A lighter for a hundred pounds | Corewell Health

For 38-year-old Kelly Earp, the point of no return came the day she donated 15 trash bags full of clothes to her local Goodwill store.

After overhauling her lifestyle and going down four sizes, the former gastroenterology nurse knew there was no turning back.

“I always save them for ‘just in case’, but why would I do that?” She said. “This is my life now.”

Today, a year after embarking on her lifestyle-changing journey, Erb has shed over 100 pounds and trimmed 13 inches off her waistline.

Her transformation marks a shift from burgers and fries to scrambled tofu and kale smoothies.

From a strictly restricted work life to days with the treadmill and yoga time.

From the all-encompassing role of raising young children to the decision to make time for herself and her health.

Strategic changes

The decision seemed like a last resort for Erb, a resident of Rockford, Michigan, who had spent years trying to diet, without lasting results.

“In 2021, I went to my doctor and said, I’m done. I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything. I’ve been on every diet imaginable.”

At the time, Earp weighed only three pounds less than she did when she went into labor with her twin daughters, who are now nine.

Working from home as a clinical informatics specialist at Corewell Health, I’ve fallen into some unhealthy patterns.

“I was basically into this junk food binge the whole time,” Earp said. “I don’t know the last time I ate a vegetable before – it was terrible.

“And I felt bariatric surgery was my only option going forward.”

It turned out not to be.

Erb’s primary care provider referred her to her Caroline Vollmer, MDAnd Corewell Health Lifestyle Medicine Practice.

At her first visit in February 2022, she was introduced to the Lifestyle Medicine team’s board-certified physicians, health coaches, nutritionists, and chefs. Their comprehensive and customized approach to wellness. Their evidence-based view of food as medicine.

She committed herself to exploring changes in what you eat—changes that promised weight loss and, most importantly, disease prevention and a longer life span.

“Typically, we start patients with SMART goals—goals that are simple, measurable, and achievable,” Dr. Vollmer said.

“Kelly took a look at eating a little differently. She started cutting out certain processed and high-saturated fat foods in her diet and brought in more whole, plant-based foods, which are naturally less calorie-dense but nutrient-dense.”

At the same time, Erb enrolled in Lifestyle Medicine Fasting for health program, which can help patients jumpstart the weight loss process and initiate other healthy lifestyle changes.

“Your body goes into a simulated fasting state while you’re still eating,” Dr. Vollmer explained.

After her first five-day fasting protocol, supervised by the Lifestyle Medicine team, Erb lost 10 pounds and actually felt more optimistic about her outlook.

“It kind of resets your taste buds so that you don’t crave all the sugar and junk that you used to have, all the processed food. So that was great.”

After three months and three more rounds of supervised fasting, Earp achieved several additional weight loss milestones.

Along the way, she made other strategic changes.

I embraced intermittent fasting, not eating between 9pm one day and noon the next to promote the burning of stored fat.

She and her husband Dan, who does most of the cooking in the house, gave up alcohol and began incorporating new ingredients into the family diet—farro, jackfruit, lentils, quinoa, tempeh, and turmeric.

Lifestyle Medicine virtual presence Daily Dozen category On her lunch hour she gave her an in-depth look at the science behind the healing properties of botanical foods and spices.

Earp also joined the free Lifestyle Medicine website meet groupsLed by a certified health coach.

“They are open to any of our Lifestyle Medicine patients who need additional support or encouragement during this lifestyle behavior change journey,” said health coach Chris Rich.

“It’s a safe place where we can talk about challenges, we can talk about success stories…and share tips and tricks.”

Rich said Earp became a natural leader on the meetup groups.

“She’s really great at starting the conversation and helping other people understand that, you know, ‘We can do this.'” If I can do it, you can do it” – she always says that.

Earp gets her share of cheerleading in groups, too.

“Getting together is great because you can talk to all these people and see what they’re doing for dinner or where they’re struggling,” she said. “When you hear about everyone else’s experiences, you learn about new cooking tools, new recipes, and new strategies to try.”

time to move on

Six months into her weight-loss journey, Earp had a pretty good idea of ​​how to eat for good health, but she was avoiding one of the other pillars of lifestyle medicine—physical activity.

That became the next barrier to break through.

“Every time I go to meetup groups or meet with Dr. Vollmer, it’s always like, ‘I need to do more activity, I know, but I just—I don’t want to,'” she said.

“So part of this journey is I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone.”

A mental health professional convinced her to take the first step.

“She was like, You’ll feel so much better. All those endorphins—try starting with a 10-minute walk outside.”

When her twins, Josie and Maddie, return to school in the fall, Erb gets on the treadmill in the basement for the first time in years.

I said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it. “And I really haven’t stopped running since mid-October. I run almost every day, and I feel pretty good.”

Once I got down to the workout track, Erb’s weight loss accelerated.

“Every time I got on the scale, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” she said. “I haven’t been this weight in 20 years. I mean, I’ve been over 200 pounds my entire adult life. So it was a big thing that I didn’t think would ever happen.”

new identity

At the March 2023 appointment with Dr. Vollmer—one year after her first visit to Lifestyle Medicine—Earp weighed 178 pounds, her lowest weight since high school.

She cheered when Dr. Vollmer updated her chart, removing “obese” from her profile.

The two reviewed Earp’s progress—improving weight, cholesterol, body fat percentage, and body mass index—not to mention healthier skin and a significant reduction in headaches.

“When we carry excess weight like you do, you increase your risk of disease,” said Dr. Vollmer.

“And so you’re doing it to yourself by saying, ‘Okay, I’ve gradually changed my BMI to get to a point where I’m helping prevent cancer risk, I’m starting to reduce my risk of diabetes, I’m reducing systemic inflammation in my body, I’m extending my life.'” “

Earp gave the doctor a summary of her immediate plans: Mediterranean cooking lesson With her husband, they coach their daughters’ softball team, enjoy organic vegetables through a summer farm share program—and re-examine her identity as someone with a smaller body.

“It’s something I’ve never experienced before, so it’s like wrapping my mind around it and asking, ‘Who am I now?'” “

In celebration of Erb’s success, Dr. Vollmer advised her on how to prevent exercise-induced injury and asked her about her next goals.

“Nutritionally, you’re fine. We just have to find that place where it feels satisfying and feels maintainable, without overdoing it.”

“Have you arrived yet?”

“No, I still have a lot of work to do,” Earp said. “I’m still at it.”