got to have you metabolically healthy.

So the first of all those things you just named. My only good number is my glucose is always around 80.

So what we're going to do, we can get all this stuff fixed. This is but one. But there's a couple things looking at this that we've got to really focus on. The one thing I didn't get, though, was. What about your sleep?

I sleep like a rock.

Great.

How long? Oh, eight hours minimum. Sometimes nine. I'm a great sleeper. I run around all day long, whether it's errands, driving, taking the dog, whatever. I do so much packed in the day that by nighttime, I'm in the jammies by eight, lights out by night.

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Now, in my perfect world, when they're doing a knee replacement, and I'll tell you what I did for both my knee and my hip was I. You know, they. They have you do rehab after you do it. Oh, yeah, but that's wrong. You know, when you need to do it, you need to do it before. Yes.

A friend sent me some videos that I've already been doing now to start getting my quads and getting them stronger.

Exactly like you want to go in super strong because you're going to lose some of it. So in the perfect world, you would be right now getting into your best shape ever before you go have this surgery, which we've got six weeks, which isn't a lot of time, but at least it's better than nothing. But I do want to emphasize that. And what I'll say is we've got to look at your walking and go, all right, we need to add to this. Now, is there a gym near you that you could join?

There is. I'm just, you know, me not into exercise. Why we talk about.

So that was the old you, but the new you is. No, I'm not talking either of those. I'm talking about. Donna is going to be lifting weights.

Oh, that. I'd have to go to a gym.

Right? Or you can do it at home. But you're such a social person that I feel like that if you went to a gym and you did a class or you did that, it'd be fun for you and you would like it. When I look at this, I think one of the most important things you can do as you age, and this is like 40 plus, we become what's called anabolically resistant, which means our muscles just don't work like they used to. It's not as easy for us to build muscle, and then our hormones go down at around 50, and then it gets a lot harder. So we can't not do resistance training because we're just losing muscle every day if we don't do it. So you've got to do resistance training like, you just got to do it. So what we've got to figure out is what will you love to do? And here's the thing. You're going to do rehab after your exercise, after your surgery. But what would Be awesome is we want to make sure you're being able to stay active. Now when you have knee surgery, they actually want you walking on it.

Oh, that's what the surgeon told me. He said that afternoon, I'll be walking.

Yeah. I will tell you that. Like, and I had this whole negotiation with the doctor because I needed to go do something, and I'm like, listen, do I need to stay overnight? Because I need to go.

He's like, right? He's like, my attitude.

He's like, come on. And so I literally went in in the morning, and I got out the next morning. And he said, I'll let you go if you can walk without a walker. I go, watch this. But I literally never used the walker for either of surgeries. I started with it, and then I stopped. And so they tell you they want you walking. So that's the good news. But that's not going to help you build muscle. And if you want to change everything about your body, it's all about building that muscle. So we got to get that scale, and I want you to have that soon because it's going to make a big difference. Difference with how you get through this, if you're really managing that. And then we got to get you to find a gym, because, you know what you'll be able to do after surgery is they're going to teach you some things that you can do with rehab and you'll be better than me. When the doctor told me there was nothing I could do to hurt it, I just said, all right, cool. And I went and did my thing. And then I came in a month later, and he goes, all right, well, you can go to the gym and you can start doing squats and stuff now. I go, oh, I just started.

Right, but you've been doing those.

There's a lot of stuff you'll be able to do, like, you know, small leg extensions and stuff. They'll teach you how to do all this stuff.

And I have stairs in my house, so even the day I come home, I have to get up those stairs. Yeah, they'll.

Well, they'll teach you how to get up and down the stairs, you know, and the other thing is that you'll be able to go to a gym and you'll still be able to do all the upper body work.

Right.

That you. That you'll be able to do. So that's going to be important for you. So you got to get. Find a gym, join a gym, and.

Ideally, yay, you'll love it.

You're going to have a great time and find. You know what I'd love to do after you heal from the. From all of the. From the knee surgery. I'll tell you once you get about three months out, the best thing you can possibly do is join a yoga class. Now, your knees never going to bend all the way back again. Like, it just doesn't do it. However, it's weird when you first have a knee replacement or hip replacements, like, your body has to. Your nervous system has to learn how to integrate this new thing in. And so all of a sudden you'll be walking. It just does this weird. Like, it's like, poof. And you're like, what happened? You know, so. But yoga has been amazing because it helps you re. Establish that. And I think that'll be another good thing for you.

And you think yoga is better than tai chi? Because I've had friends that do both, that say for, hey, older folks that.

You got to stop saying that dirty word. I don't understand. Like, I just knock it off.

Okay.

Either one would be great. I'd love to see you. And I think you could probably start tai chi within, you know, probably two months. But we. Let's get. So let's put on that thing. But they're different, so I know. So first thing is we're getting that scale and you're going to get your body composition reported to me. And then you're going to get your. You're going to go join that gym and because, you know, right after your knee surgery, you'll be able to go in there and do all your upper body stuff. And once they teach you your rehab, you can go into the gym to do it. And then you'll get out and you'll start to meet people. And then if you don't show up, they're going to pester you, which is.

What I want to have happen.

Okay?

And a lot of times when you join a gym, they give you a personal training session to walk you through, to teach you stuff. That would be great, too. Okay, now, so that's. That. That's the key, important stuff as far as your gut goes. Here's how I want you to think. And this is going to be super important for you. Healing. So when you're healing from this, there's a couple things that you're going to make sure that you do. Did you say you were taking vitamin D? D?

Yes. D, like Donna D?

Is it a D3 with K1 and 2?

I don't think so.

Oh, boy.

And I'd have to go down and look at all my stuff downstairs.

You can't. So here's the thing. You really need to get high quality supplements. This is because it makes all the difference. With vitamin D3 you want to make sure you've got K1 and 2. Vitamin D, as you know, does so many important things. One of the key important things it does is help your gut. But another thing it does is help with bone remodeling and it helps with calcium absorption. So remember, vitamin D is helping you with calcium absorption. Vitamin K directs it to the right places. So you want to make sure you've got your vitamin D levels where they should be. So when you do, next time you're doing labs, you should have a vitamin D test too. But you're going to need a good vitamin D. And then the other thing that's super helpful here is fish oil. Now obviously you know directly pre, like you know within a week before your surgery and a week after you're not on that, but then after that you are on fish oil because it helps with bone remodeling.

And what type or how much strength of fish oil. That's something I do not take.

So I've got, I'm going to, I'm just going to put together a little thing and probably send you a little love box. So I'm making a note. The other thing that I love and again, you got to follow your doctor's orders on what you can and can't take. Pre generally it's all the GS, ginger, garlic. It's also things like vitamin E, fish oil, all the things that can make your blood thinner. Right. So I'm very conservative directly pre and post. But then I, then I'm going to throw everything at it. And one of the things that I really love is curcumin.

Oh yeah, I take that, I take that in a supplement.

And it's also super good for your gut too, by the way. So not only is it great for reducing inflammation because what we're going to want to do, the one bummer is, and I'll tell you, I tried to be a martyr when I went through knee surgery. I was like, I'm not going to take pain pills. And I was right in the sugar impact diet. I was editing the book during that time and I remember that I would edit a little bit, then the pain would get so bad that I would have to take a little bit of pain pill. Then I'd pass out. Then I would sleep for a couple hours and the pain would come back, wake me up, then I would edit. And it was just stupid. I should have taken enough pain medications.

To just not right. I don't want to be in any pain if I don't have to.

And I will tell you that one of the best things I did was I got an ice machine.

Yeah, I have that.

And I used a lot of curcumin and fish oil. However, use their pain medications to start with, because it is. I mean, they saw your bones off. It hurts. Yeah, okay. They had to show it to me, too. They wheeled me in, they go, this is Raul and he's going to show you the saws. I go, I don't want to see the saws.

Oh, that's interesting. Me, a link to a video because I'm bone on bone, where they implant something in between the joint so you're not rubbing the bones on each other. You didn't say anything about sawing it.

Yeah, you don't need to know anyway.

I don't want them to.

You don't need to know. So just know that it does hurt and don't be a martyr. Take the pills. So good minerals, a really high quality bone formula. So a good calcium, magnesium, bone formula, vitamin D3 with K2, fish oil, curcumin. And then as far as the rest goes, when you are healing from something like this, you need more protein, not less. Now, I'm going to assume, what's your weight right now?

Well, it was 165 till July 4th weekend. Now I'm back to 168.

Ah.

And when I met you four years ago, I was 160. 161.

All right, so I'm going to. Then.

I'm trying to make notes of all this.

As you say, reality is here. And they can get you a copy of this, too, that we've got to kick your protein up because in order for you to be healing after a surgery, like, generally, I say like a gram and a half per pound of body weight, which means the biggest focus you're going to be doing is going to be protein. So here's what I want you to do. And again, I'm going to send you some stuff, too. But the reason he took you off the shake wasn't because of the shake. It was because of the stuff you're.

Putting in the shake, the berries in it. Right. It wasn't the cacao nibs. It wasn't the almond butter. Was it your protein fat?

Well, here's the thing. It's important for you to know that, like, the, the best thing you can do while you're healing is to get in two of these shakes a day. It's also going to help your gut. And here's what's going to happen. You are going to do. And I want you to use the Paleo shake. So it wasn't the chocolate? The chocolate doesn't bother you?

No chocolate. I seem to be fine other than craving it all the time. The bad chocolate, not your shakes. The. Yeah, I can do your protein.

Okay. Sometimes chocolate can be a trigger. So as long as chocolate's not a trigger.

Yeah, no, it only triggers my cravings of wanting, like a Hershey bar, you know, the bad chocolate.

Well, just eat a dark chocolate.

What do you do? Yeah, no, I have. I keep some of that and I have JJ virgin chocolate protein bars. I have one every day.

Every other day. They're very good. So you're going to do twice a day. Like, to me, this is going to be your easiest healing. Plus you're going to be like, is we got to get your protein way up. So what we need to do is get the chocolate and vanilla Paleo shakes. So if you do two scoops of that and you do. I would put two scoops of collagen.

Yep. I put collagen in the shakes. Yep. Collagen peptides.

So you're going to.

What I need to know is what other additives can I put in in place?

So here's what I'm giving you. I'm giving it to you, but there's more. There's more. Then you're going to put in glutamine powder. It's going to help with healing, but it's also going to help heal your gut.

Let's see.

Hold on. So what you're going to do is you're going to make your shake and here's what your shake is going to look like. It's going to be two scoops of powder and then it's going to be a half a tablespoon. If you're doing them twice a day, half a tablespoon of glutamine powder. And then it's going to be a serving of soothing gut elixir.

Then.

So that those things together are going to do two things. We're going to kick your protein up and ideally you're doing. If you do two scoops. So if you're doing four scoops of collagen a day, I know that's a lot, but I want to heal. I'm throwing it at you. Okay. That's going to get you in those shakes to 40 grams of protein right there.

Wow. Okay.

That's not really enough.

What about half avocado?

We really need to. Yeah, we really actually need you to get more like 50 grams. So there is a milk called. From good karma called. It's unsweetened vanilla flax milk. And it has protein in it because they added some. Now can you handle. We'll just see if your gut can do it. It's pea protein, so we have to.

Make sure you can. But I can't handle the seeds. Like I used to put flaxseeds or chia seeds. There's no.

Yeah, there's no. No seed in there. We're not doing any seed. It's all just the milk. So if we can do that, then we can get you up to. You'll have about 50 grams. And that's what.

Because vanilla flax milk would be in place of coconut milk or milk. Okay. Oh, yeah, I'm sure I can get it.

Okay. So good karma, unsweetened vanilla flax milk. And you'll see it.

Protein.

Okay.

We.

I'm really looking at how do I get you to like 160 to 180 grams of protein a day? Yeah. You got some healing to do.

Healing.

I know. So these shakes I'm looking at getting you to 50 grams and then realize the best you can be eating, like it would be 8 ounces of chicken or 8 to 10 ounces of wild salmon. Do you like sardines?

No.

I know. Disgusting.

But I hardly even eat fish. But if JJ tells me to eat.

Fish, wild salmon would be really. So really gut healing is fish protein. So if we can get you eating more fish. And so what I want to see with these fatty fishes is 10 ounces of fish or 6 to 8 ounces of chicken. Again, we're kicking up your protein.

Yeah, I'm good with chicken. I just have to get the grass fed. You know, free range chicken, the organic.

The other thing that you want to do here is. Oh, gosh, hold on. So in your shake, here's what you're going to do. Your fruit in your shake. Because this is gut healing and we do different stuff for gut healing. Collagen is very gut healing. The bone broth protein in my paleo shakes. Super gut healing. The other thing that's gut healing are bananas.

Yeah. I put a half banana.

Yeah. So either a half banana or a half a cup of applesauce. Oh, ok. Those are very, very healing. Those Two. Ok. And then I want you getting yourself some bone broth and get your bone broth. Get some bone broth. Drinking.

I use chicken bone broth because at least twice a month I make your recipe of lemon thyme chicken in my crock pot. It is fabulous. I make that a couple times a month with brown rice and broccoli. I'm a happy kid.

Great. Okay.

So yes, I'm familiar with that bone broth, but I haven't used it in a while. I guess I better get some more.

So you need to be drinking bone broth. A cup of it every single day.

Wow. Okay.

Yep. So you know what your shake is? 2 scoops plus 2 scoops collagen plus glutamine powder, half a tablespoon. Plus a scoop of soothing gut elixir. Keep your probiotics going. Make sure you're taking a good quality one. I like, I would be taking. I wonder if we have, you know, the microbiome balance that we have.

But. Well, I'm just going to ask you about that because I and I know we're running out of time because I'm still spreading the JJ virgin message to everybody. I come across a woman, a friend of mine, a little bit younger than me, lives in the hood who's super skinny. It wasn't about weight loss. Thanked me for turning her on to you and she changed some of her eating habits.

Nice.

Your microbiome supplement. And told me just the other day she has never felt better in her life.

Nice. It is the microbiome balance we're actually about. We're coming out, we're doing a bunch of new stuff. I'm super excited. We've been working a lot on products and the microbiome balance products are really interesting product because it's got probiotics, prebiotics and bacteriophages. So it's a really.

So I need to get me some of that. Okay.

And then like this is the key stuff the that should be helping you. Are you doing any vitamin C? Extra vitamin C?

Yeah. But just one a day and I don't know what the milligram is without looking at it.

So you probably are going to need after your surgery because one of the things that helps with collagen production is vitamin C and but you don't do it pre and post directly because it can do some blood thinning. So just after your surgery, like, you know, five days out, week out, start two grams of vitamin C. Okay. And then the two grams of fish oil.

Okay.

So. And I'm sending you that, so thank you.

Because I'm writing it, and I know I'm not getting it all.

Okay, well, you also can get a copy of this.

There.

So I'm typing as I'm doing to send to Erin.

Yeah. Well, your staff is fabulous, so I know they'll come through.

They are amazing. So you know what to do? Scale fitness. Really upping your. When you go through. Like, when Grant was in the hospital, I had him at, like, 250 grams of protein a day. I was doing special amino acids, everything.

I remember you. You told us the story. You were bringing food into the hospital.

Oh, yeah. Plugging it in. They thought I was. And then, you know, when. Like when I did my surgery, I, like, kicked it all up. And especially whenever I do this, I always do two shakes a day because it's so key. Critical for healing. Right.

So this will help and how much other food. I mean, the shakes are in place of food, correct?

Yeah.

You're having two meals. Our shakes.

Two shakes.

And then do one meal of your, you know, protein first. Chicken or fish?

Chicken, yeah. Because that's my favorite.

But let's get into, like, I'd love to see you getting fish in three times a week. The reason being salmon or halibut. It's very gut healing. Like, when I look at gut healing foods, that's a very gut healing food. Okay. Okay. Because we got to get your. The healthy gut support product, that soothing gut elixir and the glutamine are going to calm your. Calm your gut down. The glutamine also helps with healing. The collagen helps calm your gut down. The bone broth helps calm your gut down. So we're doing stuff. Both. The curcumin is going to help reduce inflammation. The fish oil will help. So we're throwing everything at it, and it's going to help with both issues, kind of. All right. There you go.

Okay. Sounds easy. If I can get it all put together. One of my dearest friends studies acupuncture and kinesiology, and she's been after me for years to do weight training and resistance training.

Well, you should have listened to her.

I know. So now she's gonna.

Now you can't say to her, oh, J.J. said it, so now I'm gonna do it, because that will make her mad.

It would make me mad.

Yeah.

She's a very special friend. She'll be thrilled. She knows who you are and all about you.

Perfect. So I just sent that off too, so you know what to do. And Then I want. As soon as you get your body comp scale, I want to hear what. Where you're starting out. And as soon as you join the gym, I want to hear that you join the gym. Get going now on that. Right. Ok. Promise?

No, I promise. I'm promising because I want to feel good and I want to get well.

Yes. And yes. Yes.

The whole reason I finally said yes to the knee surgery is I can't do my walking. And that's my favorite thing to do. Well, it'll be getting short walks.

I know. That's just not right. Well, here's the thing. The first three months and they say it. And for something, all of a sudden at three months, it's like, boom. Something just lifts. But it's three months of wobble where it's just kind of weird. And, you know, the first two weeks are rough and you just prepare for it. And then, you know, I. You should be able to get off the medic, the pain pills fairly quickly, but don't be a martyr. And then start using all that other stuff and just focus on getting strong. Focus on getting strong. Right.

Remember, I lived through them rearranging my intestines.

Yes.

And I live through them putting a bag on and taking a bag off.

Yes.

This is going to be a piece of cake.

This is way easier. I'd much rather have a knee replacement than a bag.

Absolutely.

Yes. Yes, absolutely. All right. Perfect. Okay, so you'll let me know?

Yeah, no, definitely. I can text you, I can Instagram you, I can email your staff. I have hundreds of ways to reach you.

Yes, reach me. Tell me. All right, perfect. Best of luck.

Okay.

He's coming your way.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for giving me your time.

You are so welcome. My honor. My pleasure.

By the way, where'd you put the towel?

What towel?

The towel.

I didn't think of it as a towel. To me, it was a. I used it as a. It's like, it's out on my. I have a big ottoman thing and I put it as like a what. What do you call it? Kind of like a little tablecloth. But it's not a tablecloth. I don't think it was a towel. Yeah, it's like a rock runner. It's too pretty for a towel.

I know. That's what you left me in your voicemail. I loved it.

I was like, that's exactly what you said. It's pretty. What is it?

It's just what you said. Anyway, you deserve it and thank you because you have been my hero, as you know, since I found that book. So if you're advising me to do it, I'm gonna do it.

Well, I appreciate all the support you've always given me, too.

So thank you and know how much I love you and I'm grateful for all you do. Okay. All right, stay well and stay safe, and I'll see you.

Thank you. Okay, thanks. Bye. All right. I cannot wait to hear how Donna sails through this surgery and what happens as she gets involved with her local gym. She's super social, so should be a great thing for her. And again, we're really talking. Like today, we focused a lot on what you need to do to heal from a surgery, which means more protein, what you need to do to heal your gut, and then what you need to do to make sure that as you age, and I'm talking 40 plus, you know that you hold on to or build muscle because if you're not using it, you're losing it. If you'd like to be a guest on the show, just go to JD jburgin.com signup and you'll get all the details there. And thank you so much for tuning into another awesome session of beginnings and breakthroughs. I'll see you next time.

Hello listeners. This is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast what Should I Read Next Next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I check all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading Next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moments, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader, and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.