From Sacrifice to Self-Care: Lynne’s Journey Through Weight Loss and Motherhood
There she is: the supermom on Instagram. Impeccably coiffed and styled. Smiling serenely in her spotless house. Displaying the crafts she makes with her children or the healthy homemade meals she whips up nightly for her family.
You don’t have to scroll further to know what comes next. Cloth diapers, Scandi wooden toys, holiday photoshoots in matching pajamas, ecstatic captions about the wonders of #momlife
A perfectly posed and polished image of motherhood.
Here she is: the supermom in real life. Recovering from a traumatic knee injury. Managing a delayed renovation project that has upended her household. Homeschooling her children as a pandemic rages around the world. Neglecting her own health while she pours herself into keeping her family afloat.
That’s the reality of motherhood for Lynne, a 42-year-old stay-at-home mom of two, for the last two years.
Extra Pounds, Extra Problems
Lynne’s active lifestyle came to a halt as the Bay Area went into lockdown in March 2020. With her routine thrown into disarray, she found herself gaining weight.
“I’ve always enjoyed exercise and tried to implement good eating. But as you get older, things start slowing down, and you need to be more strict,” she says. “Then with Covid, I lost the daily routine I thrived on. I felt like I was spiraling.”
A few extra pounds became 10, then 10 became 20, and 20 turned into 30. Eventually, Lynne added 50 pounds to her petite frame.
Other changes accompanied the weight gain. Her cholesterol levels climbed, and she felt sluggish and irritable. The wardrobe she once loved became a source of anxiety as clothes no longer fit. She describes the experience as “demotivating and depressing.”
“It’s like, here I am, a mom, taking care of my family, but I’m not taking care of myself. When mom’s thriving, everybody is thriving. And I wasn’t thriving.”
Lynne’s health took another hit in January 2022. On a skiing trip with her family, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in one of her knees. She was certain the extra weight contributed to the injury. It was the wakeup call she needed.
“I was going in the wrong direction. I had been neglecting myself. I was so done with that feeling.”
Weighing 180 pounds at 5’3″ may not b easy, and the journey back to a healthy weight can be even harder. Lynne knew building a support system would be key to her success.
Passing Down the Power of Health
Lynne’s appreciation for the spectrum of healthcare started young. “I grew up with a health-conscious mom who was interested in holistic medicine. She helped model that for me,” she says.
Lynne continued those practices into adulthood, embracing concepts like food-as-medicine and treatments like acupuncture. She credits this approach for her healthy pregnancies and natural births, as well as small daily wellness wins. “You feel good when you’re doing these amazing things for yourself and your body. You have a glow about you.”
Lynne wanted to carry on her mother’s legacy and share the same wisdom with her own children. After a conversation with friends about naturopathic medicine, she began researching naturopaths in the Bay Area and discovered the Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness.
She immediately felt a connection to the practice. Not only was the office just a few minutes from her home, but the team included both a naturopath and a health and wellness coach. It felt like a lucky coincidence, or perhaps an act of fate.
Lynne knew it was the opportunity she’d been looking for. “I needed to make myself accountable to somebody to get the weight off. I was ready to turn this corner for myself and for my family.”
From Neglect to Nurturing
Lynne began her journey with our Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Phaedra. Phaedra helped Lynne discover links between her diet and her symptoms, while providing the structure and accountability Lynne’s pandemic life had lacked.
“It was a true blessing to have somebody help me tackle my issues and dedicate time to myself,” Lynne says. “It’s amazing the problems that come with gaining weight and how they can disappear by cleaning up your diet.”
Lynne embarked on a 16-week hCG weight loss program. Her plan included daily peptide therapy, a low calorie diet, and weekly check-ins with Phaedra. Although the strictness of the protocol felt intimidating at first, Lynne’s mindset quickly shifted into excitement.
“Something just clicked and I was like, This is it. I’m doing this,” she recalls. “I don’t recommend ignoring yourself, but it’s what I had to do during the pandemic to take care of my family. I’d ignored myself for too long and I was done with that.”
The program was the jumpstart she needed to reboot her system. The weight started coming off. With every pound that disappeared during her morning weigh-ins, her resolve strengthened. She was confident her strides toward a healthier lifestyle would have a positive ripple effect through her family.
“Seeing Phaedra gave me the opportunity to give back to myself,” she says. “You have to take good care of yourself in order to take good care of others. I believe that.”
A Strategic and Supportive Approach
A clean diet and a positive mindset are only two pieces of the weight loss puzzle. For Lynne to meet her weight loss goal and keep the weight off long-term, she needed to assemble a team of guides and cheerleaders.
“I really like Phaedra,” she says. “She’s so helpful and motivating. She gave me the kind of structure I thrive on.
Lynne also began seeing Dr. Sana Chrystal, N.D., D.C. to address her high cholesterol and hormonal imbalance. “I wasn’t getting to the core of why these things were happening. Dr. Crystal helped me peel away some layers of the onion and understand why my body was deficient.”
With Phaedra and Dr. Chrystal working in tandem, Lynne learned a variety of strategies that helped her stay on track. She practiced food logging and meal prepping to ensure she managed her diet, and she found daily weigh-ins so motivating that she continues to do them.
“I’m so fortunate to have met Dr. Chrystal and Phaedra. They helped me get on a program, learn about my body and have accountability,” she says.
The process wasn’t always easy. As she cooked her family’s favorite recipes, she had to resist the temptation to indulge and prepare separate dishes for herself. Still, Lynne made sure she did not miss out on the precious experience of sharing mealtimes with her loved ones.
“My family is very supportive. My husband knows how much this was bothering me, and he’s so proud of the progress I’ve made for myself,” she says. Their love and encouragement helped Lynne feel even more confident she was on the right path.
Reaching New Peaks
Today, Lynne feels worlds away from the version of herself who first came to the Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness. “When I see myself in the mirror, I can’t believe I’ve gotten back down to a healthy size and weight,” she says. “I feel this amazing sense of accomplishment, energy and confidence. I deserve that for myself, and I don’t want to let it go.”
Her sights are set on new wellness goals now. She plans to lose 10 more pounds and continues to see Phaedra and Dr. Chrystal for health coaching, IV therapy, vitamin injections and other services. The journey has been transformative, inside and out.
“I’ve learned a lot through this experience. I’ve learned that you don’t have to ignore yourself to be a good mom. You can nourish your body and thrive, and then give that nourishing back to your family.”
The victories of weight loss appear in big and small ways. Sometimes it’s as small as feeling good in an old pair of pants. Sometimes it’s as big as a mountain a literal one, in Lynne’s case. She had surgery to repair her torn ACL last March, and after a year of recovery and physical therapy, she’s ready to slip back into her skis.
“We’re going next month. I’m taking it easy, but I’m excited to see how I do. Just getting into my ski pants that are a size small feels good.”
Leading By Example
The reality of motherhood is unfiltered, unedited, imperfect. It sometimes requires sacrifice, but as Lynne has learned, it also requires self-care.
“Start with Mom. You model what your children are going to learn, and I don’t want my kids to think it’s OK to ignore yourself. I want them to see that we lead a healthy lifestyle mentally, emotionally and physically.”
Lynne views her health journey as an investment in both herself and her loved ones. Like her mother, she plans to educate her children about holistic medicine, and she hopes they may one day begin their own journeys with the Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness.
“It’s been so worth the investment,” she says. “Because what you give to yourself, you can then give back even more. It’s worth it for the long-term health of you and your whole family.”
She is also seeing the influence of her experience outside of her family. After hearing Lynne’s story from a friend of a friend, a mom Lynne had never met reached out to her.
“She felt the same way I felt not too long ago. Sometimes you get so far down in a hole that you think I don’t know if I can ever get myself out of this. It’s really nice to be able to share that I have and that you can, too.”