Josephine (Host)
Hi everyone, welcome to the Love to Live Healthy show. I’m Josephine Fitzpatrick. Today we have a very special guest, Dara Gelb. She’s going to share her story how she lost 15 pounds on the Innovation Weight Loss Program. But that weight loss not only changed her body, it changed her life. Let’s see if we can bring her in. Dara. Hi, how are you?
Dara (Guest)
I’m good thank you. How are you?
Josephine (Host)
I am great thank you. Dara you lost 15 pounds on the Innovation Program. You were sent to me because your daughter was having her Ba Mitzvah, right? So that was why you were sent to me originally. and it ended up being so much more. So let’s talk about that. The 15 pounds you did lose rather quickly, right?
Dara (Guest)
I think I started like end of August, beginning of September. So it really I just came in looking for some, I guess, structure, some more routine, some flexibility within that structure, if that makes sense. And I was just ready for a change and ready to commit and it just became a whole life change that I could never have anticipated.
Josephine (Host)
I love that. That’s amazing, and you came in just wanting to look and feel better.
Dara (Guest)
I work in the summer and I had just been in a place where I just wanted to make some positive changes for myself and this program really just seamlessly fit into or I seamlessly kind of fit it into my life and my lifestyle and, with your help and support, it just really worked.
Josephine (Host)
That’s amazing. I know the bar mitzvah was in November.
Dara (Guest)
Yeah, it was the BA Mitzvah was end of November
Josephine (Host)
Im sorry the BA Mitzvah. it was end of November. And I remember one thing I loved is when you said you felt like a princess that day. And that was so special to me because that was really our goal. We wanted you to feel the best you could feel. You know, and really when you change and have that confidence, it’s a big deal. You know. It changes who you are and how people look at you, because you’re walking with confidence rather than feeling like, oh, I don’t feel good and you know it’s this big beautiful day.
Dara (Guest)
It was like one of the first times, I think, I’ve worked in my adult life, that I’ve worked really hard for something and seen like a real change, not only with how I look and feel or like look physically, but how I present myself and feel about myself.
It’s not always easy, you know, and there are days, like we’ve talked about, that are, you know, you feel hungry but never starving, but feel hungrier than others. There are some weeks and the holidays was challenging to work through, but I think that the best thing that I’ve found through you and your support is really like the ability to restart successfully, that like having a bad day, you know, and making choices that you can allow yourself to make and then forgive yourself and start over. I think that I have been able to say to myself like this was a rough day, I enjoyed it. Or maybe like the experience that I was having was different than just my average day where I could make choices that are all on program, but that that’s okay, that it doesn’t always mean there’s going to be a change in the scale. You know, up or down, that I have to learn to enjoy the choices that I’m making and if I have a rough go, that that’s okay and I have you and I can report to it you know and your feedback and support really helps. I really can’t imagine it not helping anyone that’s trying your program.
Josephine (Host)
Thank you. I appreciate it. I know the food has really helped you and I love that you’ve really learned how to eat it and you’ve learned how to enjoy it and spread it out. You don’t sit and eat a full meal, but you eat what you need and you’ve really learned to listen to your body like that. I think that’s really important. I find I get a lot of feedback from clients who listen to the podcast that they tend to just eat what’s in front of them. I know for you especially, like I even see, because when you send me the food you’ll have like three rainbow balls but you’ll only eat one because you only need one, or you’ll eat two and you’ll separate it, but you eat it when you need it.
Dara (Guest)
Yeah, I think that I have definitely been more of a picker my whole life. I’ve always been tasting and I’ve always been able to eat in modification or make choices, but I just got to a point in my life, like over 40, where it was just starting to affect just how I looked and felt. I think the products that you have are amazing. I think that it’s allowed me again to have so much flexibility and food that tastes good, because what you always say is that if you’re eating less, you have to really enjoy what you’re eating.
And I really do love the food on the program. Then when I go out, like being able to have your support and really enjoy the food that I have. I start my day and I graze, like I take it, I’ll take some water, I’ll have some coffee and then, if we go out and I have a meal, I’ll sometimes come home and know that I have a dessert that I can enjoy myself, because I like to have a little bit of something sweet at the end of the night. I think what I really love is that I don’t have to count calories and I don’t necessarily have to look at all ingredients, like if I follow the program. I know I’m making good choices and I’ve seen the results of that.
Josephine (Host)
Yes amazing results. What would you say is your favorite food is here.
Dara (Guest)
Oh it’s so hard to pick one. I mean those rainbow protein balls are like damn. The truffle balls I’ve tried this week are amazing. But I mean all the food is good. I love the pastas, I love the cheese quesadillas, and obviously those muffins in the morning. But I’ve been having variety with them all. like my morning meal i like the protein PB bar. I just I love like being able to spread it out. Some stuff is crunchy, some stuff is softer.
Josephine (Host)
I was thinking about you the other day. Do you remember when you had COVID and use to make them bring it to your door?
Dara (Guest)
Oh my God, I just had everybody like heat it up and leave it right at the basement door and I would like come up and take my food and go back down. I really needed that delivery because I didn’t want to, you know, rely on anybody else to kind of make the food. It was really like it gets me through, yeah, and I enjoy it.
Like I was telling you I always keep a bunch of your snacks in the car for like when I’m on the go and I teach all day and then I drive all afternoon, most of the afternoon, so I keep snacks in the trunk and it really helps, and I think I’ve also learned to plan better than I ever did and I think planning like is really key the key to my success with the program being able to plan you know what you’re eating and plan for the times where you think you’re going to be off program and and then really make the most of the days where you can stay on.
Josephine (Host)
Yes even when you went away with your hockey weekends you did great.
Dara (Guest)
Yeah, I’ve learned to like, say no and to know that that’s okay, not only with the program, but you know, we talk about it every week, like in life too.
Josephine (Host)
So one thing which I love about your story and I find that so many clients are going to enjoy it and really learn from it and be inspired from it is the weight loss wasn’t the only the big part of it, of course it’s great because you look amazing, and we love that. We always say, everything is great in life when you are thin and fit in your clothes, but it changed so many other areas of your life, and that’s what I want to touch on, because that I feel is so important and I feel like so many people will relate to that.
Dara (Guest)
Yeah, I just I think I was often looking to others for happiness. I’m like a huge people pleaser and I think a lot of me was looking outside to make me happy, to make me feel better. And I think what I really learned through your program and through the working hard and seeing the benefits of that is that it’s okay to say no and and not have to explain everything. You know we always talk about less is more and that to really prioritize yourself and your family and what means the most to you. And it’s been a struggle for me but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I think I’ve learned so much just about you know how to approach friendships and relationships and work, you know, and life just through you and this whole process, I could never see myself giving it up.
Josephine (Host)
I love that. I do think it’s so important when you lose weight, of course we love that you look good and we always say that’s so great, but really what it does, it gives you the confidence of not only what you’re capable of, but when you feel your best, how you look at other things differently. And so we’ve been talking about boundaries and we’ve spoken about prioritizing, and obviously I’m a big family person so I always say, like your family is your core, and that’s where you you should always prioritize and build off of that and then add everything else positive on to it. But the key is can you really do that when you’re not feeling your best?
Dara (Guest)
Right.
Josephine (Host)
That’s really what this is about is, when you get to that point of feeling your best, all of a sudden you can put things in order.
Dara (Guest)
And I think you know I’ve always heard like if you’re not happy with yourself or you’re not doing the work from within like you really can’t be happy with anything else, but it really does change you and I don’t think I really understood that until going through this process with you, that you have to be happy with who you are and I think the weight loss and the work that I put in to do that and making a commitment to the program really helped me make you know what I really hope is some positive changes in my life too.
Josephine (Host)
I love that, and they are already you, are making amazing positive changes we’ve seen that, which is unbelievable. I’m so happy about that.
I did want to touch on one more thing. I think is really important is that you did lose the weight fast and of course we had the Ba Mitzvah, so yeah for that. But you kept it off. You actually even got thinner after it, and I think what we have said is it’s really because you just needed structure and kind of new you. I think you kind of had all the fundamentals of what you needed to do. But you really just, I think once you had that structure and that control, it came right off.
Dara (Guest)
And your support, I think, being held accountable, you know, learning first what I had to change, and having your support to be accountable through it, and I think when you write anything down, you’re going to be more successful. So just you know, texting you and then having that support if you need to be flexible, you know, and having, like you know, sometimes you say like stop, you know, like you’re being hard on yourself, stop, or like you know tomorrow’s a new day.
It really all just worked for me and because I’m really enjoying what I’m eating and I feel full, and so I’m able to say to myself, like do I really want the French fry in the car? Like is it worth it? Do I really like, want to, you know, eat the icing, you know, and there there are temptations, but I’m able to not do them because I enjoy the process. I’m able to kind of, you know, like you we’ve heard before in the podcast, do i really need it or do I want it.
It’s funny at the time I think I was thinking to myself I can still do what I could do in my 20s, and so I think your body changes, right, you know your life changes and I think the structure of it and, like I had mentioned before the the flexibility of the choices that you can make within that structure really worked. And you know the times we saw the scale going up a couple of times we made some changes and it went back down, and it just really works.
You know it’s a little like off topic, but going back to like weekends away, that it’s okay, that I don’t need to sit, if I’m enjoying, I can make the choices. And if someone were to tell me, you know, why aren’t you doing this ? I can say like I’m good with it, you know. Or I can just say I’m good. Im enjoying the experience and I can stay on program even if I’m not at home doing my normal.
Josephine (Host)
Right, which I love, yeah, which is really important. And I do want to point out because I think this is so important, because this is like being a recurring theme in my podcast, you don’t exercise either.
Dara (Guest)
Listen I, I’ve tried and I am still working towards like two things I’m really trying to drink more water and at least get out and and walk, because I think it’s just important for your overall you know health and well-being and mindset. But I really did this with all from food and with my commitment and with you, and the help and support that we get from you and just from eating. It really was little to no exercise.
Josephine (Host)
Love it. You’re so inspiring. I’m so excited to share this. I can’t wait for everyone to see you before and after. I mean, I know how you’ve changed from the inside out, which I love and I it was such a gift to me to be able to see that. But when everyone sees you before and after, it’s amazing, so I’m really excited for that too.
Okay, honey. Well, thank you so much.
Dara (Guest)
Thank you for you, for everything. I’ll see you next week.
Josephine (Host)
Thank you, dara. Thank you for sharing your amazing journey with us. You are so inspiring. You showed us that the weight loss, of course, is so important on the outside, but how important it is on the inside because it can change your life with the confidence, the motivation, the inspiration that you get from feeling your best. I’m wishing everyone a happy, healthy week full of love and hugs from me to all of you.
