44 - Stories of Transformation with Thubten Comerford

Welcome back to the Fitlandia Podcast! Today we have the pleasure of meeting with Thubten Comerford for another inspiring story of weight loss and transformation.

Thubten Comerford has come a long way from his elementary school days when his mother placed him on the Cambridge Weight Plan and he was constantly being reminded he was bigger than the other kids in his class. Growing up active but not athletic, Thubten always struggled with his weight. Upon entering college, he was in the early stages of substance abuse due to conflicting religious boundaries relating to his decision about coming out about his sexual identity. Thubten describes himself at that time as, “a “hot mess.” With no attention being paid to nutrition, he gained the "freshman 50” during his first year of college. He left school soon after and joined the National Guard and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After leaving the military, he went back to his parents’ house for a short time and then returned to school only to find himself living in a fraternity house, which escalated his negative drinking habits.

A few years after college Thubten became a practicing Buddhist Monk. While traveling and still struggling with his weight, he found himself reading Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s, Eat Right 4 Your Type and was quickly motivated for change. He soon dropped 50 pounds by eating right for his blood type and after starting a prescribed diet, dropped another 50!

Today, Thubten is 29 years clean and sober, describing it as a yo-yo rollercoaster journey that so many of us can relate to regarding dieting and self-mastery. He has lost another 40 pounds this year, on what he calls “the potato-based coffee diet” and is working to share his impactful story.

Books like, Presto! How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales, by Penn Jillette, have inspired Thubten during his transformation journey. He’s learned it’s about finding what works for his body while being aware that things change depending on time and environment. Today he knows how to be mindful of his actions since they are often related to deep-rooted thought patterns and forgiving of himself when working past negative emotions or during a setback.

As an avid entrepreneur, Thubten was searching for his next career endeavor when he asked himself, “How do I do food as a business that is an expression of me?”

With his vast knowledge of business and marketing, culinary skills and understanding of video and YouTube, he recently started producing a cooking show, Thubten’s Kitchen, a 13-episode, multi-segment program that will launch soon on YouTube and be formatted for network television. His Facebook site is live, and has more information, but here’s what each episode offers:

• The first segment is a culinary training program where expert chefs come into Thubten’s Kitchen and teach him (as the student) to prepare their signature plant-based dish.
• The second segment is with a farmer in the field.
• During the third segment, Thubten meets with an artisan making a plant-based cured or fermented ingredient.
• The closing segment concludes with Thubten making a wonderful plant-based dish using all the ingredients from the episode.

The business allows you to pick and choose the cured or fermented ingredients, including Thubten’s own line of products. There’s also a monthly pop-up episode, available on Feastly Portland where Thubten shares his very own recipes and plant-based meal tips.

Stay tuned for the Thubten’s Kitchen website for his great information on weight loss, healthy eating and everything nutritionally plant and nutrition based.

Closing Tips:

• Start somewhere and do something – measure something small that you can feel positive about
• Eat the rainbow and increase your plant based meal options
• Stay connected with Thubten and his favorite canine companion through Instagram for videos, food as they continue to work on launching his show and website!

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Huge shout out and thank you to today’s sponsor, Portland Community College and their holistic nutrition program. This 100% online program is 1 year and provides students with science-based principles while integrating in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda for a well-rounded perspective on nutriti...