Denise:
Can you just tell us a little bit about your history with food and whey or anything else that you’d like to tell us about you in general? 

Heidi:
I pretty much was the same weight most of my life. I did have eight children; it would take me a little longer each time to get back to my normal weight. But once a year or so I would slowly gravitate to the same weight and then  went through menopause quite quickly. And I gained 20 pounds overnight.

I couldn’t figure out what happened. I wasn’t doing anything different. And then I went on to gain another 20 pounds. I didn’t feel good. I felt tired, lethargic. I tried every diet under the sun. I went to my primary care doctor. I tried all different diets. They were all restrictive.

I would lose a little weight and then it would stop working. And I was miserable. I was scared to eat, I was scared to eat food. One person at the gym said, you’re not eating enough. That’s why you’re gaining weight. So I ate more and then I gained even more weight. 

It wasn’t muscle. And so that’s when I just gave up. I thought I’m going to be this weight.

Denise:
Heidi, can you just tell us what year it was that you would say you went through menopause just to give us some context?

Heidi:
I think it was about 2012  and I think I gained another 20 pounds over the 2012 to 2016 period. So about 2016 my weight started escalating and I think I even went up a little bit higher than that. I think last summer I was even probably 10 pounds higher than that.

So all in all, I think I gained 50 pounds. Over what I felt was a healthy weight for me at that time. 

Denise:
And when you say you tried all the diets can you just give us an example of some things that the people who are listening might be like, Oh yeah, I did that. Oh, yeah, I did.

Heidi:
I used to do the low carb when I’d see some weight going on and it would work. That wasn’t working for some reason. I tried the better health elimination diet where you start with just 30 foods, and then you try to add back things, no dairy, a fasting diet, a prolon diet, Mediterranean.

I tried Nutrisystem. I tried just doing things on my own. Cutting foods out. You name it.  Nothing worked. In fact, it got worse. My weight went higher. I even tried hormone therapy at one point and that  was a train wreck. I think I gained more weight with that. Pretty much anything that you see out there, diets or exercise programs, cardio, anything I tried it didn’t work. 

Denise:
And looking back now, what do you think it was that just made it so it didn’t work for you?

Heidi:
My emotions. I think I was emotionally eating and stressed eating and didn’t ask God for help. 

I thought this is something I needed to do on my own. That is what you made me see. You made me realize that I wasn’t asking the Holy Spirit for help. I thought I could do this all on my own.

Denise:
I assume you’ve been a very prayerful woman all through that entire journey, but not relying on the Lord for that area of your life. 

Yeah. And I guess I felt like it was punishment for me somehow. I think I felt like I deserved to be overweight somehow. That was my penance. And I was like you talk about the mean girl I was not properly taking care of myself. I wasn’t using self care and loving myself the way that God wants me to.

And I think that low self esteem really hampered my weight loss. I felt so bad about myself. 

Denise:
That’s interesting. The way you say that your low self esteem actually hindered your weight loss.  

Heidi:
Yes. 

Denise: Can you tell me a little bit more about what you mean by that?

Heidi:
When I went through the worksheets in the program, I went back through my history. It was really interesting because I did the PDF, I filled it in on the computer  and I realized that I got baptized in college and I lived most of my life not being Catholic or really  having the guidance I needed. And I did things that I regret. So I was carrying that,  but interestingly enough, I went in to look at that PDF to see what I wrote  and it didn’t save. So like my baptism, it was all wiped away. So I feel like that’s a sign. I think I was carrying that weight. You’re supposed to forgive yourself. You have to forgive yourself.  And I was carrying that weight and thinking, I deserve this. That’s when that’s not what God wants for you. So that was very freeing. That was freedom.

Denise:
When you say, just like your baptism, it was washed away it’s now you have an opportunity to really view yourself and treat yourself, view yourself as the Lord does and treat yourself how he would, it’s like  a whole new life, a new freedom. 

Heidi:
It’s looking forward and living in the present instead of living in the past.

Denise:
And I think that’s what God wants and so you’ve been trying everything under the sun, and here you are, 50 pounds heavier than what you think is your healthy weight. And what were the circumstances that brought you to weight loss with the Holy Spirit? How did you hear about it?  What made you? 

Heidi:
That’s really interesting. I can’t remember. It’s funny because I’ve always been immersed in my faith, but I started seeing   a video that led to something else. And then I read another book and then  things just happened. I feel like I was pushed in a direction.

And then I heard about the made for greatness program. And I think there was going to be a Weight Loss for the Holy Spirit last spring, but because that’s my busy season, I couldn’t sign on at that time. But I sent you an email because I was having problems fasting and you graciously emailed me back and said did you ask the Holy Spirit for help?

And I said no, I didn’t. And that made all the difference because I was trying to fast for Lent.  And I thought, you know what, I’m not asking the Holy Spirit for help with anything. So it was really eye opening to me and once I saw the program in the fall, I thought, oh, this is perfect timing and I  jumped in with both feet.

But that initial email  was the catalyst because I was able to not only through Lent do what I felt was for me appropriate fasting, but I was able to extend it beyond Lent  and that really really helped me. Get on the right track. 

Denise:
And as you speak this episode will be being released during Lent of 2024.

And essentially what you’re saying is if you’ve got some questions about fasting or Lent, you should just check in with the Holy Spirit and then he’ll guide you. 

Heidi:
I think so. Because everybody’s different. What’s good for their health or whatever, and their age and everything like that.

So it’s not one size fits all. I’m learning, this is one of my intentional thoughts I got is that I’m learning that sometimes it takes courage to do what the Holy Spirit is asking, but he will always give you the courage to do it. And but you have to ask, I think that’s important.

Denise:
I love that. And for everyone who’s listening, Heidi said an intentional thought is in the weight loss with the Holy Spirit program. We practice thinking on purpose, which means that we don’t allow thoughts to keep us stuck or stressed or overwhelmed. And we choose to think how we want because the Lord did give us that power over our brains.

And so one of her intentional thoughts that helps her have the life she wants is, and can you say that again, Heidi? I love that, that was so..

Heidi:
Yeah, that I’m learning that sometimes it takes courage to do what the Holy Spirit is asking, but he will always give you that courage if it is needed. 

Denise:
Oh, that’s really powerful. 

I love that. So you’re creating intentional thoughts in this program, but can you also, for the people who are listening, who have never been in the program, can you tell us what your journey has been like in your experience in this program?  

Heidi:
Yes. First  there’s a series of videos that are really helpful.

Worksheets you go through because it’s personalized. It’s personalized for you because everybody’s situation is a little different. And again, I found looking into my history was very interesting and eye opening for me. And then from that was a springboard to, okay where do I go from here? 

And at first I didn’t watch it at all; I was a little bit haphazard at the beginning, but then, when I had time, I went through and it was extremely helpful. And then I devised my meal plan and what foods I liked. And what was so interesting is that I had so many years of restrictive diets that I had such a bad relationship with food. I was afraid to eat anything basically. And so what I had to do was take a while to get through. Okay what, this was food freedom, basically freedom from worrying about what other people think it was just what does God want me to eat?

It’s for nourishment, what is the purpose of food? It’s not to cover up my emotions. I was addicted to a healthy popcorn, supposedly healthy, but not, by the bag. And that kind of opened my eyes too. I realized my granddaughter told me I have a problem with that popcorn because I would get upset if I couldn’t find it in stock at the local supermarket. And she said, you know what, grandma, you have a problem. And I thought, you know what I do. And so I started seeing why. Why am I eating this, and started doing morning and evening reflections. The morning reflection was easier for me. Evening was harder, but that was the key when I started doing the evening reflection. 

It was eye opening as it wasn’t just about food. I realized it’s all tied together in relationships, your work, everything ties together the stress from all of them affects your food choices and affects how you feel when you eat. So if you have an intentional plan, that stress wasn’t there anymore because I knew what I was going to eat. I knew I was going to be happy with it because I already chose that. I’m going to like this. I like this food. And it just brought more joy and peace to my life. I felt more peaceful, more joyful, more happy. And you hear there’s other people out there with the same issues you have.

And everybody has different things going on in their lives, right? We all have all we all have stuff. I think the other ladies in the program have taught me a lot. And they all have their own ideas. Oh I have this problem and this is how I solved it. And then it gives you ideas, oh, maybe that’ll work for me if I tweak it this way. We all relate  to the stories we really do. And you’re not alone and Denise, you’re wonderful and intuitive. You always have such good problem solving ideas, so you have another person from an objective standpoint, giving you an idea on, could you try this or, at least  giving ideas out and brainstorming and then everybody else says, yeah, try this. So it’s a community of support. It’s basically taken me months to break free from these chains I inflicted upon myself regarding my food choices, but now I feel energized and good about  what I’m eating. And I’m not so concerned with the numbers on the scale.

Denise:
Yeah. Heidi, thank you for all of that. And thank you for the kind words. We do have such a really beautiful community that the Lord put together for us. It’s just such a really safe and warm place for so many women and, not only safe and warm, but I also find it very effective.

These are all women who are desiring the same amount of food freedom and freedom from excess weight. And  they just support and encourage each other as well. And you said, it’s taken me months, but the truth is that, it didn’t take very long for you to see results.  

Heidi:
Oh that’s true. 

What was funny is I didn’t realize it. I started in November and at Christmas, my granddaughter picked out a dress for me to wear to Christmas Eve mass, and I told her I said, I don’t think I can fit into that. I haven’t worn that in years. It’s my favorite Christmas dress, she said, try it on grandma, tried it on and I was able to zip it up and it was comfortable like, it wasn’t, pulling and it was such a beautiful Christmas Eve. 

She was so excited  then I realized that, that was huge and that was just, I’d say a  little over a month. That’s definitely huge. I think I haven’t worn that dress since 2016, so that’s a long time. The other thing I forgot to mention was the surrender novena that was instrumental. I can’t recommend that enough,  that’s one of the first things Denise told us. And I had heard about the Surrender Novena. I think I even prayed at one point, but I really didn’t commit to it.

When I started praying the Surrender Novena, I put it on my Halo app as a routine, that made a huge difference.  That helped me give it to God, give all my issues to God. So the Surrender Novena that Denise recommended was also instrumental and that was very helpful.  

Denise:
I only recommended it because I was given the Surrender Novena a little gift box from a client of mine.

I’d heard about it many times  and I’ll tell you what, you say it once and I was hooked and I haven’t stopped saying it for nine months now. I just find it so powerful and I find it so powerful because we are willing to surrender our marriages and our parenting and our professions and our sick parents and our neighbor down the street.

And we’re just willing to surrender so many things to the Lord.  But like you, Heidi,  we just want to hold on to this food and weight struggle. Or in the truth is that I don’t even think we consciously think, Oh, it’s mine. You can’t take it. We just don’t even think he’s interested,  what’s wild is what we see when we surrender our food and weight struggles to the Lord,  what he can do in our lives. 

And so I was hoping that you could tell us a little bit about what your life is like now with regard to food and weight or anything else that you feel since you’ve surrendered that part of your life has improved.

Heidi:
Oh, absolutely. The intentional thinking model is not just for food choices and for weight. And so what I found is that because I wasn’t as stressed with everything that my weight was coming off easier and I don’t know if that has to do with cortisol levels or what, or just the Holy Spirit. I don’t know, but plus if, when I feel better, I’m more apt  to have the energy to help others in my family.

It’s like a ripple effect. So when I’m feeling more joyful and more peaceful, I’m able to help others more. I’m able to focus on other areas of my life. God wants us to be miserable, I really don’t. Even the saints when they’re suffering, they’re joyful, and that’s what I want.

I want to be more virtuous and such a long road and I’m still going up that hill working on it. And I still have my own issues I’m working with with my confessor, but I feel like it’s helped take a roadblock off.  So that I can intentionally move in that direction towards greater virtue instead of trying to do everything myself and be selfish, really and downtrodden, which I don’t think is God’s plan for me, for sure.

So, I think it’s been a ripple effect. It’s helped my whole family. They see I’m more joyful. I even baked cupcakes for valentine’s day for my grandkids and, I was always afraid to do that lately because of my weight. I hadn’t been baking and I baked cupcakes, put them in the freezer.

And when the grandkids came over, I was able to give them cupcakes. It’s so awesome. As a freedom. And so I think it’s just been good. Good spiritually health wise and mentally. I think mentally is where I needed the healing, and I think you have to be broken before you can heal, and  that’s basically what I went through. I was broken, and that helped me heal.

Denise:
That’s so beautiful. 

Heidi:
I really appreciate the program, very much as I’m sure most of the gals in the program, if not all say the same thing. 

Denise:
The Holy Spirit created it for all of you. That’s 100 percent sure. Now Heidi people don’t know that you are a very busy woman. You have a professional life. You  Are in the height of your tax season and so anybody who does taxes, you can imagine that we just so appreciate Heidi taking the time to do this. But what would you say to somebody who says, I just don’t have time for something like that. It’s just going to take my time. 

Heidi:
I think it can take as much time as you want. I don’t think it takes that much time. And I think it’s set up so that you can take it at your own pace. If you can’t view all the videos, that’s okay. When you have time, you can watch them. I think if you do take the time it’s worth it because  what I found is this year, I’m even more productive. I’m getting more done in less time because I’ve dealt with what I needed to deal with my health and my weight and the intentional thoughts. I’m even using it within my work. I’m using intentional thinking with clients that are difficult circumstances that I can’t control.

I am using the tools that were given to me to do my job better. I’d say it’s worth it. If you want to be more efficient  in the long run, and you want to have a better mental psyche to handle things, it’s worth it. Even if you’re busy. I would take the time if I knew  the benefits I would gain from this program last spring I wouldn’t have put it off.  I would have done it last year. I had, but I didn’t know, the effect it would have on me. I wouldn’t have waited. I would have done it sooner.  

Denise:
Oh, that’s awesome. Thank you so much for your time Heidi. Is there anything else that you want to share with the women who are listening who might be thinking?

Yeah, but that can’t work for me. I’ve tried everything.  

Heidi:
I would say it’s worth a try  because I literally tried everything and nothing else worked. And I would just gain the weight back and this  is changing your way of thinking. This isn’t just a fad diet. It’s changing the way you live and with support of a community I would try it.

I think that you would obviously pray about it but the Holy Spirit helped me and Denise of course is a great facilitator. She’s just awesome and has so many insights. And so if people are called to it, I think they absolutely should try it, absolutely. 

Denise:
There’s really absolutely nothing to lose. You did mention that it is not a fat diet. It is a way of life. So I like to tell people if, especially if this is your first podcast and you don’t know our work, that the Weight Loss with the Holy Spirit program is not a way of eating. There are a lot of ways of eating out there.

There’s keto, carnivore, and low carb. We are a way of life and what that means is that you surrender your food and weight over to the Lord. We have two food rules that we follow. Heidi, do you want to share with our audience what our two food rules are?

Heidi:
You find foods you like that you want to eat and that you feel good about eating. 

Denise:
That was beautifully articulated. That’s exactly it. We have two food rules  and that’s it. And you can have the peace and joy that Heidi has, because the truth is it’s not about the food. 

It’s not about food. We clear up the rest of your life. So Heidi, any final words for our listeners?

Heidi:
No, I think you’re better at articulating it. But I’m just very grateful. And  I wish for what has happened for me can happen for others. I, that’s why I’m here today because I want to share my joy and peace that I have received from Denise and this program and the Holy Spirit.

I want everyone to feel this way and have that freedom. 

Denise:
Thank you for your transparency, your vulnerability, your time. And just so everyone knows, do you mind sharing your age?  

Heidi:
I’m 59. 

Denise:
59 my friends, food freedom at 59. It’s never too late, awesome. Thank you so much, Heidi.

Thanks everyone for listening and have a blessed day.