In this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, host Gin Stephens speaks to Amanda Tarver, a New York City-based singer with the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera. Her career may make her unique, but her struggle with weight doesn’t. She describes issues with weight since high school, recalling how her mother always said if weight isn’t lost before the 30th birthday, it won’t ever come off. Amanda has witnessed fellow singers with physical challenges related to their work, needing knee surgery after years of 50-pound costumes and standing for hours on high-heeled shoes. Amanda herself describes “crippling pain” from plantar fasciitis in the past, along with a growing awareness of a need to get excess weight off her body.
After a full year of Weight Watchers without results, Amanda could hear her mother’s words echoing when a coworker returned from an extended break showing a dramatic transformation. This person shared Delay, Don’t Deny and the practice of intermittent fasting. Amanda began her journey on December 1, 2018, and immediately loved the difference from Weight Watchers, where she could easily “annihilate her points” and do well until she felt restricted and sabotaged herself with a binge. She was immediately pleased to eat more foods she enjoys, especially more fat, and says the “headspace alone” made the shift worthwhile.
In addition to meeting the goal to get back into her wedding dress (and later finding it too large), she has achieved several health goals. Her plantar fasciitis is healed, and severe environmental allergies, previously triggered by mold and dust in the historic Met Opera building, are non-existent. She used to require multiple doses of Zyrtec and no longer needs any at all. Having experienced two parents with diabetes, she’s grateful to know she’s healing any insulin resistance, and she is confident about supporting her health with fasting into the future. She reminds that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and that patience is a necessity. She closes by encourages listeners to always revel in the fact that their bodies were made to heal.
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