Crystal OKeefe: Welcome to the MetPro Method Podcast. I am your host, Crystal O’Keefe, and today I’m joined by MetPro client, Stacey Rivere, and we are going to be discussing Stacey’s weight loss journey thus far. Hi, Stacey. Thanks so much for being here.
Stacey Rivere: Hi, Crystal. Thank you very much for having me.
Crystal OKeefe: Well, I am excited to have you here. You have such an intricate journey and I want to kind of back up a little bit.
When in your lifetime did you begin struggling with weight loss?
Stacey Rivere: Yes. So it started probably a couple of years after high school. So when I stopped, you know, playing high school sports and started working full time and sitting at a desk all day, you know, the weight started to come on slowly, but I didn’t really notice it for a while because I would just keep wearing stretchy pants.
And so, you know, all of a sudden I went to get that size 10 or size 12. And it had now become size 18 or size 20 and that was quite an eye-opener. I literally had no idea that I had gained that much weight and changed that many sizes.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah, I have a very similar story, and I feel like people around me should have said things. Okay, it’s been not your whole life, but it’s definitely been your adult life.
Stacey Rivere: Yes.
Crystal OKeefe: What do you feel led you to MetPro?
Stacey Rivere: So I had, you know, I think probably like a lot of people, especially people who have struggled with their weight as many years as I have had tried so many different common plans, right? I mean, you could probably throw it out there and I would say, yep, I tried that one. And so I first heard about MetPro through you.
On your other podcast, The Clip Out, right? Since we are both Peloton enthusiasts, and I had heard you talking about it. And I think, you know, 1 thing that I found very interesting was when your husband got on it, right? And it was like, okay, if this works for Tom, who is literally the most picky eater I’ve ever heard of.
Crystal OKeefe: It’s true. It’s true.
Stacey Rivere: And I liked the fact that this was not one size fits all, right? This wasn’t just, okay, here’s the macros across the board, or here’s the plan across the board. It was literally going to be tailored for me personally. That was very attractive to me.
Crystal OKeefe: Wow. Yeah. No, all those same things stood out to me too. But okay, so remind me that was what 2021 was whenever you started it.
Stacey Rivere: Correct. In April of 2021.
Crystal OKeefe: Okay. All right. So that was when you started the program and tell me what that looked like for you, like what your Overall experience was how this, how they, how successful you felt when you stopped that type of thing, like kind of give me some details about that.
Stacey Rivere: Okay. Sure. I was in the height of menopause. I was just really in the height of it. And so, it was working and I was glad that it was working, but it was slower than what I was used to. So normally when I would lose weight, I could count on, unless I went to something extreme, I could count on about 10 pounds a month or so coming off.
If I followed a plan and I was struggling at five pounds a month coming off now, it was still coming off. And I was happy that it was coming off because I hadn’t been able to get it to move for a while. So I was on that plan for four months, and I lost, I mean, excuse me, five months, and I lost about 25 pounds or 24 pounds, so about five pounds a month.
Crystal OKeefe: Wow.
Stacey Rivere: And then, I stopped.
Crystal OKeefe: Okay, and so what led you to be like, okay, this is the time to stop. I mean, you were seeing success, you were seeing positive momentum, although I understand not as, not as quickly as you would like. What, what kind of preceded that?
Stacey Rivere: I thought, like I always do, I can do this on my own. I got it now. I know how to eat now. I’ve been doing this for a while. I can do this on my own. I don’t need to check in with somebody. And so I was just going to keep going with how I had been eating, but not doing it on MetPro doing it on my own.
Crystal OKeefe: The way I hear you talking about it, it kind of makes me feel like maybe you didn’t, you weren’t as ready as you thought you were.
Stacey Rivere: Right. So, you know, us alpha types, you know, we always think we got this. Right. So, I don’t know about it, if it was readiness or not. I think it’s that little lie that I like to tell myself, right? I can do it on my own because I mean, technically there is nothing that prevents me from doing it on my own.
But if I could do it on my own, I would have done it on my own by now and I would have been successful by now. And so what happened was when I got off of it and I was eating like I was right and still, you know, maintaining some weight loss. But then when I hit a wall, I did not know how to adjust. Right.
I didn’t know how to how much to adjust up to adjust down what to adjust up. Did I add more carbs or I didn’t know how to adjust? And then at the same time, I had hurricane season come and I was an emergency response and I was working 16 hour days and I just got completely stressed out. Let the plan completely go and said, you know what?
I’ll pick this back up when this hurricane’s over. I don’t care if I put on 5 or 6 pounds, I’ll get it back off. And then I did it, and I just kept and I got in and I changed jobs and I got into a very stressful job and the weight just kept coming on to the point that. I was not I was scared that I was not going to get it back under control.
Crystal OKeefe: That is a scary feeling. I have experienced that myself. When you moved away from MetPro, you went out of the concierge program, did you go into basic or did you just like, I’m gonna just do this all on my own? Just to make sure, I want to be clear, I know.
Stacey Rivere: I went into basic for just a very short time, but I just, you know, I really need for me. I have figured out that I really need that personal connection. You know, and so the basic thing for me, it just wasn’t, I wasn’t adhering to even what the basic plan was telling me to do.
Crystal OKeefe: It wasn’t in your face enough for you.
Stacey Rivere: It was not, it was not.
Crystal OKeefe: I get that. No, I get that. And so what made you decide I’m gonna go back to MetPro? What was the key factor there?
Stacey Rivere: So we had come back from vacation and I had my labs run. Cause I have two autoimmune diseases and I have to have my labs run every, every couple of times a year. I pay very close attention to my health for that reason. And there are a lot of food groups that I don’t eat, but I got my labs and for the first time in my life, I had high blood pressure.
I was pre-diabetic. Since I had been on MetPro, I had gained 47 pounds, just in that, you know, 18-month period. I was just out of control and I was scared. It was like, okay, I’m 54 years old. I’m not going to have the rest of my life to work out like I want to write. Like, right now I can work out as hard as I want to.
There may be a day that I can’t, you know, and also I may have something serious happen, like a stroke or a heart attack or whatever. And it changed my entire lifestyle. So unfortunately I had to hit bottom and I hit bottom and it was very, very hard for me because Crystal you’ve known me for a while. I was working out five to six days a week and working out hard.
This isn’t like just fun little workouts. I worked hard and I was seeing no weight loss because I would hear something and I’d be like, okay, today I’m going to start paleo. And then I’d start the day and be like, no, I don’t know if I really like that. I think I’m going to do keto. And then I’d kind of change things.
Right. And then by the end of the day, I hadn’t done anything right. Right. And then I’m feeling guilty for everything I ate the day before. And then tomorrow I’m like, okay, I’m going to have a plan. You know what? I’m going to do Whole 30. Right. And then I get up and I go, oh my gosh, I don’t have enough stuff in the house to do Whole 30.
And this was just like a constant cycle. I couldn’t make a choice. I couldn’t make a plan. I couldn’t even stick to anything that I was trying to, you know, make. I wasn’t doing any type of food prep. I just thought I was, I was just kind of trying to wing it each day. And all that happened was all day long, I thought about food all day long.
I beat myself up about food at night. I’d go to bed guilty about what I ate. And then I’d say, Oh, I’ll start tomorrow. And I just kept, I’m going to start tomorrow. And then I just wasn’t. You know, and so I, and so then I just said, okay, I have got to make a drastic change here.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah, and so you’ve been back on MetPro, what, two, three months? Are you three months in?
Stacey Rivere: I’m three and a half months in. Yep. September 1st will be four months.
Crystal OKeefe: Oh, wow. Nice even number. Okay. I like that. And how is it feeling this time around?
Stacey Rivere: So I’m down 36 pounds. I am very happy about those results. So, my body is losing weight like it used to, which is lovely. And it’s just simpler this time. I made a lot of changes. Crystal, I made changes with you. I made changes with myself, you know before I’d be like, okay, I’m going to do this plan, whatever this plan is, right?
And I blasted out all over the Internet. And then I buy all the stuff that you got to buy. And I have my whole counter full of the stuff. And I’m taking pictures and I’m showing everybody like, okay, I’m ready for this And then, you know, maybe somebody sees me eating something that I’m not supposed to, and it’s like, I thought you were doing X, Y, Z, you know, and I just didn’t want any of that.
Right. I just got quiet about it. I got quiet and myself. And I also stopped putting a shot clock on it. Right? Because before it’d be like, okay, I’m going to do MePro for 3 months. And then I’m going to do it on my own. And so in those three months, I have got to be perfect. Absolutely perfect. And I’ve got to lose as much as I can in that time to get the momentum.
And I said, okay, we’re done with that. We are going to calm it down. We are going to get quiet. We are stopping the shot clock. It’s going to take as long as it’s going to take. Because had I stuck with MetPro two years ago, I’d be done by now, even if I had only lost five pounds a month. So I just said, all right, and I also shared with you, I was very vulnerable with you.
I said, look, my pattern is right around the four-month, five-month timeframe. I pack it in. I just say, I’m done with this and I just go full tilt the other way. And so you started asking me a lot of questions like, Hey, what do we need to do? Do we need to put some treats in here for you? Do we need to have some things?
Right? And so the difference this time is I didn’t really tell anybody. I decided that I’m going to commit to this for at least a year because I feel very confident I can get the weight off in that time and hopefully start doing some things like trying to plan for a marathon or a half marathon if it takes longer than a year, I’m fine with that.
You know, and there’s a lot of sayings that people say that are very cliche, but there are two key ones. And one is trust the process and the other is consistency is key. And we hear it all the time, but it is literally the magic pill. You know, if there’s a magic pill. And so, you know, just being able to be vulnerable with you and be honest with you and like the times that I did eat off plan for a night, you know, and sometimes I planned it and sometimes I didn’t it was this time.
It was okay. And like Angelo talks about, I had that 1 meal. I didn’t make it 1 day then 1 weekend and then 1 week. I had that 1 meal and then the next day I was right back on it. Right? Or I had that 1 day and the next day I was right back. I did not let it become. Larger than what it was, and that was a huge difference.
I think there were three key things. It was getting quiet within myself and not putting the shot clock on it, being able to be vulnerable with you and honest with you about my fears and where I would be weak. And then also, the last thing I say, which just left my mind, but-
Crystal OKeefe: So you’ve got the vulnerability and also the shot clock, but then the other thing is just being aware of the process, trusting the process, and knowing that it’s going to take as long as it takes.
Stacey Rivere: and getting right back on it. You just have that one meal. You don’t beat yourself up for it, you know, but 1 thing I did differently this time. And, you know, I remember I saw Tom’s interview and he likes to say, hey, this is not met pros mandate. You know, this is my personal choice. I eat the same thing every day just like your husband does. That’s simple for me. I like it. I have found things I like. It makes prep easy. I don’t have to think about what I want for groceries. So for me, even though you have never said to do that, MetPro does not say to do that has worked very well for me. I also decided not to drink alcohol anymore.
So I don’t drink on this program. And that was another key differentiator because before when I would have that, let’s say cheat night, it was a cheat night with alcohol. So then I ate more than I would have eaten, and then I don’t exercise the next day, so it’s like a whole domino effect. So this time, I am not drinking on the plan, and I have to say, I may give it up for good.
I have really actually enjoyed not having alcohol in my life.
Crystal OKeefe: It really makes you feel a lot better, doesn’t it?
Stacey Rivere: It really does.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a drink here and there, so I don’t mean to say to anybody they need to not drink, but I will say I personally feel like I will have a drink every great once in a while, without any guilt, similar to what you were just saying about food, and I don’t mind, I enjoy it, I have a good night out, it’s a lot of fun.
But I don’t want to do it all the time because I don’t enjoy the next day, and I don’t enjoy how I feel nearly as much as I used to, so, it’s just-
Stacey Rivere: it’s not like when we’re in our 20s and we could just sleep till noon and feel back to normal. I mean, I don’t have one glass of wine and feel like I’ve drank a bottle, you know, so it’s just, I don’t feel good after my fifties drinking anymore.
Crystal OKeefe: It’s nap time.
Stacey Rivere: Right,
Crystal OKeefe: Well, and I think for me too, also knowing that the alcohol side of things, like your body has to like stop and process the alcohol before it can even get to the carbs, and then if you drink a drink that has carbs with a high amount of sugar, which is almost all alcohol, Then you have, you have like two things against you and then you add, like you said earlier, if you’re not going to work out the next day because you feel terrible, well, I mean, you have all these things kind of working backward and is it the end of the world?
No, but it does set you back three, four days, maybe a week by the time it’s all said and done. And was it worth it? Was it worth it? And sometimes the answer is yes, by the way. I mean. That’s, that’s fair, but it’s not, I don’t, for me, it’s not worth it every week. That’s for darn sure.
Stacey Rivere: Yes, and that’s part, you know, in the past where I would do something where like, I’d have a cheat day, right? And it was like, I would lose. And then that cheat day, I would undo so much of what I’d lost. It’s like, oh, my God. So I just wanted to have something. I was consistent. It was easy, you know, and I could follow it.
And that’s and that is literally the plan that I have created for myself.
Crystal OKeefe: That’s wonderful. I want to hear more about the strategies that you’ve put into place to avoid hitting the wall. I mean, we’re coming up on four months. Are you getting nervous about that?
Stacey Rivere: So it’s funny you should mention that because I think I have just hit the wall just now. I mean, just this week. So I’ve only moved about a fourth, I mean a 0.4 of a of a pound in about 10 days. So I think that I am there, but a couple of things. Number one, You told me this was coming, right?
This is not like you were like, Oh, my God, I can’t believe you’ve hit a wall. This doesn’t ever happen. What’s going on? You know, you told me from the start, that it’s going to happen. Now, I think I’ve gone longer than most people before I hit the wall because I went a long time. I mean, we’ve had me at this part for a long, you know, at this level for a month.
And now I’m hitting the wall. But one, you told me it was coming to this is exactly what MetPro was made for. Right. You know, because Angelo will talk about if you eat a certain way and you lose two pounds a week, why don’t you lose two pounds a week forever?
Crystal OKeefe: Yes.
Stacey Rivere: You don’t, which when he said that, it was like, oh, my God, that’s true.
You don’t. Now, some of it is some of it can be attributed to the fact that you’re losing weight. So you’re not burning as many calories, but not all of it. Right. And so I knew it was coming. And MetPro has a plan for that, right? And we’re going to up-adjust. And I remember when I first heard Angelo on your other podcast, and he was talking about this part and he was saying, so then we’re going to up adjust and we’re going to give you, you know, additional food and you might gain a couple of pounds and I’m thinking, Oh no, no.
I am not paying somebody to put weight on. I can do that all by myself. But understanding that, hey, we got to fire this metabolism back up, right? We’ve slowed it down. And so that fact that, hey, I might, you know, we’re going to up adjust. I might put a couple of pounds on however, whatever that looks like, but then it’s going to get reignited. And I’ll start losing again. And in the end, I will be better than if I had just stayed eating exactly like I am right now.
So that’s the plan for the wall is literally to trust the process because if I didn’t have you, what I would do is work out harder and drop the food. I don’t care what that food look like. It might be 800 calories a day. At this point, I would be like, well, obviously I’m eating too much. So let me drop it down and I’m going to work out 90 minutes a day on the tread instead of an hour or whatever. And so that’s not the answer. And so that’s what my coach is for.
Crystal OKeefe: That’s right. That’s exactly right. You’re, I mean, when I started MetPro, I was doing the same thing, Stacey. I was working out every day, almost every day. I was eating 1,100 calories. I wasn’t losing weight. And it’s, I mean, it is so obvious now that I have the education. But back then, I was like, why am I not losing weight? I don’t get it.
Stacey Rivere: Exactly. And, you know, it’s like two where, you know, some of the things that I was doing, like I love Stacy Sims, you know, we’re very familiar with her and she’s all about lifting heavy, right? Lift heavy. And so that’s another thing that I was doing before I partnered with you. I’m in menopause.
I’m supposed to lift heavy. There’s a little caveat there. You’re not supposed to lift heavy when you weigh this much and have this figure. Not now we’re going to get to the lift-heavy part. You know, I was lifting heavy and I was like, I’m supposed to be lifting heavy, you know, but I am, but not right now.
And that’s another key part of this process and making sure I don’t stay in the wall.
Crystal OKeefe: And another little asterisk next to that is also it depends on your body type, you know, that’s, you know, you and I share that kind of body type, Stacy. So we’re both on the same page there. But, I will say not everybody. That’s not the path for everybody. And I only want to point that out because there might be some question marks out there.
Stacey Rivere: Gotcha. Okay.
Crystal OKeefe: But yeah, those are all excellent points. I do think that as we up adjust, we will also be adding in some treats. We’re going to plan those. We’re going to make sure you get those because we don’t want it to be all restriction, all hard work, no fun, no play. Like that’s, that’s not life.
That’s not sustainable. And so we want to find that balance. And, I think, Going through this process and finding that balance for you will be something that you’re going to be able to take with you for the rest of your life. And it’s going to feel so good to do that.
Stacey Rivere: Yes. And you know, for the first time, Crystal, it became this week more than just losing weight for the first time. And I can’t tell you how many years it was like, I’d actually have a shot at having a body that I like. You know, I actually have a shot at having a body that I am proud of instead of just trying to lose weight.
You know that I’m going to have a plan past this. You’re not just going to get me to my goal and then be like, see ya, that’s all I got for you. You can help me on the next piece when I’m like, okay, and now I’m at the weight I want. Now I want to put the muscle on. I want a tone and you have, you know, to put the muscle on.
Crystal OKeefe: Yes, absolutely, absolutely. And I’m here for it. And I hope that you’ll come back when you, when you get there, because we will have a follow-up conversation and talk about all of that as well.
Stacey Rivere: I would love that. I would absolutely love that.
Crystal OKeefe: But what have we not covered today that you want to make sure listeners know about?
Stacey Rivere: I think, I think listeners need to understand that this is a gift, right? It’s a gift to be in met pro and I mean, not every I’m very blessed that I’m able to be in this program. I’m very blessed that I have a husband who supports me because I know not everybody does, but I think the main thing I would want someone to take away is.
Don’t just sit back and think I’m 55 years old, I have autoimmune diseases because I have, you know, I have Hashimoto’s, I have celiac and I also have PCOS, you know, I’m going through menopause, I was 84 pounds overweight when I started this, that, you know, there’s no hope for me, you know, I’m just going to have to live with this and so what I hope is that I inspire other people who see this and say, all right, okay.
I have what she has, or I have some of what she has, or I don’t even have what she has, because I believe that there is a program in MetPro for everyone, no matter where they’re at. And, you’ll find it. You will dig until you find out what works for that person. And so they just have to make sure that they’re vulnerable, you know, make sure you’re honest with your coach.
If you cheat, you cheat, you know, you never cussed me out because I cheated or said bad names or told me I was a terrible person. You’re like, all right.
Crystal OKeefe: Well, you’re human. You’re human. I have yet to meet a person who’s perfect. Thank goodness. Wouldn’t they be boring? And the fact of the matter is, it’s going to be some days are successful and some days aren’t. I mean, it. Life is always, there’s one constant, I am sure of that I have found in my 40-some years and that is life’s going to keep throwing you curveballs.
It is never going to stop and if, if you don’t find ways to swerve, you’re going to get hit. So you can’t just do perfectly and just dig deeper and only be harder on yourself. That’s not always the answer. Yes, you need to show up. Yes, you need to work hard and that is part of it. But sometimes part of it is going, Okay, I’m going to have the piece of cake, and then tomorrow we’re going to get back on it.
And it’s so funny, Stacy, because, the less you fought that, the more successful you’ve been. Isn’t that fascinating?
Stacey Rivere: It is fascinating. It is fascinating. And, you know, I really want Crystal to help motivate people. I hope I inspire people. And also, you know, I have, you know, they talk about the 5 closest friends. If you want to see where you’re going and where you’re going to end up, look at your 5 closest friends.
And I have very inspirational people around me, you know, for that very reason. But I just want people to understand that there’s a program out there. There’s a great coach out there. I have her. So, I’m very lucky, but also the other thing I’ll say is I was very concerned about approaching you when I wanted, when I was thinking about coming back to MetPro because I didn’t think you’d be tough enough because we’re friends.
Well, I will tell you people that went out the window in the first five minutes. So there was no worry that Crystal would not be able to call me on my BS, but I think it’s just honesty, don’t be afraid to tell your coach that you had a cheat day or that you’re concerned or that you’re sad or depressed, or, you know, share all those feelings with your coach because you have given me some phenomenal feedback that I would not have come up with on my own that has been very beneficial in this journey for me.
Crystal OKeefe: Well, I cannot express to you how proud of you that I am. Like I can say the words, but they’re just not strong enough. I’m so proud of you. You’ve worked so hard and you continue to work hard and you don’t let anything get in your way. And it’s pretty remarkable to watch and you inspire me.
So I don’t know who else will be inspired out there, but I know you inspire me every day. So thank you.
Stacey Rivere: Thank you very much. Crystal. I look forward to coming back here when we’re when we’re at goal and sharing here and how we got through this wall together.
Crystal OKeefe: Heck yeah. I can’t wait for it. Stacy, thank you so much for your time today. And listeners, that’s all for this week. You can find all of the episodes of MetPro Method anywhere you get podcasts, or you can go to met pro.co/podcast. Please be sure to follow the show and rate and review that lets other people know what to expect.
And you can also learn more about Met pro@MetPro.co. I’m your host, Crystal O’Keefe, and I will be back next week. Until then, remember, consistency is key.
