“Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject.”- Thomas Mann
LIFESTYLE
Jody Reid Credits CrossFit and Diet for Reversing Her Diabetes Diagnosis after Several Failed Attempts
There are three things you should know about Jody Reid; she hates squat cleans, loves power cleans, oh, and she reversed her Type 2 Diabetes three years ago.
Reid, 36, is a mother-of-three who has always had a love for fitness and food (which she would call an addiction). But it wasn’t until she found a CrossFit gym–Roy Community Fitness and took control of her diet that she actually saw life-changing results.
“I think the biggest thing for me was finding a place where I felt comfortable sucking at something, and trying to get better at it, and I think that’s the biggest thing that Roy does for their community is you don’t have to feel stupid if you can’t 100 percent do the workout the way it’s written on the board,” said Reid in an interview with Morning Chalk Up.
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that occurs when your body doesn’t make enough insulin resulting in too much sugar in the bloodstream, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There is no cure for the disease, but doctors will commonly suggest losing weight, eating healthier and being active. The effects of high intensity interval training on diabetes has been the focal point of research in recent years.
Reid had heard of CrossFit through her sister and gave it a try starting in 2016. She says she was 31 when she was told she was prediabetic, the stage that precedes diabetes. After joining the gym she says she didn’t change her eating habits at first.
“I think it’s safe to say I have a food addiction, specifically sweets and I had been overweight for several years, probably the majority of my 20s I was a minimum of 40 to 50 pounds overweight,” said Reid.
She adds, she actually started to eat more when she started CrossFit and wasn’t paying attention to what she was putting in her body. It was towards the end of 2018 when Reid said she stopped her membership due to a new job at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
By the start of 2019 doctors revealed to her after blood work was done that she was a full-blown Type-2 Diabetic. Admittedly, Reid says she has been told by doctors time and time again that she needed to lose weight, but never did anything about it or had tried and wasn’t making any progress.
“At one point one of the coaches at my gym had said to me ‘Jody, you need to do what you’re told,’ and so I think when I finally did and I just was consistent for a long period of time things just really clicked into place,” said Reid.
A nutrition challenge came up at Roy Community Fitness at the start of 2019 when everything changed for Reid. She began counting her macros and watching what food she was putting in her body, and consistently showing up to train.
Reid said for the first time she felt good going into workouts and felt like she was getting stronger.
“I was crazy strict for about five months, and I was losing like one or two pounds consistently a week. And I felt incredible,” she said. “I mean I got my first kipping pull up. I got my first rope climb.”
After those five months of hard work educating herself on what foods she should be putting in her body, and another doctor’s visit, blood work would reveal Reid was no longer diabetic, which brought her to tears. She still is diabetes-free three years later.
“It just made all other aspects of my life better. My mental health was better. My physical health of course was better. And you know, sometimes I challenge my kids to things that I can do and they can’t,” she said.
Kevin Lundell, owner of Roy Community Fitness, said Reid was up front about her goals and the reasons why she was at the gym. The two, he adds, had many deep conversations about her health and what she needed to do to overcome her diabetes.
“I think watching her journey, it did not come overnight, it was not easy for her and that competitiveness, she wanted to be better quickly and there were ups and downs through the whole process and she stuck with it,” said Lundell. The gym has been open since 2015 and is located in Roy, Utah.
Lundell adds, as much as Reid has gotten out of coming to Roy “she’s the kind of person that has given back more, she’s the kind of person that makes a class better and adds value to what we do.”
Now, Reid says her work and life have stopped her from going to the gym as often as she’d like, but wants to get back to doing what she loves.
“I don’t love all the movements, but I love a lot of them. And I think if I hadn’t found something that I loved for the exercise piece of the puzzle I’m pretty sure I’d still be struggling way more today,” said Reid. “I still struggle. But I think that piece of it, the CrossFit, was what worked for me.”
SPONSORED
A Cleaner Way to Clean After Your Workout
It’s time to ditch your dirty, year-old loofah and make the switch over to the all-new Body Buffer silicone scrubber by MANSCAPED®.
Because after a long workout, your body deserves a personal power washer that can scrub through all the sweat and grime. The Body Buffer features silicone lengthened, lather-boosting bristles to give you an exfoliating clean from your sack to your back and has an ergonomic, no-slip handle to make washing easy.
It’s the perfect gift to treat yourself to an upgraded hygiene routine, and it makes a great stocking stuffer that people will actually use.
In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with Jamie Simmonds to discuss what it was like to be back in Dubai, how training has been, and what’s in store for the rest of her off-season.
Local love: Great story about how Panama City CrossFit held its second “Squats for Tots” to raise money for Stuff the Bus.
More local love: Touching story about a memorial workout that took place at CrossFit Krypton, VA for a fallen sailor who took his own life.
Another one: Well this one was kind of a no-brainer, as the Panchik brothers will be heading to Miami for TYR Wodapalooza.
How a Wisconsin Gym Generated $110,000 from a Weight Loss Program in 2022
Jason Yule recognized a trend at this gym: People would come in expecting to lose weight and would be consistent with fitness for a few months, but would then “just disappear,” said Yule, the owner of Harbor Park Health and Fitness in Kenosha, WI.
He eventually realized it was because they would become frustrated when they didn’t see the weight loss they were expecting, so they’d leave the gym, discouraged.
That’s when he had the idea of creating a program designed specifically to focus on nutrition and weight loss first, and fitness second.
“I’m currently homeless…I’m a fitness nomad," Khan Porter
Prior to the Dubai Fitness Championship, Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with Khan Porter to discuss where his head was at when it came to competing individually. The two chatted about how he’d ultimately make that decision for the 2023 season, where he is or isn’t currently living, and a sneak peek of the future for the rest of his teammates heading into the next CrossFit Games season.
Female CrossFit Athlete the Protagonist in New Film “Strong Enough”
After being amazed by what CrossFit athletes can do, Kaleidoscope Pictures filmmakers John Foss and Russ Kendall decided they wanted to make a movie with a CrossFit athlete as the lead.
The result is their film Strong Enough—a movie about a woman who is dealing with a lot of personal issues and “goes to the gym to work them out,” Foss explained— is set to be released on VOD on all streaming platforms on December 27, but pre-sales are now live on Apple TV.
One big thing: To tell the story authentically, Foss and Kendall knew they had to cast a legit CrossFit athlete, because part of the movie involves the character actually trying to attempt world records in the gym, not just in the movie, but for real.
“We wanted a real CrossFit athlete to be on camera, because we wanted to see this character, and this person, doing real CrossFit movements, attempting to break real world records,” Foss said. (The world records she attempts to break are some of the ones that Reebok challenged CrossFit Games athletes to in 2017).
“You’re literally watching this character, and this actor, pulling double duty acting and attempting to break these world records. It’s really something to see and to witness,” Foss added.
The casting: To find the perfect woman for the job, Foss and Kendall sent out a casting notice and received more than 1,700 submissions, but they weren’t 100 percent sold on any of them.
After that, they took matters into their own hands and looked at the top 500 female CrossFit athletes in the world from the CrossFit Open.“We looked at every one,” Foss said.
And then they began messaging anyone they thought might be a good fit. And finally, after a long search, they found their woman: Ashley Jerue.
Ashley who? You likely haven’t heard of Ashley Jerue, but the 26-year-old is a legitimate “up and coming” CrossFit athlete, Foss said.
Jerue placed 623rd in the Open in 2022 and went on to place a respectable 151st in Quarterfinals, narrowly missing qualifying for Semifinals last season. And although she had no acting experience, Foss and Kendall saw something in her. And they couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, Foss said.
The big picture: There have been many documentaries produced about CrossFit, but this is the first long-form film about CrossFit that has been produced by a major production company, which has to be seen as a great opportunity to expose mainstream viewers to CrossFit. And while it wasn’t their goal per se to help spread the word to the masses about the power of CrossFit, both Foss and Kendall are excited that this could potentially be an outcome of their film.
“That wasn’t our goal going into it, however, the story promotes the sense of community. It promotes the sense of strength,” Foss said.
He added: “When you see Ashley do what she does in this film as a character, you can’t help but feel really motivated to just go to the gym and get into it…And I really do hope that people outside of CrossFit watch this movie and feel inspired to get out and move.”
THINGS TO...
...READ
12 Gift Ideas for the CrossFit Lover in Your Life
Christmas is getting closer each day… have you done your holiday shopping yet? Thinking of gift ideas can delay our shopping, but use our guide to get some ideas for the fitness fanatic in your life. We make it easy, so you don’t have to leave your couch to get them the best gifts!
Always wanted a coach but couldn’t afford to pay for it? With the Relentless app you will get a smart and adaptable coach right in your pocket. Choose your track, your time and your location and it will program workouts for you to grow with - no matter what level you are on.
Ready to feel like a viking or a caveman? For a limited time, new Butcher Box members will receive a FREE Tomahawk Steak. Nothing says manly man quite like a box full of meats, and a Tomahawk. Plus, you’ll get the high quality, 100% grass fed meat at a great value right to your door! But act fast so you don’t miss it caveman.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
🏆 Congratulations to Liz Cole who not only took second place in this weekend’s Legends Championships, but also set three world records in her division (65yo/49kg) of the IWF Masters Championship, held in Orlando, FL on December 1st.
Kelly Friel from CrossFit Southampton in Eastleigh, England set a few world records of her own with her 190kg total (419 pounds) in the IWF Masters Championship 45-50 age division.
Watch this incredible save from Mirabai Chanu in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia. Chanu finished in second place in the 49kg weight class with her 87kg snatch (192 pounds) and 113kg clean and jerk (249 pounds).
CrossFit Contrivance‘s newest member, Avery, got a PR in cuteness last week.
Carter M from CrossFit Boynton Beach in Florida is putting in the work for his future— here he does 5 back squat reps at 55 pounds (25kg).
Sam Dancercompleted ring muscle-ups for the first time since a ruptured bicep injury forced him to withdraw from the 2022 CrossFit Games. Watch for him to be back on the competition floor this January on Team Tiny Dancers at 2023 TYR Wodapalooza.
This email may contain affiliate links. We make a small commision off of purchases made via our affiliate links to help support this newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive the Morning Chalk Up newsletter, unsubscribe here.
