#324: Marlene Skiver and Dr. Laurie Marbas - After a Lifetime of Caring for Others, She’s Finally Caring for Herself
Marlene loves working out in her home gym!
In this powerful before and after episode, Rip and Dr. Laurie Marbas introduce us to, Marlene Skiver, who’s goal is to reclaim her health through the power of plants.
Marlene has faced her share of challenges — from pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, and Hashimoto’s disease, to the stress that followed retirement and the loss of loved ones. But instead of giving in, she’s choosing to fight back — fork in hand.
Together, Marlene and Dr. Marbas explore the root causes of her chronic disease, including insulin resistance, and what really happens when you stop treating symptoms and start addressing the foundation: food, stress, and lifestyle.
Dr. Marbas reviews Marlene’s current labs and we get a front-row seat to her early progress after adopting a more whole food, plant-strong approach. With every plant-powered meal, she’s already seeing her blood sugar and blood pressure start to drop.
This episode is more than just numbers — it’s about resilience, self-care, and rediscovering joy through food that loves you back. Tune in to hear how small, consistent changes can create big-time results, and get ready to follow along as we see what happens next on Marlene’s plant-strong journey.
Episode Resources
Watch the Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EeaiaKEPoDI
Order the PLANTSTRONG Meal Bundle: https://plantstrong.com/pages/plantstrong-plan
Follow Dr. Marbas on Substack: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/
Learn more about our 2025 Plantstrong Retreat in Black Mountain, NC - Nov 9-14, 2025
Give us a like on the PLANTSTRONG Facebook Page and check out what being PLANSTRONG is all about. We always keep it stocked full of new content and updates, tips for healthy living, and delicious recipes, and you can even catch me LIVE on there!
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Episode Transcript via AI Transcription Service
I'm Rip Esselstyn and you're listening to the Plantstrong podcast. What do you think happens when you go all in? I'm talking whole kale on a plant strong diet. Well, in this week's episode, I sit down with Dr. Laurie Marbas, who introduces us to Marlene Skiver, a remarkable woman who is dedicated to finally taking control of her health after years and years of stress, prediabetes, elevated blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol. With the menopause transition, Marlene's story is very common.
Who hasn't faced the pressures of caring for others, navigating illness, or juggling life's relentless stresses, all while struggling to prioritize your own health? Marlene is the quintessential put everyone first type. But now it is taking a toll. So with guidance from Laurie Marbas and the plan strong meal bundle, Marlene is learning what it truly means to put herself first and reclaim her health in ways that she never thought possible. So let's meet Marlene Skyver. Okay. Laurie Marbas and Marlene Skiver. I want to welcome you both to the Plantstrong podcast. For those of you that are familiar with the Plantstrong podcast, you know Laurie Marbas, she's been a frequent guest of the podcast, but this is Marlene's first time and this is going to be a special two part episode. And what happened is Laurie Marbas basically reached out to us to say, hey, I think I have a really good candidate for somebody for a kind of before and after transformation in a few weeks. And so, Laurie, can you tell us a little bit about Marlene as one of your patients and why you feel she'd be a good candidate?
Dr. Marbas
Well, I've known Marlene for a while now, a couple years probably, and certainly had seen her struggle with a lot of life stressors. And she can tell you more of her story, but just kind of, you know, walking this fine line between pre diabetes, struggling with weight, and the cholesterol issue, which I know we, Marlene and I spoke recently, and she doesn't mind me telling you that we did a coronary calcium score and it was quite elevated over 1200, which is quite significant. So really, at the base of this, what I think would be amazing is to see how quickly insulin resistance improves, which is basically the foundation for so many chronic diseases, heart disease, part of the puzzle, but also, you know, of course, pre diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and once we start moving in the right direction, blood pressure improves and all the things, and of course, things that Marlene is dealing with and of course we have her labs and can go with those whenever you like. But that, that is really, I think the credible thing is just to see how quickly insulin resistance can improve. And with Yalls help with the food pantry and everything that we're going to be doing, I think she'll be a fantastic example of someone who can just thrive.
Rip
So, Marlene, it's great to meet you. Thank you for being so open and sharing with us. Tell me, how long have you known Laurie Marbas?
Marlene
Well, like she said, it's been a couple of years. We've been interacting, I guess, but I found her on plant based telehealth and that was on Facebook. Followed her for a little while and then not even sure how you popped up, Dr. Marbas but she popped up and she was having a class, she.
Wanted to try a few things out.
Marlene
And I thought, I'm in there, I am in there. And so it was fun for a little while. It changed around a bit, but now she's got the metabolic transformation lab, which is awesome. Group of people in there that all have something going on. What I have noticed though is we do all have stress. That seems to be the common thread. So no matter what the issues, everybody has a hard time because they're stressing. Right. And. But yeah, I've known her for a little while. We're friends.
Rip
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's. Who does not become friends with Laurie. So what I'd love to. Let's dive into the stressors in just a sec. But before, you know, Lori kind of laid it out as far as some of your health issues. But I'd love to hear it from your own mouth, like, what are some things that you have felt have kind of crept up on you? If you know, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you today?
Marlene
I am 64, just turned 60.
Rip
Okay, so you're 64. So what are some. Some health concerns that have kind of crept up on you in the last maybe 10, 15 years.
Marlene
10, 15 years. Okay. So in the last 10, 15 years is when I started going plant based 2013. Guess whose book I read first. My Beef with Meat. A friend of mine said there's this. Lady named Chef AJ she's doing this greens challenge. Do it with me. And I'm kicking and screaming.
I did.
And she said, here's this book. And, and you'll probably like it. Your husband will like it because he was a fireman. My husband's a police officer. And anyway, from that I moved forward and. But at that point in time, I was dealing with Hashimoto's. Not that big of a deal to me at the moment, but moreover, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, that was a big deal. I was on methotrexate. I was a little afraid of where that was going. But after that little bit of greens thing happening, suddenly my numbers started going down. And in time, my rheumatologist said, do you want to get off the meds? So ultimately, that's what happened. I got off the meds. Now I feel like a queen. I got this. I know what I'm doing, Right. So over the next few years, I've been doing what a lot of people do. Not 100%, not jumping full in, but coming from the Asheville area, you know, the Asheville area, It's very vegan friendly, all of that. You can get vegan treats wherever you go, right? Yeah, I could eat vegan, and I felt like I knew what I was doing. At any rate, what crept up on me was the cholesterol. Of course, that was post menopause. That was 2015, I guess I had a hysterectomy. So I'm not sure when that all happened, but that crept up and I kept thinking, you know, this number needs.
To be over 100. Well, it's 139.
That's not too bad, right? Nobody ever said, that's too bad. No doctor ever said, hey, you need to worry until Dr. Marbas. And so in all of these little meetings we have, I saw somebody she talked to, had numbers near mine, kind of scared me. And anyway, that's when she had me go for this calcium score. And I'm terrified, not gonna lie.
So. So now, And my blood sugar again has been. I've been pre diabetic for, it feels like forever. Back in 03, a doctor told me, you'll be diabetic in five years. Again, I felt like I was on top of it because I haven't been diabetic. My dad's had diabetes for over 40 years. So again, I thought I was doing the right thing, and I was to some extent. Thank goodness that I have. But at any rate, that is creeping up towards diabetes. It was 6.3 and it's actually dropping now, so I'm pretty happy about that already.
Rip
Yeah. So that you're referencing your A1C there with the 6.3.
Marlene
Right.
Rip
And Laurie, Laurie, if I'm not mistaken, we. We want that to be 5.7 or less. Is that right?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, under 5.7. So 5.6 or less. And I'd almost push it to 5.4 and less because in that 5.5 to 5.6 is where we see a lot of even fasting glucose still above 100. And so people are. And you'll see we can do a calculation called homa ir, which is an insulin resistance calculation with just a fasting insulin and fasting glucose, which Marlene is high, hers was over four, which are at a very high insulin resistance. You want to be less than 1. And so. Yeah, and so in that gray zone, that 5.6, 5.5, we still see people in the insulin resistance piece, but 5.4 and below, we do pretty well there. People are doing really well.
Rip
Yeah.
Marlene
Okay.
Rip
So Marlene been plant based since about 2013, but as you said, not 100%. And it, it sounds like you've, you know, you're 64 now and you've had some kind of major stressors that have, that have hit you in the last several years. Would you mind sharing some of those stressors?
Marlene
Sure. So my husband and I both retired September 21st. I worked at the health department there in Asheville. He was in law enforcement. Stressful jobs, but both of them, at any rate, we went out for a one month vacation out west Midway, got a call that his father had colon cancer. So we turned around and ran home. It was bad. And over the course of the next two years we took care of him. Him mostly. But the last six months I joined him and he passed away December 23rd. So that was bad. It was awful. Meanwhile, my parents are here in four hours away in another town, and we're going back and forth because my dad has dementia and my mom's trying to take care of him. She has aphasia. She had a stroke a few years back, so her talking ability is diminishing. Anyway, so we get everything taken care of with him. We had to remodel his house a little bit, get it sold. That was June. We're going to go on another trip out to see my son in Denver and take his dad's ashes out to Sturgis, South Dakota. And in June, his mother got killed by in a car accident. So that was another. Yes, devastating news to the family. That was rough. But we still ended up going after all that was over and came back. And now we've been caring for my parents and it's just really hard. I don't know what your experience with dementia is, if any. Probably not in your family, but it's difficult. And every day is a new thing. We don't know what's going to happen. At any rate, it's been tough on my husband and I both. And, you know, I've noticed since we have been living here, my numbers have all increased. So.
Rip
Yeah. Yeah, well, it's. Yeah, well, you're dealing with a lot there and, and my heart goes out to you and everything that you're dealing with right now. But one of the things that, and I think one of the reasons why Lori felt that you'd be great is I think you're at a point in your life where you want to put yourself first.
Marlene
Exactly.
Rip
And let me just ask you point blank, do you feel like with everything you have going on around you, you're going to be able to do that?
Marlene
I actually do because that scared me enough. That, and I know scare is not motivation for everything, but it is time. And I've toyed with this long enough. I want to be 100%. I want to take care of me because, yes, I'm usually on the back burner. I'm taking care of everybody else. And yeah, it's time.
Rip
Yeah. And so is your, Is your husband supportive of this, shall we say, lifestyle transition?
Marlene
Absolutely. You know, he always has been, actually, and he's even told people, yeah, she, she can't have a burger. You mind if she grills a veggie burger because it makes her bones hurt. But yeah, no, he's, he always tells me if he sees me eating a snack, he's like, that's animal product. Or, you know, even if it's not, he's. But yeah, he's very supportive.
Rip
Yeah. Well, well, wonderful. And so I think what, what we are going to do is we're going to send you, and maybe you've already received it, but we're going to send you our 7 day meal bundle, which makes it very convenient and very easy to basically come up with your breakfast lunches and dinners. And for somebody that is taking care of your parents and your husband, maybe when it comes to cooking and some other things, hopefully this will streamline, streamline the eating, which is a, you know, it's one component of your, your health that will hopefully help you with your prediabetes, your cholesterol numbers. I mean, Laurie, you, you alluded to this in the beginning of the conversation. Would you mind going over. Exactly. Just so we have a benchmark, what are some of Marlene's biomarkers?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, yeah, let me pull up her labs here. So her currently, her total cholesterol is 216 and her triglycerides are 213, which is really, you know, it says a lot about the fats in the blood, which really correlates also with insulin resistance is that higher triglyceride number. And then her ldl, which is that bad cholesterol that we're measuring, the cargo of the cholesterol is 139. And you know, over time, that's the really important thing is how many years has this been elevated above 100. And Marlene, you also mentioned, you know, after post menopausal that that number creeped up, which is, you know, a lot of people don't understand. But what's really interesting is her CRP is low and that's the inflammation marker. And that was 0.7, which speaks, I think a lot to just, I mean maybe the 80, 85% that you have been fully more plant based. That does make a difference. Right? You haven't had any recurrences of the psoriatic arthritis or anything other than sometimes. You had mentioned you might have a finger hurt every once in a while if something goes, if we go astray a little bit. The other number that's really important to measure, which is kind of like a, it's like a, I don't know, the best way to put it, a tracer with all the types of cholesterol carriers that can cause atherosclerosis or the plaque and artis apob, and hers is elevated at 115. And like I mentioned earlier, with Marlene's TAQ score, coronary calcium score being above 1200, we really want to see that APOB, which also measures her LDL, which also measures her, her LP, which is a genetic risk factor for heart disease. We probably want to see this closer to 50. And so hers is at 115 right now. So it'll be really interesting to see what happens. But more importantly also, I think with Marlene, you said, you know, you just been pre diabetic for so long, is getting this glucose number to control her fasting. Glucose is 116. And I'd like to see that number minimally under 100, preferably under 90. And that will tell us a lot. All her A1C. And this was just very recent. This was just in. Was it August? When was these labs done? Yeah, it was in August. This was a 1C of 6.1. Now that one takes a little longer to improve over time because that's the stickiness of the red blood cells. Those red blood cells will live to be in 90 to 120 days. So, you know, if people measure another A1C in a month, we'll probably see a. A decline. But don't be surprised if you don't really see the full effect for 12 weeks because those sticky red blood cells have to die off. It doesn't mean your blood sugars aren't immediately better, but the stickiness of those red blood cells. So it's kind of a lagging indicator, but that everything else looked pretty well, other than her fasting insulin was 14.2, and we'd like to see that probably around 5.5 or less on a fasting insulin. And like I said before, her Homa IR score was over 4. Um, I calculated it before we started was 4.06. And basically, you're taking your fasting insulin, you're fasting glucose, you're multiplying those and dividing it by 405. If you're in the United States and you want that number to be under one, and she's at 4.06 right now.
Rip
Huh. What about. Thank you for all those numbers. It's great. I mean, Marlene, it's really wonderful to know where you are. And to me, it's gonna be so exciting when we. When we regroup in a couple weeks to see, you know, what. What's happened. I think, for the most part, utilizing. Utilizing. Utilizing the power of food. You didn't. You mentioned that the. The lp, but what was. The number is there.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
We didn't measure. Yeah, we didn't measure it on this particular one. This was outside. We had these numbers before we had decided to, you know, before Lori Cordowich had asked for if I knew anyone who would be a good person. And so we don't know your lp, did you have it checked before? Marlene, I'm trying to recall if you've ever had that checked before. No, I never had it.
Marlene
Yeah, you added it into an order. I just. Yeah. Haven't done that yet.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, but we can certainly do that at some point.
Rip
Got it. All right. So, Marlene, I think that I caught wind from somebody that you did actually get the first care package.
Marlene
I did.
Rip
And so have you started? And if so, what have you found to be.
Marlene
I started immediately. Absolutely. Jumped right in. So. Yeah. And you know what? It's amazing. I'm watching my numbers go down. So I wear a continuous glucose monitor, CGM. Dr. Marvis recommended that. And it's amazing watching the numbers drop. My weight has dropped already. My blood pressure has dropped already this past few days. See, I started it on Friday. And the past three days, my blood pressure has been like 125 over 70, 72, something like that, which is amazing because I was up in the 140s over 80s and it scared me.
So because I'm on medication for that too. It shouldn't be that high, but at any rate. So, yes, I've done it exactly as you have there. And I love it because I don't have to think. I'm like, okay, what do I eat now? All right, cool. We also go. We've been going out to eat too much. So she asked me not to do that for 30 days and I'm doing that. But we go to a moose lodge where they do not eat like this at all.
They don't allow outside food in.
So I've been having to sneak out to the vehicle and eat when they eat. And anyway, so they actually went to the powers that be and said, hey, this lady has these issues. Doctors order, she has to eat this way. And so they're thinking about changing their menu for other people that might have issues in there. And I was allowed to eat my own stuff. I brought your plant based burger to a cookout Labor Day, and I brought sweet potatoes and Ezekiel bun and I was good to go. I was so proud. So, yeah, I'm loving it so far.
Rip
Yeah. Well, fabulous. That's what we want to hear. You said something that kind of triggered something in me and you said, you guys, you know, love going out to eat. You've agreed not to go out to eat for 30 days. Just so we understand, and I think so. We're level setting. How often would you say you and your husband were going out to eat? Is it three days a week? Is it seven days a week? Like how often?
Marlene
So I'm a big tracker. I track everything. Last month was 14 times. Some of that because we were on the road. We went up to the mountains for a little bit, but. And I can do well in most situations, but there's a lot of times, you know, you're getting the oil, the salt, Even if you're trying our best, we do it. Mostly it sounds awful, but to escape our house a little bit and get out in the world. And so yeah, we. But we both agreed his numbers are really not any better than mine. He has no other health issues, but it's creeping up on him too. And I was like, okay, we're done, we're done. So guess what? He likes your chili and quinoa together, so yay.
Rip
No, but I think, I think that it's really important for everybody that's out there listening to understand that you know, although you have been eating, you know, plant based for 15 years, ish or 12 years, whatever it's been, you can be plant based but you're not necessarily eating a whole food. Let's just say low fat plant, plant strong diet. And, and we all know that you know, the ultra processed plant based foods are everywhere. They're ubiquitous these days. And so I think that this will be a really important time for you to level set and just going forward, you know, truly ask yourself especially if you, you keep track of everything, you know, today was I, was I truly eating, you know, whole food plant based? Were these foods minimally processed or were they highly processed? And I think, I think that will be, that'll be a good gut check for you consistently.
Marlene
Yeah, yeah. Because I convinced myself things like you know, the plant based yogurts or whipped creams and yeah, whatever bar they were, they were okay. Right. Because they were plant based and I know coconut oil is bad but it wasn't that much. But it was that it was that much. So yeah. So lesson learned on that anyway. But yeah, I've been eating well, I thought for all these years and, and I've got a really good friend who started me on this route. The very day I go to call her and tell her about the calc score, her husband had a heart attack. And yeah, he's still in the hospital. So I'm like, okay, wake up call for all of us to.
Rip
Wow. Yeah. Laurie, any, any comment from you based upon kind of what we just talked about in the last two or three minutes?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, I think it's really important that I like the level set ideas because we have to give ourselves enough time to truly appreciate what the power of the foods can do for you. And so those 30 days of just being at home cooking your meals, you may find that you don't feel the need to escape as much because those inflammatory foods aren't causing you to more stress. Because when we do eat those ultra processed foods, our brain gets slightly inflamed, we get more anxious and so you're not feeling well and then you know, all that adds up. So I, it'll be really interesting just to see you're still dealing with the stress, but maybe it's better even if you're not having to feel the need to escape and eating out and some other things. I think that'll be fascinating.
Rip
Yeah. And if I could piggyback on that. So I'm, I'm home at Cleveland right Now with my parents. And I asked my mom this morning, in fact, I said, ann, what do you do when you just had a. It's the end of a long week. The last thing you feel like doing is cooking for you and Esty and whoever else. And she says, rip, I cook. I just cook. And a lot of times the hardest thing is to start, but then you start, and before you know it, you. You're whipping something up. And. And she said, if I go out to eat, I never eat the foods that I really want to eat. And yes, I love. I love food in general, but it makes me feel like crap the next day. And she always regrets it. So what I would. What I would suggest to you, Marlene, and I think everybody that's listening right now gets it. We want to get out of the house. We want to escape. You know, we're looking to just kind of take a little bit of the pressure off of another meal. But I think if you can figure out how to do all your meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And obviously, you know, we're hoping that the plan strong meal bundle will help and alleviate some of that. But I would find. Find another reason to get out of the house. And whether it's, you know, going for a walk in the park or meeting with friends or making stuff up now, but going to play pickleball or going to a movie or, you know, going to that bridge game or, you know, that play something. Right. To get out of the house. But. But when it habitually doesn't involve a restaurant and food.
Marlene
Gotcha. Yep.
Aiming at.
That's right.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
So, yeah, I think, Marlene, you also mentioned, like, going for picnics and stuff and bringing food and going outside, and each of you guys had talked about that, which is.
Marlene
Yeah, when it's cool. That's nice. Florida's been blazing hot, but it's cooling off. And.
Rip
Yeah.
Marlene
And we have a. We have a pontoon boat, so we.
Marlene
Will go out on the water. We take picnics, and we're really good there. So. Awesome. We got to stay out at the restaurants. It's just an excuse to do something different.
Rip
Yeah, no, totally. What about movement? What about exercise? Is that something that you're able to consistently get in?
Marlene
Absolutely. Again, Dr. Marbas, thank you. She's amazing. And everybody should read substack, and she'll give you lots of hints about that. But anyway, so, yeah, every day I do something. I'm either walking. I'm trying now to walk early in the morning so I can get that blue light, you know, that first Morning light, which is interesting how that helps. Makes you sleep better. Didn't believe that. But anyway, so I do some walking.
And I do it at a brisk pace, but I also have a makeshift gym in the house. You know, some resistance bands, some dumbbells, a weight bench. We even have a bow flex. I'm not a fan, but anyway, so, yeah, I have a little routine. She actually told me about an app. So I have my little routine on the app. My routines are named Dr. Marbas, fat loss routine, whatever it is, you know, flexibility. So I aim at those things, you know, several times a week, and I put that on my calendars. Have a little tennis shoe for when I walk that's a sticker. I have a little heart for when we don't eat out. And I have a little dumbbell that's a sticker for when I do resistance. So those are my rewards. Me happy, my habits that make me happy. So.
Rip
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then what about the especially. It sounds like, you know, you've. You've got a lot of stress that. That you're dealing with right now. Is there anything besides exercise, like meditation or breathing exercises that you're starting to incorporate to help with that?
Marlene
I am trying to do some of that. So we have a. In Florida, we call them a lanai. And the rest of the south is a back porch. But so I go out there, and it's kind of nice because I can still see the morning light and just sit quietly for a little while and just 10, 15 minutes. But it does help. And. Yeah, and then I take my blood pressure, so. But I like that. So these things are new to me, but I'm trying to incorporate anything I can. Yeah, yeah.
Rip
Well, well, well, Wonderful. Well, this is.
Marlene
And more importantly, your daddy. And again, in the south, we say daddy, but anyway, your daddy's green. Six times a day I'm doing that and duck off. I don't like that. That's really good. With the vinegar, you know, I make a instant pot full of greens, steam them down a little bit, and then I have something to go to every time. Just pull them out of the fridge and heat them and eat them.
Rip
Well, he'd be. He'd be super proud of you.
Marlene
Well, yeah.
Rip
And six times a day is fabulous. Yes. He just wants that nitric oxide coming out of your nostrils, your ears, and your mouth.
Marlene
Well, I'm trying.
You tell him I don't have any fluoride in my toothpaste either. And no mouthwash. I'm doing all the things I can, but yeah, I've been following him for a long time too. And Ann and Jane, I love them so.
Rip
Yeah, thank you. Well, this has been absolutely wonderful. Marlene and Dr. Lori Marbus. I can't wait when we get to regroup. And what are you thinking, Lori? How many weeks?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
I think three or four weeks. We do some additional labs and we'll see where we're sitting and we'll go from there.
Rip
Great. Well, please reach out to me when you think it's a great time for us to regroup. And I can't wait to touch base with you, Marlene and Marlene. Yeah. All right, thank you. Have a great day and keep it playing strong. This bump.
Boom, boom. Thanks.
Rip
All right, Plantstrong crew. It has been just over a month since Marlene started the Plant Strong meal plan bundle. If you're not familiar, it's a pantry ready, done for you kit that helps you or a loved one eat really well and heal strong. And in addition to eating this way, Dr. Laurie Marbas has also been coaching Marlene. So as you can imagine, the last month has thrown its own set of curveballs and hurdles. There's been travel, a family wedding, illness, it's a lot. And still Marlene has done her best to prioritize herself and her health. So today we are back to hear what kind of changes Marlene has seen in her labs, her body, her weight, and especially her mindset. Let's welcome back Marlene Skiver and Dr. Laurie Marbas. Dr. Laurie Marbas, good to see you again. Marlene Skiver, really wonderful to see you. But you know, before we, we kind of dive into this follow up conversation because I think it's been almost five weeks. Marlene, you're in Florida, right?
Marlene
Crystal River. Crystal River.
Rip
And you're out on the lanai.
Marlene
On the lanai.
Rip
All right, wonderful. How far are you from the water there?
Marlene
About 10 minutes from the K. Uh huh.
Rip
Wonderful. And then Laurie, you're in wonderful Las Vegas.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yes, we're in Vegas for the moment. Yeah. One of our kids settle here, so. But it's not bad right now. Not bad at all.
Rip
You mean like heat wise or what?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Heat wise. And there's tons of, there's so many outdoors activities. So we're keeping fun, keep having fun.
Rip
Well, we love it. Well, I am super excited to catch up with, with both of you because you know Marlene, the last we spoke you were, you were, you know, you had a lot of stressors going on in your life. You've been taking care of everybody in your family except for. It sounds like yourself. Haven't really haven't made that a priority. And. And, you know, you've been working with Dr. Laurie Marbas, who's very, very close to the whole Plantstrong team and part of the Plantstrong team, to try and kind of turn your trajectory around the prediabetes, the weight gain, the high cholesterol, some of these things. So I think this is just a great conversation to check in five weeks later after going in and exercising and eating. Eating well and seeing the results. So, Laurie or Marlene, do either one of you want to go first?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Marlene, why don't you tell them what you have noticed with your weight loss, blood pressure, all that, and then we can dive into the numbers on the whole thing.
Marlene
Okay. Okay. So everything dropped. Everything dropped. And, yeah, so it started out with my calcium score being crazy stupid high 1200. And then we find out that LP was 175 Cebu.
But.
Everything has dropped down. Even my A1C has dropped. Not dramatically, but I think it's still dramatic. From 6.1 to 6. My fasting glucose this morning was 98, so yay me.
That felt pretty good.
I have lost 10.4 pounds, but who's counting? And, you know, I have. I look back, I keep records like a crazy woman, but I have not weighed that since 20, 2020. So I was feeling pretty good. I've bounced around the same numbers, you know, gain two, lose two for that many years. Wow. Working hard at it. Who knew it was this easy? But anyway, yeah, lost that. And blood pressure is now normal. This morning was 125 over 70. I'm pretty tickled about that because I was hanging in the 140s over 80s, even on meds. And we talked about stress, Dr. Marbitz and I. And I thought, gosh, what do I do to fix this stress, though?
You know, it was a little more.
Than stress, wasn't it? But, yep, so exercising, doing all the things, and it's working. It's great and super easy, actually. And I'm learning how to, like, take.
It with me wherever I go.
So that's helpful. And so, yeah, I flew. So I flew to Denver. I've got twin boys, both getting married. Well, one got married. Both, but one is getting married in July. So we went dress hunting. What an adventure that was.
The restaurant. Everything was served with duck confit, duck fat, everything, everything. So they said, but you can talk to the, you know, the folks there and they'll make you something. They said, okay. So I found a bean rice burrito breakfast burrito thing and it's a fancy pants restaurant. And I said, well, can I do that? She said, sure, you can do that. And some guy said, did I hear you're vegan? I said, yes. He said, you can't have the beans, they have lard in them. I'm like, okay, I'm having a rice burrito, paying $25 for it, but that's okay. But no, it ended up they made me a salad, but it was greens with avocado and some berries. But I was thrilled. So I navigated that and the rest was easy enough.
But then we went to the wedding. But everybody made sure I had, you know, vegan fare there. So that was nice and not oily. Actually, I was surprised. It was like steamed cauliflower and veggies with a. Some sort of a red pepper sauce. Anyway, everywhere I went there they were accommodating. So yeah, I probably got some. I know I got some olive oil. New daughter in law's family's Greek. And they said that olive oil is a food group where they're from.
Rip
Of course it is.
Marlene
So anyway, but I got past all that and when I came home, I'd lost a pound, so I must have done ok. But yeah, I flew your stews and cereal and all that to Canada with me. And yeah, we made it work. So you didn't ride the motorcycle there, did you?
No, no, we know we did ride it once from the mountains in North Carolina all the way to California coast and we might have learned our lesson on that. So. But yeah, no, we did not. And anyway, I'm learning to navigate, you know, little motorcycle trips with our friends because it always ends up at like a diner or, you know, that kind of food. And I'm left with some wilted lettuce and a tomato or two. So I found this thing called Hot Logic. It's a lunch box with a little hot plate in it. You plug it into your 12 volt in the car, in our case, in the motorcycle. I can throw that box of stew in there and by the time I get there it'll be hot. It's 30 minutes to heat it up. I'm thinking of potato and stew and I'm good to go because anywhere we go it's more than 30 minutes anyway.
Rip
But yeah, well, yeah, so I think it's. What I love about that is that you are kind of taking control of your destiny and doing little things. Like you got that hot logic, you're carrying the appropriate food with you, you're learning how to get creative and think outside the box. And I think for somebody like yourself who's, you know, you're in your mid-60s now and facing a lot of these health conditions, now is the time to get on top of it. So, as you said before we went on the air, you can live to be 103 like Stan.
Marlene
That's right. That's right. That's the goal. I just, you know, after all the stresses of seeing what my. My folks are going through, I just. I cannot do that, you know? And, I mean, even in Canada, the night of the wedding, we get back at like two, and I got a call from the family. I had to call 91 1-from Canada to come help my dad because he'd fallen out of the bed. And, you know, that lasted about an hour talking to hospice nurses and such as that. So now I'm pretty much grounded, I think, because he's bedridden and it's getting harder.
But.
But, you know, that doesn't give me the excuse to not do this. So. Yeah. Yeah.
Rip
Well, you. So you mentioned you're doing a lot of these. These little things. Like, you're. You're exercising, right? You're doing weights.
Marlene
I'm lifting heavy things. Rip.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Okay.
Rip
Like what?
Jars or cans of black beans? Or are we talking like dumbbells here?
Marlene
At my dumbbells over here, I've got dumbbells and kettlebells and got a slam ball, got a weight bench, and we have a bow flex that I don't love, but I do it anyway. They're kind of fun.
Rip
Well, tell me that. I think. Tell me this, and then I want to turn it over to you, Dr. Marbas. But that is so for people that are listening right now that, like you, they've got a lot of stressors in their life. They've got a lot of family members that they are caretakers of. What advice would you give them to? Like, what's the first step in prioritizing you? Because we all know if you're not taking care of yourself and you're not healthy, you can't take care of anybody else. So, like, what was the mind shift that you. That you did that enabled you to do what you're doing now?
Marlene
Hmm? Well, it didn't hurt that everything you have is simple. I didn't have to think so hard because when I am caring for everybody and making different dinners for every now I'm like making four dinners because my mom eats different from my dad, who eats different from my husband, who eats different from me. So you know, it's just so nice to know I have that sitting in there and I don't have to think about it. And, you know, I've got dinner, good to go. That was a bit of a game changer. Plus, Dr. Marva's telling me over and over, you know, the low glycemic foods. The low glycemic foods. I'm like, you know what? She's right. Because I will say I love the pancakes, but they bump me up still. But if I put zucchini in them, they don't. Now, you can't put too much zucchini in them because they don't come out as good waffles that way.
But lesson learned.
But it does work. Or eating all those low, low glycemic veggies before I eat the. You know, the more carby stuff definitely works. I learned that lesson. The other thing is, she'd already kind of, you know, focused me in on this was the exercise. It's super important. If I don't do that, everything falls apart for me. I have to do it just to get out in the sunshine, see that blue sky in the morning. And, you know, I do my walk before I do any other. The weight stuff. And anyway, that's just been pivotal for me is the exercise. So.
Rip
And are you. So you're prioritizing the exercise and is that, like, one of the first things you do every morning?
Marlene
It is, yeah. I get out, and in the evening, I do a walk after dinner so I can make sure the blood sugar goes where it's supposed to go. Or just even after lunch yesterday, I came out here and did a few weights just to get that down. And you know what? It only took, like. It was stupid. It was like five minutes. And I watched it go. Ooh. I was like, okay, okay. So I know I've got control of that, and that's essential for me. I want to make sure I've got this blood sugar down pat. So, yeah, I mean, all the. All the parts of the puzzle make sense now. You know, it's also interesting. I keep a little log on a calendar, and I put down there, like, did I walk? Did I lift weights?
Did I.
How many calories? How much fat? What's my weight? All of that.
The whole month I've been doing this or whatever, five weeks it is. My fat never went over 30 grams. It mostly stayed around 25. I was like, isn't that interesting? Because before that, it was, you know, 35, 40, 50, 60, even more sometimes. And I didn't see that as that critical, but apparently it is for me. I guess it is for me, the insulin resistance, all of that.
Rip
So, so, so just so that you know, all the listeners understand what you just said about your fat intake. So you're monitoring it. Are you using an app?
Marlene
Yes, chronometer.
Rip
Yeah, yeah, chronometer. So 25 grams. So 25. And I'm assuming that's 25 grams for the day. Is that right?
Marlene
Yay. And roughly 1500 calories for the day. Okay, stay.
Rip
Right. And so let's just like do the quick math on that. I mean, if it's 25 grams, I multiply that by 10, that's 250 calories.
Marlene
So.
Rip
And if you're consuming. What are you usually consuming? 2000 calories a day or more?
Marlene
About 1500 right now.
Rip
Yeah, 1500.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
Rip
So you know, so that's like what, 8, 16, 17% of your calories coming from fat.
Marlene
Yeah, got it.
Yeah.
Rip
So, Laurie, what are your thoughts on Marlene and her results and how she's doing?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
First of all, I want to applaud Marlene for doing this because I know she's been working on this for such a really long time and really deciding to make a decision. Right. Because you've known what to do for so long. You just made a decision. Right. And once you make the decision, even though you still have the same stressors and you're traveling, things fall into place. Because until someone actually commits is like, oh, I'll try. Yeah, that means you're gonna, you're not going to. But if I will. Absolutely. And make a plan and just work the plan. And you made it small and simple. This is, this is about as easy as it gets. So when it comes to your labs, I think the important thing one is the blood pressure is decreasing, which is huge. I mean, that 15, 20 point drop on your systolic blood pressure is huge. It's taking less stress off your kidneys, your heart, everything. That alone will decrease inflammation. I'm assuming your energy has also been up with the exercise.
Marlene
I'm not wanting to nap every day at 2 o'. Clock, you know. Yeah, I've got energy again.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Exactly. And then as we, you know, decrease medications, you know, some of those medications sometimes have side effects of fatigue or stuff, and that should even continue to improve. And so I think what we wanted to. I wanted to bring another home. A really important point is that fasting blood sugar that. Because when we checked your LABS Back in August 2nd, your fasting blood sugar was 116. And you said this morning was 98. So are you seeing your fasting blood sugar typically trending under 100 most mornings? Every morning.
Marlene
And that's a new thing for me. Yeah.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
That is huge. Right. So what that tells me is that your body is able to handle just your normal blood sugar. Right leg. So once I start seeing blood sugar dropping under 100 overnight, we're definitely moving the needle for your insulin resistance. Plus we saw your A1C drop a little bit, which is. It's only been two months. We get a. Typically, when you check A1C, it's every three months, because remember, it's the stickiness of the red blood cells. And those red blood cells live 90 to 120 days. So your blood, your A1C. True, A1C is probably even lower, but some of those blood cells haven't died off yet. And so I think that's an important thing to remember. And. But when you see even that point one drop in a short period of time, I think you're gonna be really pleased in another month or two. Especially if you keep going the way you're going.
Marlene
Yeah.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Oh, I believe it. I've not seen. And I've known Marlene for a long time, and I. I haven't seen you like this. Like, it's like this. Finally put it all together for you. And so even under the. A very difficult stress situation and traveling, I don't think we could have added more. Like, you have family dynamic stress, you have travels.
Marlene
Well, don't. I was sick for three weeks. Put that in.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
You were sick. That's right. I forgot you had some type of viral infection on top of it.
Marlene
It was crazy. I had tucked in like mints in my dress walking down the aisle with my son because I'm like, I can't cough. I can't cough. So it was crazy. And yeah, but that made my sugar do wacky things, you know, going up and down. And I'd even asked her, what about these sugar free cough drops? Because I bet I had a thousand. It's just. It was just an insane month of all kinds. You know what was wild, though, was the plane ride. One of them was a little bumpier than I wanted. And I watched my sugar go up with that. That's something involved. It just went.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Stress.
Marlene
Yeah. So.
And I watch it with my dad.
When things are getting out of control a little bit, I'm watching it jump up a little because there's no other explanation. But.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, but the cortisol will raise your blood Sugar. So you're stressed out. So that this is. I mean, illness, family stress, and travel, and you still had tremendous response. And so if you can do it during that time. That's incredible.
Marlene
Absolutely.
I mean, I feel like I figured out the puzzle finally. Well, I didn't figure out. Y' all figured it out for me, but.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
No, no, you figured it out in your own life.
Marlene
I've tried for so long to put all this documentation together that I, you know, that I'd have.
I'm like, what?
What is it? What is wrong? And so, yeah, even eating, you know, vegan treats for a snack that you think are okay, apparently not for me. So like I said, I might be that plant perfect group instead of plant strong, but I don't know, I'm going to stay plant strong, so. And I'm learning how to do fun things. With all your food rep. Did you know you can make meatloaf out of those burgers?
Rip
I don't know quite what that means.
Marlene
Everybody was having meatloaf that night, and I thought, you know what? I want to do that. So I mixed up the mix and I put it in a little baby meatloaf pan and put some ketchup in there and put some on top, and I just baked it and I put some onions in it, and it became meatloaf for me. So that was fun.
And.
Yeah, just different things. I've played with the foods to see what I could come up with.
Rip
You know, a cool little trick that we've been doing with the pancake and waffle mixes is you just throw a little bit into a bowl.
Marlene
Yeah.
Rip
And you. You might want to do your zucchini in there as well. And then you throw it in a microwave for exactly 1 minute and 15 seconds, and it was great.
Yeah, it works like a cupcake.
Marlene
Yeah.
Yeah. So, yeah, like I said, I got my husband eating that. At least he's eating the breakfast. Well, I made. We call it cowboy chili. I think you did it to putting the cornbread on top of the chili. My family loved that he ate it up, and he's a meat eater, so he's trying to do. But yeah, it's.
Rip
That's really. That's really. That's really fun and easy. Another really fun, easy one is you can take. I think it works well with the. With the spiced lentil stew. You put two of those in the bottom of your casserole dish, and then you just put some mashed potatoes on top. You mash the potatoes with some nutritional yeast and some Plant based milk and some spices. And it's very similar to that, that cowboy chili you just talked about.
Marlene
Yeah, that sounds like a. What do you call that?
Rip
The shepherd's pie.
Marlene
Shepherd's pie, There we go. Yeah, I'll do that. Yeah, yeah. So I'm incorporating all kinds of foods. I'm not just, you know, living on that because I don't want people thinking you gotta have only that. But it is so nice to have it out there, you know, and in the freezer or whatever ready to go in the pantry. And Alexa, the pizza throws together in no time at all. I pile every vegetable I can think of on that and little nutritional yeast and I'm good. That's delicious. With. And I'm eating the greens, you know, as per your dad, throughout the day.
Rip
Yeah. Do you have a. Do you have a way that you prefer to have the greens?
Marlene
Well, so I put them in the instant pot on steam because your mom said make a whole bunch at once. And I just make a whole batch. It usually lasts me a couple days and I can just dip it out of that. In the mornings. I like to put it in my oats. So yeah, like the arugula, throw that in there, you know, the savory oats.
Like again, like your mom, but she's.
A little hardcore with the. All the stuff she puts in there. Trying the ginger, that's interesting, you know, but yeah, I just get them any Different way I can. If I can't find anything else, I'll just grab a handful and heat it for a minute and eat it just like it is. But I've got a whole cabinet full of balsamic, so that works. Something to put that.
Rip
But yeah, well, so Marlene and Laurie it just sounds like you have become. Well, I think Laurie said it perfectly. You made the decision. And once you made the decision, the intentionality that you have taken throughout the day is a testament to, I think, what you've achieved over the last several weeks. And I'll just speak for myself, I couldn't be more happy for you, more proud of you. And you know, sometimes it's not easy to do your own thing and go in your own direction, but ultimately this will pay off in spades. And so I know that this is not the last time we will speak, but, you know, you have, you've started the journey. The journey is going swimmingly well. And I just want to wish you all the best as you continue down this path of self love and self nurturing and prioritizing. You, Marlene Skiver, who loves yourself.
Marlene
Well, thank you for the opportunity, both of you, because, you know, I don't know that I would have figured it out. Do not let me do this. So. I appreciate it so much. You have no idea.
Rip
Yeah. Laurie, any last words from you?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yeah, I think, Marlene, you already had it figured out. Like I said, you just had to make a decision. I mean, you're right. I mean, you already knew what to do. You can tell everyone, even you've been doing, that you're well educated. But until you actually put your knowledge into moving your habits every day and make the decision, you just had some added pressures, and some things kind of came together as a perfect storm for you, and you responded like a resilient human that you are. And I love it. So congratulations.
Marlene
You know, it's funny. Years ago, Dr. Furman said something about when you go out to eat and you say, there's nothing there for me, it's really just an excuse to eat what's there because you want it anyway. You just have to know that that's what you're doing. And I thought, oh, that was harsh. But that's true. That is true. And we were using that as an excuse to go out and escape. And, you know, I'm doing the best I can, but we don't do that anymore. We. I mean, we drop that like a rock, so.
Rip
Well, isn't that interesting? Because I think the last time we spoke, you mentioned how you and your husband would, you know, to get out of the house. New scenery. You'd be. You'd go out to eat several times a week.
Marlene
Yeah. Now, we plan around when lunch is, and so if we're getting out of the house, we eat before we go, or we make sure we go early enough. And he's eating hummus sandwiches with veggies on. Who knew this steak and potatoes, man. And he likes it, so. Yay. I'm working on it.
Rip
You know, that reminds me of a joke. It's. I think it's a daddy joke. I saw it on Chris Beats Cancer. His. His Instagram feed. Let me see if I can get it right. So what's the difference between Black Eyed Peas and chickpeas? I don't know. That's okay. I'll help you out. So Black Eyed Peas can sing a song. Chickpeas, hummus one.
Marlene
That is a dad joke.
It is.
Rip
It is.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
That's brilliant. Black Eyed Peas to us.
Marlene
Yeah.
Rip
Yes. Well, hey, Marlene and Laurie, can you give me a plan? Strong fist bump on the way out. Plantstrong. Go, go. Marlene, Lori, I'll see you in just a little bit.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
Yes, sir.
Marlene
All right, guys, thank you.
Rip
Thank you. Thank you, Marlene, for going all in with with the Plant Strong meal plan bundle. It really is the easy button when it comes to pressing play for breakfast, lunch and dinners that are convenient and keep you compliant. I also want to thank Dr. Laurie Marbas for her thoughtful insight, guidance and advice. And I want to thank all, all of you for listening to this powerful episode. If you or a loved one are interested in this same meal plan, I'll be sure to drop a link in today's show notes so that you too can check out this powerful toolbox of real food, the plant strong way. So with that, be sure to lean into yourself, the plants and also always, always keep a Plant Strong.
