Episode 186:
Show Notes
In episode 186 of the Real Health and Weight Loss podcast, host Dr Mary Barson interviews Maree Kirkpatrick. Maree is currently participating in 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance program. She is a business owner, a busy mother of two, and a sales strategy expert whom they met at a women's business conference.
Maree discusses the intersection of health and business in her life, highlighting the crucial role of energy in driving her professional success. She shares her background in the health and fitness industry, her struggles with fibromyalgia, and the challenges she faced in finding effective solutions for her health issues. Maree emphasises the impact of the 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance program on her energy levels, business growth, and overall well-being.
The conversation delves into Maree's mindset journey, her experience with emotional eating, and the positive changes she has noticed since adopting a real food nutrition approach. She explains the program's role in reshaping her relationship with food and overcoming emotional triggers. Dr Mary and Maree discuss the program's emphasis on mindset, including the use of hypnosis sessions to address emotional eating patterns.
Maree candidly shares a recent challenging period where she temporarily reverted to old habits of using food and alcohol to cope with stress. However, she quickly recognised the negative impact on her well-being and shifted back to healthier choices. Dr Mary commends Maree's resilience and discusses the holistic nature of health, encompassing physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Towards the end of the episode, Maree expresses her gratitude for the program, commending its informative and supportive nature. She acknowledges the program's positive influence on her life and business mindset. The hosts conclude the episode by promoting their 7 Day Sugar Free Reset program.
To learn more about Maree Kirkpatrick, visit her social media profiles. Her Instagram is @mareekirkpatrick and her Facebook @mareekirkpatrickconsulting, as well as her website at www.mareekirkpatrick.com. These platforms could provide more insights into her life, experiences, and any other projects she might be involved in.
Take charge of your health and join the No Sugar Challenge today! Transform your life with our evidence-based approach at www.rlmedicine.com/nosugar. It's time to embrace a healthier, sugar free lifestyle!
Episode 186:
Transcript
Dr Mary Barson (0:04) Hello, my lovely friends. I'm Dr Mary Barson.
Dr Lucy Burns (0:09) And I'm Dr Lucy Burns. We are doctors and weight management and metabolic health experts.
Both (0:16) And this is the Real Health and Weight Loss podcast!
Dr Lucy Burns (0:23) Hello, my lovely friend, Dr Mary here. For this episode of real health and weight loss. I am thrilled to be joined by the wonderful Maree Kirkpatrick. Maree is a member of our beautiful community. She's currently doing our 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance, and at the time of recording is a week 10. So good two-thirds of the way through. Maree is a fantastic business owner. She's a busy mum to two gorgeous kids aged two and nine, she runs multiple businesses. And she is a sales strategy genius. And we met actually at a business conference for women. And I was so impressed with her energy and her drive in helping women in business and we connected. And Maree has helped us with our sales and helping us with the way that we communicate our message. And Maree has joined our 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance. She is a super busy woman who has found that having better energy by healing her metabolism and turning her body into a healthy fat burner has helped her get better energy throughout the day. And she's here today to tell us a bit more about her, really its a very inspiring story. So thank you so much, Maree, how are you today?
Maree Kirkpatrick (1:54) I am great today. I'm excited to be here. I love talking about health and wellbeing and business and all that sort of stuff. And I think they go hand in hand beautifully.
Dr Mary Barson (2:06) Tell us more about how you think health goes hand in hand with business.
Maree Kirkpatrick (2:13) So what I've realised, well, it's not like it's been a big lightbulb moment, because my background originally was in the health and fitness industry. And I think with that came a little bit of the diet culture, you know, away like being in a gym environment, dealing with women and weight loss and all that sort of stuff. There's always some form of body image there. And then now changing into the consulting work that I do and running the consulting firm, I've realised that my energy is so important not just to hold for my clients, but to be able to take the business to the levels that I want to take it to. And there have been times when maybe my eating and my consuming of beverages hasn't been at optimal rate should I say. But once I've actually clicked in and you're in the program just makes it so easy, right? Like it's just like it's common knowledge that isn't necessarily that common. But it's more along the lines of the things that have happened in the past couple of weeks. Because I have enough energy to keep going. There's no slump at three o'clock. There are no sugar cravings that like a need to fuel to keep going. It's such a more balanced type of energy, and I'm really enjoying it and the business has seen growth from that, which is cool.
Dr Mary Barson (3:48) Yes. So you're getting more steady energy throughout the day, which means that it's as a flow and affects other parts of your life. Absolutely. Could you tell us a little bit more about you and your health journey and what brought you to do the 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance program with us and the changes that you've seen?
Maree Kirkpatrick (4:09) So my health journey is an interesting one. I got diagnosed maybe four years ago with fibromyalgia. And the only reason why I was diagnosed with that was after four years of pain throughout my body for no unknown reason. And I only realised it after the birth of my first son. And I just thought it was a part of the body bouncing back from pregnancy and birth and all that sort of stuff. But then after like 18 months, I remember sitting around with some of the mums from mothers group, and I was like, so is your body like back to normal? Like you've got no pain or anything. They're like– Oh yeah, no pain, and I was like– Ah, so this isn't normal, what I'm going through, is it normal? And so going to my GP and trying to figure out what was going on was huge blood tests, scans, I had all the things done over four years to the point where they said to me, we can't really find anything that's going on. Maybe it's going on in your head type thing. And I was like– No, I know my body, I'm in tune with my body, this isn't normal. And so once kind of I dug in a little bit deeper to that, I found that there may have been some issues with mould poisoning, inflammation type stuff that was also potentially going on from where we were living at the time. And when I'd go to specialists, their biggest thing was you need to lose weight. And I was like– Okay, I'm aware that I need to lose weight that is on my mind continuously. But how do you exercise and lose weight when your body is constantly in pain? How do you go for a walk when every time you get up in the morning, you put your feet on the ground, and it feels like someone has attacked you in the middle of the night to that bone pain in your legs? And so that all seemed easy in their mind, but I couldn't figure out a way to do it. It was just really hard. I saw naturopaths, I saw nutritionists, I saw dieticians, I ticked all those boxes, and everyone had conflicting information. And so when I was working with you and Dr Lucy on your business and helping you guys communicate better, and connect better with your community and the people that need your help, I realised that I am your people. And so for me, it was like, let's give this a red hot crack. And what I've noticed is my pain has reduced, my weight has dropped, although we have had a little speed bump in the road where I've ended up with a very sick friend. And my go-to has always been emotional eating and drinking. Not ideal. But what I love about the program is there's hypnosis in there. And so I kind of unpack that sort of stuff while I sleep. So it feels really easy for me. So that's been my health journey kind of summed up. I'm a mom with two kids. So I need energy, I run a couple of different businesses. It's not just one that we run. And so there's lots of balls in the air. And I want to be able to have that energy. I don't drink coffee, my body doesn't agree with it. I could live off Coke. But I know Coke is horrendous for the body. So that wasn't an option. So it was kind of like let's give this a crack run by doctors who know their staff, very caring relationship-based women. So that's how I ended up in your program.
Dr Mary Barson (7:42) Yeah, we're so happy to have you. It's been lovely. But yes, serendipitous, I believe. You had this experience. You were looking for the answers. You were seeing doctors and naturopaths and there's that confusion, that conflicting advice is absolutely rampid out there. Perhaps you also had like maybe a kind of a non-validating kind of experience with doctors as well, when they were just telling you to go off and lose weight.
Maree Kirkpatrick (8:12) It wasn't necessarily from a GP perspective, it was from a specialist perspective as well. People that you're paying hundreds of dollars to spend half an hour in their room? And their answer was you need to go and lose weight. And I was like– Okay, I understand that I'm really clear on that. I know, it's not good to carry extra weight around on your joints and your bones and all that. But how how do you do that? When there's so much mixed messaging out there from a marketing perspective? There's in my mind, there was that sense of time poor, having a young family, working, all that sort of stuff. How do I incorporate all of that with the pain and the movement that I need to do to actually start exercising and move my body? Yeah.
Dr Mary Barson (8:58) So glad she found us. And you found that you've got less pain now. And more energy that says you've transitioned to real food, you've noticed those physical improvements with weight loss as well, which is awesome. How hard was it or easy was it for you to make the change to a real food nutrition?
Maree Kirkpatrick (9:23) So the hardest thing for me was the mindset. I felt like because in the past it had to be all or nothing. Where this is a lifestyle choice. Like I wanted to be able to have because I don't drink coffee. And tea doesn't really overly excite me all the time. I used to really like having hot chocolate and hot chocolates are full of sugar, full of all the rubbish. I knew it wasn't good for me, but to be able to reach out and be like, hey, is there any alternative that I can have to a hot chocolate And to be able to have such an amazing, delicious alternative that I know is better for my body is brilliant. Like it was just the swap-out type mentality. And also understanding in those modules and in the calls that we had, and still have, because we're still going through it is that I do have time to make real food, it takes the same amount of time to pick something up, take away as it does to actually chuck something in the oven or the air fryer or in the pan. And it's so much better for my body and helps everything around me. So yeah, that was really cool.
Dr Mary Barson (10:39) Ah, love it. Yes. So it's kind of simple that if you can, and the hot chocolate you have you have a delicious hot chocolate made with like helpful ultimate sweeteners like erythritol and stevia, and yeah, it's good. Yeah,
Maree Kirkpatrick (10:52) Yeah. I don't even know what's in it. But it's doctor-approved.
Dr Mary Barson (10:56) So it's from our approved product list. That's right. It does. Absolutely. I'd like to dive a little bit more into mindset. Now, you said, like so many people, you have used food and alcohol as a tool to deal emotionally. I think this is something that it's society-wide. It's something that we're taught to do, I reckon since childhood. But it can be really potentially unhelpful to your health goals. And you've recently had a really, really tricky time. And reverted back to using some of those tools again, but sounds like now you're exploring your other tools and using the hypnosis to help you tell us a bit more about your, mindset journey too, if you could.
Maree Kirkpatrick (11:44) Yes, so my mindset. You're absolutely right. It does start from childhood anytime something bad happened anytime you fell over anytime you felt sad, the way that it was, especially my dad, and I can see like generations, my Nana was exactly the same. You fell over you hurt yourself something bad happened. Here's a jelly bean, here's a biscuit. Let's sit down and have a cake. And so it's something that has been programmed in me for so long. And it wasn't until recently. Well, I've been aware of it for many years. But it wasn't until recently where I've ended up with a very sick friend. And everything felt really hard. And I've been confronted with life, really, she's extremely sick. And I felt helpless. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to soothe those emotions that were coming up for me. So I jumped back into what felt safe and comfortable, which was chips because that crunch switches my head off. And alcohol or sugar would actually kind of give me that dopamine and endorphin hit that would be like– okay, everything's not fixed, but I feel better. And then a couple of days of that after being on real food, a couple of days of that I was like, this feels horrible. It is not helping my moods, it's affecting my sleep. I'm more depressed than I need to be in this space. What can I do differently? And I realised that the food, the alcohol and the sugar would be just squashing those feelings down. They're not dealing with it. It's not helping. It's not helping my friend that's extremely sick. It's not helping me. It's not helping anyone. Except for the people that are marketing this rubbish to us, obviously. After a couple of days, I said to my husband, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to drink any more alcohol, I don't want the chips anymore. I don't want the rubbish food. I want to be able to work through this mindset stuff in a better space. Because I know that whether it is having a sick friend, whether it is stress from work, whether it is intense time with kids, at 3:30 4 o'clock, when everything's heating the fair, and nothing's going to plan that these emotions come up, or I feel tired, or I feel something's going on for me. And so what the mindset stuff that is in this program has helped me do is go it's okay to have these feelings and food doesn't fix those feelings. It doesn't change what's coming up. It's not going to make it any better. If anything, it makes it worse because I feel rubbish from it. And so the tools and techniques in the program have helped me move through that stuff to the point of I've now been using those same techniques and strategies on the business side. When business sometimes can be uncomfortable. There can be sometimes a little bit of stress, growing pains happen, and all that sort of fun stuff. And so it's been a complete game changer to be able to manage my mindset on a bigger scale, and even doing a hypno at night. There's no extra time for me it's not like– Hey, I need to block out 15, 20 minutes. It's okay, it's time to go to sleep. Let's listen to Dr Mary and her hypnosis. And everything like the brain just kind of reprograms you wake up the next day you feel better you don't crave all the rubbish that comes with it. So yeah, I think the mindset is a game-changer.
Dr Mary Barson (15:20) Yes. Can I just like go on record saying that is an absolutely legendary effort, that you got such a significant, like you just got slapped with such significant stress with your good friend getting really sick and needing to deal with all of that. And you reverted to some old tools by led up for a couple of days. Like that's, that's amazing. That's hardly even a speed bump. It's like, you know, just a little dip. Yeah, a little other pivot in the road. Yeah.
Maree Kirkpatrick (15:51) Well, that's because I felt so good. Up until that being on the real food, right? So it's like– Oh, I feel good. Oh, this is it was like, wow, this is what energy feels like! It was. Yeah. And so when I went back to the old habits, I was like– Oh, man, I don't like this feeling. I don't like this lack of energy. I don't like the brain fog that comes with it. I didn't want to be there any longer than I needed to. Yeah, good. Good. Yeah.
Dr Mary Barson (16:23) I know you are. You're a very lovely, very good person. I know that you're involved in charities in women's charities, you're really passionate about helping women be independent, helping women run their businesses, helping women have the lives that they want, or not such as women, but like we were talking about, mostly women, yes. And I can actually see this beautiful little plaque behind your head, it says success, family, relationships, health, happiness, wealth, I'd love it. For you, being healthier, helps you be more impactful. Like it's something that helps you do all the great work that you want to do.
Maree Kirkpatrick (17:06) Absolutely. Yeah, you're right. I do a lot of, I don't really tend to advertise my charity stuff. Because for me, it's not a selling point. I don't want people to be like– Oh, she's a nice person, cuz she does charity work. For me. It's my own selfish reasons that I do charity work because it makes me feel amazing. And with my friend getting sick, it's made me stop and think about how do I have more impact on women, for me to be able to help more women make more income and impact and be okay, no matter what happens financially, if I can show them how to make more money, then they'll be okay. But for me to be able to do that, I need to have the energy, I need to have the brain clarity and all of that, to do that. And with my friend getting sick, it's made me really stop in my tracks. And the days that I call them blah days. They're those days that I just didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to face the world. I didn't want to go and do school pick up, I didn't want to do daycare pick up, I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want to put a face on, I didn't want to get dressed. I didn't want any of that. And in those days, I was like me being like, this isn't helping anyone. Okay, I'm allowed to sit in the emotions. I'm not allowed to stay here. And so it's really changed the way that I've looked at my business as well. How can I help more women? How can I make my services more affordable, so that no woman has to choose between life, family or finances? And so the plaque behind my head was actually something that hubby and I designed together. It wasn't like a buy-off-the-shelf. That's really what success means for me. Yes, you can be really wealthy in life. But if you don't have your health, you have nothing. For me, it's also if I have my health and my wealth, but I don't have a happy and healthy family, or happy and healthy relationships or people around me. That's not success, either. So it's all intertwined beautifully. For me.
Dr Mary Barson (19:11) Yes, yes, it's cliched. But there is this saying that health is wealth. And I completely agree with that. But we are really holistic beings you know, we need to have, we need to have our relationships, we need to have our good health to have our family, we need all of these all of these things. And there are like these fundamental fundamental linchpins that can hold it all together and physical health and having a good mindset that just permeates everything else. And you're a total powerhouse so I love that. Now that you get in your body and your metabolic health and your nicely fat-adapted burning fat, you can be even more of a powerhouse.
Maree Kirkpatrick (19:52) Do you know what I've also started doing and I haven't shared this with you or with many people, but you know this is a safe space, right? Yeah, I've actually started to do couch to 5k as one of my goals, because I've got more energy, and my pain is reduced. And I feel like I'm ready to take that next step from a health and well-being space. So that's pretty cool, too.
Dr Mary Barson (20:18) That's super cool. And for those who don't know what couch to 5k is, it's probably fairly obvious. But it's a program where it gets you from, let's say, couch potato sort of a routine, but get your training to do a 5k run, and can happen faster than you think. Awesome. That's awesome. So 5k Run. Excellent. So you've told the world now that's great.
Maree Kirkpatrick (20:40) I know. But like, I'm only in week, I think I'm in week one or week, one and a half. So it's, it's definitely progress. But it's also the mindset that comes with that new challenge as well, right? And then it's safe to push my body and it's safe to to lose weight. I think for me in the past, my weight has also been about being seen. And so if when I have lost weight people like– Oh, you look great. You're losing weight. And then I'll say, well, there's that side of do I need to lose weight to look great? Or do I not look great before? And was the wait for me keeping me safe and playing small in the world? And I think that's probably more to the point for me. So, yeah, I'm ready to step into that. Release the fear of it.
Dr Mary Barson (21:25) Yes. How do you feel? How is your body going with being in wait to have the couch to 5k program?
Maree Kirkpatrick (21:37) Oh look, I've got a little bit of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
Dr Mary Barson (21:40) Yeah, that's good.
Maree Kirkpatrick (21:41) So it is a good sore. It's a good sore, from I know that my body's working and growing. It's not a good sore from like it, everything feels a little bit harder on the days that I am so. But I feel like I've got more energy, I'm sleeping better. I'm happier with life. I'm happier with kids, and I'm better at managing the stress and the emotional stuff, especially around stuff that's happening with my really good friend. And I feel like I'm in a better place to hold space for her. In that, my tank is filled and my body feels good. I feel good mentally. I can support her rather than be on the ground crying with her.
Dr Mary Barson (22:28) Wonderful. We've got our 7 Day Sugar Free Reset coming up soon to start the week sort of precursor to a 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance. What would you say to people out there who were perhaps thinking about doing our 7 Day Sugar Free Reset or thinking about doing our 12 Week Mind Body Rebalance? Given that you know, you're sort of two-thirds of the way through it right now?
Maree Kirkpatrick (22:53) Yes. So I suggest that everyone does it. And I know that sounds a bit, especially coming from the sales check, right? Like it's not from a sales perspective. It's from a feel-good about yourself perspective. There's another lady that when I joined it, I said to her, let's do this together. And she was like– okay, yep, cool. I'm in as well. And we're both. We're both just feeling so much better like we are shot. And the way that we make decisions about our food is really, it's so much easier, like at five o'clock when it's like kids are running around, you've had a busy day at work, your mental load might be quite high. You know, what options are there. There are recipe books in their recipe. There are recipe books, but there are recipes that you can go in and be like– Oh, go that one today and that one tomorrow and it's all easy meals can be done in 10 15 minutes like that, for me, is ideal. It's like you've taken the thinking out of it. It's coming from a space of expertise. It's not fad dieting. It's not someone that has become famous, just for being famous. It's coming from two doctors who have had so much experience in this space. And that's why I love working with you guys. There's no, there's no BS around it. There's no fluff. It's just like this is what's going on with your body. These are the hormones that are kicking in. This is what happens when you eat these. I know there's a lot of talk about the woodshed and you know getting into that fat-burning phase fat burning machine that your body wants to be and that when you do things it can kind of potentially close your woodshed and so why don't want to close my woodshed. So I just need to make a different choice. I just need to have a better option out there. So it's been a really easy transition which I was absolutely surprised with. From a sugar perspective coming from someone who has been an emotional eater and loved sugar to kind of keep that energy going. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be like if someone said to me, Maree, you need to stop eating any sweet stuff. I would have been like, that's like asking me to run the 42-kilometre marathon while I'm still on the couch, not going to have. And so there's that taking out the sugar. My body just feels better, less inflammation, less pain, less cravings. But the cravings aren't even there. I went to a function a couple of weeks ago, and it was a two-course meal. Sticky date pudding for dessert was like– Oh, just have a little taste, I tasted it was so sickeningly sweet because my palate has changed. So it's like my body doesn't even want it anymore. It's like– whoa, what's that? That's not good. Let's not eat that. And that's not to say that you can't have treats that was the other thing. Like the hot chocolate, for me, is looked upon as not necessarily a treat, but a part of like, my morning routine. And it's like that little warm hug in the morning for me. And everything's okay if I've had a little hot chocolate. So from that aspect, it's been great. But it's also finding better treats to have or better desserts to have, or, yeah, just having more choice about how my body can feel better. So yes, if anyone wants to do the program, or is on the fence about it, do it. Not only will it save you time, it will also save you a bucket ton of money because people say that it's so much more expensive to eat healthier, blah, blah, blah, heard it all before. And three months ago, I probably would have agreed with you. It's cheaper to buy a frozen pizza. It's cheaper to buy this. But the truth is that it's not. It's absolutely not, it does not take you any longer to eat proper food. And it also means that I don't get that slump after I eat as well. So save your time, save your money and increase your energy. It's a no-brainer, and have a whole heap of fun doing it too, right?
Dr Mary Barson (27:00) Yes, yes, it is fun. It is fun. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Air is fresh in and I really, really love how you are that that mindset works. And you are just dealing with the ups and downs of life while still caring for your body and caring for all the people in your sphere. So gorgeous funnest people wanted to find out a little bit more about you, where could they find you?
Maree Kirkpatrick (27:29) So you can find me on Instagram at Maree Kirkpatrick you can find me on Facebook at Maree Kirkpatrick or you can find me on my website, or you won't find me on my website, but you can find my website at mareekirkpatrick.com.
Dr Mary Barson (27:46) Excellent. We'll have the links there in our show notes. Thank you fabulous human for sharing your story and the wonderful, healthy success that you are experiencing in your body and your mind. I think that you are a legend and you are absolutely smashing it. And I'm very excited to see what you will do next.
Maree Kirkpatrick (28:11) Thank you. Do you know what I want to say thank you to yourself and Dr Lucy for creating an informative program that feels safe, nothing is off limits to talk about, you have managed to bring in some amazing people into a community where we're all on the same path, we're all supporting each other. And that doesn't tend to happen very often. I found when it comes to weight loss or health stuff, there can be quite a competitive side of it. But you've created such a supportive, beautiful space with amazing knowledge. Like there's even on the download. I'm trying to educate hubby as we go. So I listen to the modules and things while I'm cooking. Or while I'm unpacking dishwashers or celiac kids and things like that, to the point where he's like– Oh, what's that? Because it's real information. It all makes sense. And it's down on the level of yes, you're doctors, but it's down on the level that everyone can understand. And I'm so grateful for that. You have literally, I know it sounds very a bit, what's the word that I'm looking for, cliche, maybe it's literally changed my life and the way that I do food and emotions and life. So thank you, beautiful lady. I appreciate it.
Dr Mary Barson (29:34) Thank you. Thank you so much for that and thank you for your time and your energy today. Thanks. So beautiful humans. If you want to get that same beautiful, particular energy to help you live your best life, to run your business, to look after your family and to do the things that you want to do with your life. That health being that pivotal linchpin that makes everything else possible. Then check out our 7 Day Sugar Free Reset that Dr Lucy and I are running again after Australia Day weekend. It is a wonderful seven days where we have a beautiful mini-course for you. A great hypno Maree really liked, the hypnosis is a wonderful guided medical Kepner therapy session to help you enjoy love real food to set you up for success. Got a beautiful supportive community. We've got fantastic master classes with Lucy and myself. Opportunities to ask Lucy and I questions live in real-time. It's a wonderful program, you get so much and it costs just $7 bucks for 7 days. So you can check it out. The link will be in the show notes or you can go to our website, rlmedicine.com/nosugar, and come and join us for what will be a fabulous, fabulous seven days.
Dr Lucy Burns: (31:07) The information shared on the Real Health and Weight Loss podcast, including show notes and links, provides general information only. It is not a substitute, nor is it intended to provide individualised medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor can it be construed as such. Please consult your doctor for any medical concerns.
