Ditch the Diet: Christine Trimpe on Finding Lasting Joy and Health

Stephanie: 00:00:00

Are you a woman who ever wishes that you had a coach that could help you do hard things, not just over and over and over and over again, but actually do something difficult to completion? That's what you're going to hear today in this interview.

Announcer: 00:00:18

If your desire is to become spiritually stronger, emotionally healthier, and relationally smarter, you're at the right place. Speaker and writer Stephanie Smith inspires and equips you to achieve these three key aims.

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Stephanie: 00:00:41

Welcome back. I am so excited to bring you the second part of my interview with Christine Trimp. She is a compassionate dynamo.

You know, sometimes that's kind of a rare combination to get someone who is both dynamic and yet very compassionate and kind and generous, and that is Christine. We're going to jump right back in with where we left off last week. We have been talking about becoming free.

Becoming free to become and to be our best selves, to. To get rid of not only any physical weight, but all those things that keep us from walking in the freedom that God desires for us.

Christine has a profound and powerful story of losing 100 pounds. And she is an expert when it comes to nutrition and health and sustainable and permanent weight loss.

And she knows this because she's walked this hard journey herself. Last week, we stopped and left.

Christine was just getting ready to share with us some of the other steps that somebody can take, some other tools that somebody can add to their toolkit once they have done that, that first step of being in God's word. So we're going to jump right back in and make sure you stay all the way to the end.

And definitely you want to go to Christine's site and get a copy of her brand new book. Here we go.

Stephanie: 00:02:24

Yeah. And I think that goes back to one of the things we were talking about in the beginning, because one is physically, we do have to eat.

I mean, we can't make the decision. We're just going to give that up entirely. There are other things in life that we can have addictions to that we can truly live without entirely.

Christine: 00:02:42

Right.

Stephanie: 00:02:43

Food is not yet one of those, you know, and. And so there is that, and then there's the daily ness of that. And, and I'm glad that you said that.

And it gives me pause to be more mindful of how I show up, you know, with. With other people.

Because, you know, if somebody was working, for example, on having reliable transportation, I would never go to their house and like deflate all their tires. Right.

I mean, there was no way that I would ever do that and then expect them to be happy about it and to say, oh, thank you so much for coming and letting all the air out of my tires.

Stephanie: 00:03:23

Yes.

Stephanie: 00:03:23

But it's really kind of the equivalent of what we do when we know that somebody's on a journey and we think, oh, but it's okay for us and our exception and our situation and our apple pie that won the award at the county fair. Right. Whatever kind of thing. I mean, that would be kind of the equivalent of saying, okay, I won't let the air out of all your tires.

I'll just let it out of wine. I mean, that. That's not going to work either. Right. So. So this isn't just.

So for the, you know, the audience that's listening here, this isn't just directed to people who are walking through this particular issue right now.

This is for all of us, because the chances are that all of us know people in our lives, family, friends, whatever, neighbors, colleagues that are walking through this journey, or they would like to be walking through this journey, or they need to be walking through this journey, but they've kind of given up. They just feel hopeless or whatever. And so how we show up for those people is part of how we steward, you know, our life as well.

So you've talked about community. So tell us a little bit about the community, because you've mentioned with your coaching clients and community.

So for listeners who are like, okay, I am getting the book, but I want to know more about community, because I. It's not just like, you just always go round up somebody and all of a sudden they become your community. So share about that or.

Or any other ideas that you have for people on how do they actually create that community, find that community, build that into their lives.

Christine: 00:05:11

Yeah, let me go back to the apple pie for a second. And I honestly do not think people, most people, 99% of the people in our lives are not intentionally trying to sabotage us.

I really think that if somebody is offering grandma's apple pie, it is probably their love language. They're probably offering that. That's their way to express that they care about you.

But if they have seen you struggle for years with your weight, this is where I wanted. I always want to try to raise awareness. Like, let's give them some space. Let's let that go. Okay? Let's not push food on them.

And this is why it's so important for women going through something like this to be a part of a community again because we, we know, we understand, we understand the deep, raw emotions of this journey. And like I said, we have tears a lot. It, it is truly a lot of my, A lot of us have experienced bullying.

We've been traumatized because of our appearance. We've been rejected. And I won't get into this too much, Stephanie, but people treat me differently in society.

They treat me way better now as a thin person than when I was a hundred pounds overweight. So that could be a whole another podcast episode. Right. But yeah, so the importance of community is I am, I am.

You know, my story has been featured a lot in national publications. I've been on a lot of podcasts. And so I, and, and as soon as I started losing weight, people locally started coming to me like, what are you doing?

Like, this is pretty dramatic change. So I get a lot of questions.

And so I began sharing my story pretty early in my journey, just kind of gathering, speaking out to women who are just like me, women who have experienced the frustration of yo yo dieting, feeling like a failure over and over again. And perhaps we are high achieving women and we just can't get this one thing right.

And those are the women that I connect with and I'm, I'm pulling into the community with my group coaching program and, and helping them see the weight loss victory too. So that's, that's kind of the story that God's been given me and I just so blessed to be able to help women step into this freedom. And I love it.

I love helping women do this.

Stephanie: 00:07:35

Yeah. So can you share? So both for the woman who is, is going through this journey, or maybe she's not, but she's like, you know what?

This is, this is the year that I want to try something new. Or maybe it's the first time, maybe it's the first time that she's saying, you know what? I've lived with this long enough.

Whether that's been six months post having a baby and I'm going to catch this now, or it's been 15 years or however long it's been. What could you say to the woman?

How can she set herself up for success in some real practical ways from the, from the beginning to walk through this journey?

What are some things that she might not know at this point that you know that you could say, okay, if you can set yourself up with these things early, then it's, it's going to go a lot better for you.

Is that like you need to go get A gym membership is that like you, you know, you need to do that or you need to be prepared with a canned statement what you're going to say when people, even with their good intentions, end up pushing food out on you or, you know, does she need to start going and cleaning out all of her pantry or not do that or, you know, all those different things?

Christine: 00:08:59

Yeah, all of the, all of the above, Stephanie. Okay, is what I did is what we go through in my months long program, right?

So let me just say, let me start by saying that, understand that sugar, and when I say sugar, I mean sugar, the sweet stuff, carbs, flours, grains, they all digest as sugars. Your brain treats them all as a great hit of dopamine. Understand that it is very addictive in nature.

And we live in a food environment where we're used to convenience food, factory foods, they're loaded with sugar.

If you just think for a second about the low fat craze when they stripped all the fat out of food products that are made in a factory, they started flavoring it with sugar. So, so there's sugar in everything.

And so please understand, give yourself a ton of grace that you can let go of the guilt and the shame because most likely you are addicted on some level to sugar and addiction is, is a dreadful thing to have to face. Like you would not say to an alcoholic, well, one beer is not going to hurt you, right?

You know, for maybe, maybe a sugar addict, one piece of chocolate cake could do a lot of damage. It could put them into a days long, weeks long, months long sugar binge and then they're right back to where they started. So understand that.

And then, yes, we have all kinds of strategies, strategies, practical strategies for the foods to pick, emotional strategies. We role play on how to respond to the people in our life. Like you said, if somebody is pushing the food on you or a lot of comments we get.

This is an example of one that I get all the time. Oh, I forgot, you can't have that. Like, oh, you know what, I can have that, but right now I choose not to for my health.

So we just have all kinds of strategies like that too.

Stephanie: 00:10:59

So.

Christine: 00:10:59

And then of course, I'm always just piling on scripture references for them and saying, oh, oh, look what the Lord just showed me again today. And this is, this applies so well to how he calls us to care for our health. So yes, all of the above.

Stephanie: 00:11:14

Okay, so yes, so talk to us about, because this is one of the things I want us and I so appreciate your honesty. And your vulnerability and that you, you speak from a place not just of experience, but you speak empowerment into people's lives and hope.

But at the same time, this isn't a, oh, just do these three simple things and poof, all your problems will disappear. So I appreciate that you are honest about. This is work. This is, yes, hard, ongoing work. What's the payoff? Why do it?

And I'm, I'm going to be real honest and I'm going to, I'm going to share something that I have heard numerous times throughout my life as a Christian is I have heard people make a vague reference to some scriptures in the Bible that basically, you know, our bodies are temporary. And what's so much more important for us as Christians is our spiritual growth and our character and all of that.

So what's really the big deal if I don't have good health?

I mean, really, when we look at eternity and people need Jesus and all of that, why do I need to invest my time, my energy, maybe my money into dealing with this area of my life? Why? Why do it?

Christine: 00:12:43

Yeah, great question. I will try to explain it to the best of my ability. I, I always say that when we feel better, we serve better. And again, I feel like God created.

I don't feel like I know that God created each of us uniquely for a purpose. I had no idea he was going to call me from a 32 year career in accountancy as a corporate controller to write, Speak and coach for him.

That came out of left field, Stephanie. So I love to remind women that you have absolutely no idea what the Lord has in store for you.

I have a tremendous passion for the fitness of the church. God put this question on my heart about 18 months ago. Church, are we fit? I do not think that we're living in easy days.

I think things are going to get very chaotic, really, when I look ahead to the future.

And I want all of us to be equipped and ready, physically, emotionally, most importantly, spiritually, to step up and, and show up when he calls us, like, even like picturing rescuing somebody from a burning building, would you have the physical stamina to be able to do that? If he calls you to go serve the homeless downtown and he wants you to stand on your feet for the entire day, can you do that? Can you do that?

And I just think back to the time when I had my turning point, when I was trying to climb a mountain and I was gasping for air and I just knew I couldn't go on like that anymore. I don't want to be gasping for air anymore.

I want to be breathing, living whole and well so that if he does call me to go to Africa and address the food environment there, that I'm prepared for it. So I just say that live our best and healthiest self in because you never know what the Lord has in store for you.

And I have seen, I've had the privilege to see my coaching clients, like step out with more confidence. And their lives are changing too. Like they're going in a different direction they never anticipated. And it's so fun to watch that. So good health is.

There's nothing like it, Stephanie.

The amount of energy that I feel dayto day and the mental clarity, the strength, the ability to climb a mountain now, I did go back to that mountain and I climbed it and I, yeah, I've gone back to lots of mountains. Mountain climbing is my passion now. So we should be able to experience all of that.

And not to mention the overarching umbrella of my journey is the joy, the greater joy, the freedom and the greater joy. I never knew what biblical joy meant because I didn't have a deep understanding of it.

I didn't experience, I didn't experience trouble in life that I could still carry the joy. Like I now say, I can carry joy and sorrow in the palm of one hand on days that I need to.

And I have been through some terrific trials, even a real courtroom trial that was horrific.

Since I got to a healthy weight, I never would have been able to go through, navigate a storm like that in, in my unhealthy, physically, emotionally, spiritually unhealthy former self, who I like to call Old Christine. I am a new creation and I invite everybody to come and be this new creation with me.

Stephanie: 00:16:10

Yeah, you know, I love that you're talking about this and again, this holistic way of life. And it's not just, oh, I, I lost this weight, so I look so much better. Woohoo. I mean, that has value. I don't want to dim that.

But being able to say it wasn't just about losing weight, it was about freedom, it was about joy, it was about a change in your identity in terms of not carrying around that shame. Being able to say, I'm a professional, which, yes, you know, what you are and that type of thing.

So your book is out today and so we'll have in the show notes, links and all of that. But talk to us about the book, who should go buy this book today and, and then tell us more about how people can connect with you.

Somebody that is interested in having you come and speak because you travel and you, you do speaking events. Also, somebody who might be interested in knowing more about your coaching or your community.

Let us know not just about your book, but let us know about you because you truly have a heart to serve and to help people in their journeys.

Christine: 00:17:31

Yes, I most definitely have to pay it forward. So the book is for anyone who feels any relation to what I've just shared today.

It's for old Christine who and I meet a lot of old Christines out there. Right.

People who are frustrated in the dieting yo yo dieting cycle, feeling like a failure, feeling like they'll never get this right and carrying around extra weight that they just can't seem to shift no matter how hard they try. So I would love for you to grab the book. It's available on Amazon and there are details on my website about my coaching program.

You're going to put my website in the show notes as well?

Stephanie: 00:18:09

Absolutely. Yep.

Christine: 00:18:10

Yeah. My name christinetrimp.com I actually have a page on the website specifically for the weight loss program.

The program is called the Sugar Freedme Weight Loss Solution and there's a whole entire page there with information. I would love to chat with you if you think it's something that's a great fit for you.

There's a link on my website to book a call so we can talk about if it is a good fit for you. I, I have to talk to everybody before I enroll them because I want to make sure that they're ready because like you said, this is hard work.

This is a hard thing and I love to help women do hard things. And then what else? Oh, yes, I'm all over social media, which you could just search my name on whatever platform you're on and you.

Stephanie: 00:18:51

Can find me and talk to us about your speaking because you don't just speak on weight loss issues. So talk to us about that.

Christine: 00:19:01

Yes, I did not want to be known as the keto queen when I started putting up my speaking ministry because it's so much more than that. You can take weight loss and you could substitute it for people pleasing or imposter syndrome or carrying a mountain of debt. There.

There's these things in life that we have to show up and do the hard work with the Lord. And so when I do speak, my overarching theme again is joy, freedom and greater joy in Jesus.

And one thing that I learned as I'm, I was writing about my story to prepare for this book is that I realized all those Years that I was coping with food, trying to satisfy myself with food that I had been craving. A heart of joy. There was something in my heart that was missing, that was absent.

And so I love to talk about this heart transformation and the joy and the freedom in Jesus. And he is everything and his Word. I seek him in His Word every day. It fills me up, it satisfies me, it satiates me. So I love to talk about that.

I, I think eventually I will probably be, be more known as like a Bible teacher because I have a passion for His Word.

Christine: 00:20:18

Awesome.

Stephanie: 00:20:19

So, audience, there you go.

It doesn't matter whether you are on this journey regarding weight loss or you are wanting to start that you need to connect with Christine because she has a wealth of wisdom and knowledge to share and she does it in a way she's going to shoot straight you, but she's also, I think, going to be your, your best cheerleader to come alongside of you and to, to cheer you.

So whether it is connecting with her as an individual or connecting with her as somebody who says, hey, I think we'd like to have her come to speak to our church, to our organization, to our, our group. So make sure that you visit her website, christine, trimp.com and all the links are there in the show notes, including for the, the book.

about as you are looking for: 2025

A lot of people talk about, yeah, I'd like to write one, but not a lot of people actually do. So. So you have the book. What else are you really looking forward to and excited about for this year?

Christine: 00:21:32

Stephanie, I have a huge dream on my heart and that is to reach a million people through whatever means. Podcast, speaking platforms, YouTube channel, what?

I want to reach a million people with the message of sugar freed and I want the church to lose a million pounds.

Stephanie: 00:21:51

I love that. I absolutely love that.

Christine: 00:21:56

Yeah, I call that my Eminem, my Eminem dream. I don't eat M and Ms. Anymore, but I have an M and M dream.

Stephanie: 00:22:02

I, I love that you have something clear, it's measurable and wow, the transformation that could occur with that. So, audience, you get, you're invited, you've heard that here. You get to be part of that million people.

Christine, thank you so much for coming on and sharing with your vulnerability, sharing your journey, sharing your heart and to be here to help. What is a really hard, difficult. It's hard not just to do.

This is a whole area that it's just hard to talk about whether you have a weight issue or not. Food and weight and health. It's hard to talk about that. Um, just in, in our, our circles overall, I think there are exceptions to that.

But overall, this is kind of something that we just kind of stay, stay away from because it's a scary place to go. So thank you for making it not so scary for all of us.

Christine: 00:23:11

My pleasure.

Stephanie: 00:23:12

Absolutely. So, listeners, again, check out Christine's website, Christine Tremp.com and again, those links will be in the show notes.

Share this with other people.

Again, this, this is good information because in one way or another, all of us are impacted by the issue of food and health and fitness for us, for someone in our family, for our children, for friends or neighbors.

And being able to have knowledge and information that can empower people, not just for ourselves, might make all the difference in how we can help empower someone else. So get a book, get a copy. Get several copies. Have your, your church women do a, a, a study together.

And to bring this issue that's often we just kind of run away from, to bring it into a safe space where people can talk about the, the reality of, of this in, in their lives and in your local community. All right, my friends, you know, you know, I close this podcast out with the same expression, but it is just as true as, as it always is.

And it's one of the reasons why valuing your health is something that is important because you do have an impact that is immeasurable, eternal and irreplaceable. Thanks. I'll see you next time.

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