Have you ever wondered what truly drives change in our lives—especially regarding health? It's not just about the number on the scale but how we feel and the decisions we make when faced with life-changing moments. In this episode of the BariNation podcast, we’re joined by Corby Jackson, who has an inspiring story of transformation, going from weighing 835 pounds to losing 438 pounds. Corby shares the emotional connections we often have with food, how he chose life over addiction, and the importance of having hard, life-saving conversations. Tune in as we explore how those difficult but necessary talks can be the key to living your best life.

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Drive To Thrive - Donation

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [1:04] Corby shares his weight loss transformation from 835 pounds 
• [4:00] How memories can be an emotional connection to food
• [5:27] Choosing living over addiction
• [6:27] Why the hard conversations can be life-saving
• [9:56] Believing the lies we tell ourselves and hear more in the BariNation Support Community

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Food can sometimes substitute for emotional connections, filling a void of loneliness, loss, or stress. It can become a source of comfort, similar to substances like drugs or alcohol, creating false connections tied to memories or relationships.
• True transformation often comes not from reaching a specific weight loss goal but from recognizing the need for personal change. Health challenges or a deeper understanding of one's purpose can spark this. Small, consistent actions, like daily exercise, can help foster a sense of meaning and drive positive change.
• People often live according to narratives imposed by others, such as societal expectations or limiting beliefs. Realizing the power of one’s voice and rejecting these external narratives can be a crucial step in taking control of one's health and life, leading to greater fulfillment and personal growth.

RESOURCES:

• BariNation Website 
• Join the BariNation Membership community meetups to support you on your journey with obesity treatment. https://barination.com/pages/join-our-community
• Want to see bonus content? Head over to Drive To Thrive to get more and support the podcast for as low as $5 per month! https://www.DriveToThrive.com/BariNationPodcast 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Fadeaway -  LinkTree to Corby's Resources

GUEST BIO: 

Corby Jackson is a licensed mental health therapist, advocate, and motivational speaker who inspires others through his weight-loss journey. With a background in addictions and bariatric mental health, Corby creates supportive communities that foster acceptance, healing, and personal growth. Driven by his mantra, “My consistency outweighs my doubts,” he empowers individuals to take intentional steps toward their best selves.

ABOUT:

If the BariNation podcast helps power your bariatric journey, become a monthly podcast supporter and help us produce the show! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com and help us support people treating the disease of obesity with humor, humility, and honesty.

Jason Smith: [00:00:00] Hi, welcome to BariNation, where we support the bariatric community with humor, humility, and

Natalie Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

Corby Jackson: Hey guys. How's everyone doing? Good.

Natalie Tierney: Good to see you. We're so excited about this conversation.

Corby Jackson: So starting with my background, uh, my highest weight was 835 pounds. I had lost over 422 pounds as of right now. [00:01:15] Oh, no, actually a total of loss of 438 pounds total.

So I didn't have an individual relationship with myself. I had an individual relationship with all those things around me, which I gave meaning to because [00:02:00] I provided a relationship to have for them. But because I didn't have a relationship to myself, I always wondered why I felt so empty. And food became the void of my emptiness.

Corby Jackson: It was so funny.

And people are like, what, what are you talking about? Like, well, we were sharing food. So it was like, nah, you, You let the [00:03:15] food be the source of the relationship to why you have them around you.

Jason Smith: Yeah, well, and a lot of times you do notice that that happens when the people are no longer with us. You want to feel close to that person.

So that's completely, yeah. I mean, when you, when you said that it was, it was crazy. Like it was a, it was definitely a mind blowing experience to, uh, to be sitting real time and, and kind of make that connection. And that was cool. [00:04:00]

Corby Jackson: I have a history of working in addictions. I was a inpatient rehab of two drug alcohol rehabs.

And it's the same concept with food. The exact same correlation.

Like, we, I talk about addiction the same way with drugs and alcohol that I talk to people about food when we're in Barination, food, shopping, sex, gambling, any of those things. Like, it's [00:05:15] all the same thing. Like, it's all the, the, the treatments and the things, the mindset behind it all come back to the same roots.

Corby Jackson: It's a filling the void.

Um, talk a little bit about what that was for you. Like, what did that look like for you? What was the breaking point where you realized eight 35 was that you weren't going to go a pound more. You had to do something to get that. to help her die.

Uh, it was the hospital visits I had. So leading up to that number, I would go to the hospital every three months. I had a pulmonary [00:06:15] embolism. My potassium level got low because I was trying to take too much of a water field to To, uh, make the weight look like I was losing, but reality, I wasn't losing weight.

Do you think a person is going to want [00:07:00] to do therapy with you? If you have an oxygen tank talking about it, they can do better in their life. And they're like, you could do the same. I was like, that's real. I cried. But that was, that was real. I [00:07:15] was very real. And I, and I love him to death because he said that to me and it's the things I needed to hear for it to like hit.

I did a mile, it led to two miles and it led to three miles and I was jogging it. So it became this format of, I had to find a reason of why and why I existed every day for me to give purpose to my life. [00:08:00]

Jason Smith: It's cool that you said in that way because a lot of us, you know, we get to the other side of this journey, you know, after our surgery and we start losing the weights and the compliments start coming and then people start, Oh, I was so worried about you.

And that's, you know, like you said, like you appreciated it. Like it was hard to hear. It was a tough conversation, but we often say, you know, here in Barry nation and in the community that, you know, those tough conversations that while they're hard, they [00:08:45] always lead to amazing results because if we hadn't had the hard conversations with ourself or with other people, we wouldn't have the surgery to begin with.

Natalie Tierney: Absolutely. It's, I mean, you, you started out that by saying it wasn't about the number.

You, you really said it is not about the number. It's about me and my life and the longevity of life and the quality of life. Um, [00:09:45] so those are, that's it. Tough conversation to have with with a professional and man, look where you are now. You have that conversation and you're here.

And the concept being is, I always say this to people, um, there is a narrative you say to yourself That can be killing you or that can make be making you live. And before the weight loss was [00:10:15] the narrative of this, I would, I would die by the age of 30 and it wasn't the narrative I gave to myself, but it was the narrative I believed in because a teacher told me that when I was 18 and I let that be the thing that fueled me like, okay, well I have all [00:10:30] this, you know, I have the success, I have these things, so it's okay if I die, like that a delusional.

Jason Smith: Yeah, that's a that's a hard reality to kind of. Cement yourself in to think that, [00:11:00] well, you know, if I have till 30, I better make the most out of the 30 years that I have.

Natalie Tierney: yeah. Wow. If you want more of this conversation with Corby, we're going to continue it in the BariNation support community.

Corby Jackson: All right, so my Instagram and my TikTok are the same name.

I also do a Barry Mill Experience podcast, which [00:12:15] is on TikTok platform, as well as my own mental health stop talk every Monday at 6 p. m. Pacific, 7 p. m. Mountain Time, 8 p. m. Central, 9 p. m. [00:12:30] Eastern Time.

Natalie Tierney: Awesome. That was a

Corby Jackson: mouthful. It's hard.

Natalie Tierney: We every day we're back and forth. What time is this thing? Back and forth all the time.

Natalie Tierney: you know, specific [00:13:00] Pacific, it's all the same. All right.

Well, so much, Corby. We'll continue this in The Nation.

Natalie Tierney: Join us at barination.mn.co. If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce it by becoming a 5 monthly supporter at barinationpodcast.com.