Transforming Pain into Purpose: Fran Garton's Journey to Body Positivity and Pain-Free Living

We've all had our battles, but what happens when a health crisis turns into a catalyst for change? Fran Garton's story is a powerful reminder that transformation is possible, even in the face of chronic pain and societal pressure. In a heart-to-heart with Fran, a champion for body positivity and a fibromyalgia warrior, we unravel the threads of her journey and discover how she reinvented her life and now lifts others through her work as a personal trainer and pain reduction coach.

We dig into the moments that define us, from Fran's alarming brush with vision loss and migraines to the liberating embrace of roller derby, which steered her toward a new vocation and a new philosophy on fitness, one that champions accessibility and celebrates every body type.

In our conversation, we don't just talk shop about the latest workout trends; we get real about the continuous challenge of managing stress and the essential steps to live without the shadow of pain. I open up about my no-nonsense approach to coaching, where the interplay of mindset, movement, and nutrition isn't a mere suggestion—it's the blueprint for a pain-free life. 

We delight in the joy that movement can bring, echoing the lessons from the life of an inspirational 84-year-old from my fitness class, and offer actionable insights for those feeling stuck in their health or self-image. 

It's not just about shedding pounds or muscle gain; it's about shedding the burdens that hold us back and stepping confidently into a life that celebrates what our bodies can do.

Book Links:

Healing the Hurt - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1738822761?fbclid=IwAR0Ee-wFu20PTz6JYtFFWl1xZy0893j1wUPIx0F93qNFdcisYqWoRIZK264

Balancing Health - https://a.co/d/b6VXWzU

Social Media - https://frangartoncoaching.com/

https://www.instagram.com/frangartonpaincoach/

https://www.facebook.com/fran.garton

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgxbhYO43_1B6y77ysx8wQ

Free Pain Quiz - https://astounding-speaker-8058.ck.page/49e53a0ddb

Chapters

• 0:47 Fitness Pain Reduction and Body Positivity
• 15:05 Managing Stress, Boundaries, and Lifestyle Change
• 21:42 Healing Chronic Pain and Finding Acceptance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:48

Hello everyone, welcome to our Spiritual Spotlight series. Today I am joined by Fran Garten. She is a number one best-selling author, speaker, body-positive personal trainer, pain reduction coach and fiber myalgia warrior. She teaches people to live pain-free. She also teaches them to identify their triggers and reduce stress with setting boundaries, with easy to implement mindset, movement and nutrition strategies. All of this is amazing, fran. Thank you so much for coming on this Spiritual Spotlight series. I'm so happy you're here. Thanks for having me, rachel. Happy to be here. So let's just jump right in. As a number one best-selling author and speaker, what inspired you to focus on body positivity and pain reduction in your career?

Speaker 2: 1:30

Okay, that's a really big question, oh my God.

Speaker 1: 1:32

You know, come on, let's just start with Bang, All right.

Speaker 2: 1:35

So you know, I oh God, it's a really long time ago I was a teacher English as a second language teacher and I had lots of stress and if you're any kind of frontline worker, you know that you don't always have charge and control over the things that you're told to implement, and you just kind of implement them and you do the best you can, even if it doesn't work, and then you take on that stress. So that's kind of what I was doing, and what ended up happening was I started getting blurry vision and headaches and nausea, and that went on for a good six months. And then what happened was I went to work one day and I turned on the lights in my classroom and I couldn't see. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2: 2:26

Yeah, and so the vision came back in one eye but was still gone in the other eye, and what ended up happening was I was in bed for four months with vision loss and a migraine for four months All stress induced and it's called central serious retinopathy. It's very common, but what happens is for many people, the brain corrects the vision and so, even though you lose vision in one eye, the brain just corrects it and you don't actually know that you've lost the vision. And in my case, my brain said we're not doing that anymore and you're going to have to figure stuff out. And so once I sort of came back from that, then I spent over a year in extreme pain oh my goodness, like shooting, like electricity going through my arms and legs and feet, yeah and I basically like I lived at about a 15 out of 10 in pain like almost a year and finally got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. And so that's kind of what brought me to. You know, I started thinking about I need to change my career. And then I started playing roller derby. I love that. Best sport in the world, everybody should do it, I love that. And I thought, and then for some reason, I don't know why I became the trainer of my team and thought I should learn a little bit more. So I became a certified personal trainer and that was why I became certified and then I started working with people and training them and then eventually, you know, left that, left teaching completely in 2019 to business.

Speaker 2: 4:05

But, like in relation to your question, I always felt like I didn't fit into the fitness world. I got big boobs, I got a big booty. I'm not like a skinny little stick girl, like I don't. I don't. I'm not a person that is going to make you do burpees and sit ups and like workout till you vomit and like this is not. This is not what I'm about. What I'm about is health, wellness, mobility, stability, balance and connecting the mind to the muscle. And I realized, you know, as someone who has fibromyalgia yeah, I would go to classes and I remember going to a fitness class as a participant and telling the instructor before class started, like I have fibromyalgia, I have some arthritis and so like I need some modifications.

Speaker 1: 4:52

Right.

Speaker 2: 4:53

I got told, and I quote Okay, ready for this. I'm already, like I'm already like annoyed for you yeah, just don't do those exercises. So I'm standing how do you know which one's not to do? But I'm, so I'm there in this class and you, as this fitness instructor, who apparently has experience I don't know, does not have the ability to modify, or somebody that has Fibromyalgia yeah, fibro, or pain, or what Doesn't even matter.

Speaker 2: 5:25

Yeah. So to me, like fitness should be accessible to everybody, yes, good. And so, like I teach fitness classes now and I am body positive in the sense of you know, I wrote a chapter in a collection of stories in a book about accepting the body after my diagnosis and how that sort of changed things for me. Yeah, and I just feel that the fitness industry as a whole and I know people are going to hate me when I say this and I don't care, that's fine but the fitness industry talks about how they're inclusive and their body positive and they're not, they're absent. So as we record this, we're in the second week of January. I don't know how many things new, you new body, new year, f. That Okay, because it's ridiculous.

Speaker 1: 6:17

Unrealistic expectations.

Speaker 2: 6:19

Well, but the thing is is that, like, all of these images and all these things that we see are not accessible to everybody and they're terrible for you? Yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:32

Burpees are terrible for you, like all of them Burning marathons are not good for your kidneys, like it's like.

Speaker 2: 6:37

They're not good for your knees, like come on Right and like so I think you know, the whole point is that I want people to be strong and balanced and mobile and realize that their body can do more things than they think that they can. And if they can't, it's okay that there's a space for them to exercise. Like when I run my classes, honestly, rachel, like I have 20 people in my class, I show an exercise and there might be one or two people that are like oh, I can do that. And then I, then I actually because I know my participant, I'm like okay, rachel, you're going to do this. Yeah, and you're going to do it this way, and like I just modify for everybody. And so if you actually came into the class and looked at you be like are they like what is happening here? Because everybody's doing something different.

Speaker 2: 7:25

I love that, because that's how our bodies are. They're different, and I think that you know we should be able to modify for people who can't get on the floor. They can sit on a chair, like all these things. And so I just think that having the experience that I did, getting my diagnosis and then just really being told by somebody like I can't, just don't do it, like, just wait till the next exercise comes, like that's ridiculous. And then all the imaging we get and all the things that we get from the fitness industry. I think they talk the talk, but I don't think that they walk the walk Like I just don't, because you don't see. I mean, okay, there's a few places now and a few things you see with. You know, not these like stereotypical, thin, like women or men, but for the most part like like Beachbody. Beachbody is a perfect example.

Speaker 1: 8:12

The oh my God, it's talking about the P90X program.

Speaker 2: 8:16

But the unfortunate thing is that Beachbody has amazing programs yeah, they do. Some of them are really good yeah, they are, and they have amazing people that are running these trainers that are running them. But the visual that they are trying to get people to conform to and to to attain is, a maybe not possible, and B it doesn't account for any kind of modifications that you need and it's not sustainable. Like that's the other thing. It's not sustainable, and so I think that being accessible and being, you know, open for everybody to be able to come and exercise is important, and I don't think that there are as many people out there doing what I do as there should be.

Speaker 1: 9:00

I think that's so beautiful that you do modify and you are willing to work with your clients to say let's try it this way. And I will give you a personal example. I love the idea of doing yoga, but I am not flexible and every time I go to yoga I get so discouraged and I've dropped it for years. And now I'm hearing from you and I'm like, hey, maybe I can go try one of your classes because it sounds like you'll work with me.

Speaker 2: 9:26

Yeah, and see like, so, for example, I have hypermobility, so yoga is like like I'm banned from yoga because it pops everything out of joint, it's too much for you, right? So the thing is, yoga is great, but, again, you need to have someone who's leading you, who is able to, you know, cue you and pay attention to you doing the class. Yeah, absolutely, otherwise you're going to get injured. Thank you, yes, yes, right, you can get injured in yoga, like I don't. I just have a conversation with someone in my class yesterday and she and she's new, she's over 65. And after class she talked to me. She said I do yoga every day and I said, oh, okay, great, like that's good. If you enjoy it, then that's great.

Speaker 2: 10:11

But I watched her in my class for an hour and I am 100% certain that her ability and what she's doing in yoga is not safe. Like I'm 100%, because I'm watching how she's moving, I'm watching my class, right, wow? And like I'm thinking, are you, I just want you to be aware of what are the muscles you should be using and what are the ones you are using. So when I teach that's what I say I'm like, okay, we're going to use, like, the back. Right, yeah, the shoulder. We're using the back and I want you to feel it in the back, in the shoulder area. And if you don't tell me because you're something wrong, I don't want you to feel it in the top of the shoulders. And if you don't have someone that can guide you that way because I'm very much about do one really well.

Speaker 2: 10:55

And the correct form and mindfulness, or just like I don't care if you can do 100 of them, if they're terrible. That must be the point, like you know and some people have a different perspective right, like it has to be hard and it has to hurt and it has to like I'm not interested in that at all, like that is not no.

Speaker 1: 11:14

So in your coaching, you do emphasize the importance of identifying triggers and setting boundaries. How do you guide your clients and recognizing and managing these triggers effectively?

Speaker 2: 11:25

Yeah, so the when we do pain, coaching triggers are the most important and you know, in the in my book I talk a lot about that and you have to identify them. So really, it's about tracking, like honestly, it's about tracking what are you eating, how is it affecting your body? And if you have pain, in my experience, if you are eating foods that are inflammatory, you are increasing your pain. Yeah, that's it Like. So I've talked to people about this and I have terrible pain. Okay, well, why don't we get rid of some inflammatory foods, so dairy, gluten, sugar, corn and soy and like those are big ones, right, they are.

Speaker 2: 12:09

And people are like oh, my God, I can't eat anything. Well, that's not true. And they're like but I or I don't have that kind of problem. Well, unless you've been out of pain or out of inflammation, or like if you're bloated after you eat, like these are little things, like are you bloated after you eat? You probably are eating things that are inflaming the gut, like that. Like you shouldn't be like that. How's your poop? Look at your poop, how's that?

Speaker 2: 12:35

I had a client once that told me I poo every three days. What? Now? I've been, that's my, that's how I am. I've been wet on the ground Years old and she's like I've been like that since I was like I don't know 12. And no medical professional ever mentioned this to you Like you should eat and poop, eat and poop, like that's how it works. She's like, well, that's normal, it's not normal.

Speaker 2: 13:01

So when I want people to start paying attention, how does the food affect them? You know, like what? What kind like are you drinking water and then going to the bathroom right away? You are not absorbing your water, it's just going through. You Like, like little things, like that. So we, when I work with my clients, we start to actually pay attention to things like that, crack your food and see, like, how much sugar are you eating? How does your body feel? You have arthritis and you eat sugar. You're going to get inflammation, like you're going to feel that, right. So, looking at little things, what are your boundaries with the people in your life? Yeah, I'm trying to go through all the pieces of life.

Speaker 2: 13:41

Are you a yes person? Are you a people pleaser, like, and you know, I, I, I work with parents and predominantly women and they're like, but my kids won't eat that. Oh well, if you're, this is my philosophy and I know some people think it's really hard line and strict. But if you're the person that's cooking all the food and they don't want to eat it, like you teach people what is acceptable. So if your family says, well, we're not gonna eat that, and then you make three different meals, then they expect that you're gonna make three different meals, absolutely. That's when you say this is what we're having for dinner. Yeah, I don't want that. And you go okay, I'll make you something else. Like I mean, that's a You're saying, okay, right, because you're the one that set it up. So we really treat people how to teach us and what's acceptable.

Speaker 2: 14:36

If you're sitting in a place where you're like, oh my God, like I'm making all these meals or I don't have these boundaries, and people don't honor my boundaries, well, do people not honor your boundaries because they're just mean? Or do people not honor your boundaries because you actually don't reinforce them? Right, you're enabling them to get what they want Absolutely. And it sounds very. I know people at the beginning and when I do podcasts and we talk about this, people are like oh my goodness, well, like or like texting. Someone talks about stress. Stress is really big. I talk a lot about maintaining and managing stress, and like when someone asks me what about when people text me all the time? Okay, what about when people text you? Well, I have to answer Well, no, you don't, no, you don't, no, you don't.

Speaker 2: 15:20

It's your boundaries and you're choosing to allow this in, right, or I have to answer an email right away. Okay, I'm an old lady, okay, so I grew up before the internet, like there was no internet, there were no cell phones Right, you waited to call someone on the landline and if they answered, great. And if they didn't, you left a message. If they had an answering machine, or you called back, right, and that's just how things worked. You got stuff in the mail, like in the post office, delivered it to you, like. So it's a very different way of thinking about things. And now we're just in this instant culture where we always have to give, give, give, give, give, and it's exhausting, it's exhausting and it's not maintainable. Get to this point where you're like I have all this pain, okay, so let's look at your boundaries and what are you doing in your life? Absolutely, step back from.

Speaker 1: 16:16

I love that. So you have a no BS coaching style and it incorporates mindset, movement and nutrition strategies. Can you maybe give us an example of how these elements work together to create a pain-free lifestyle?

Speaker 2: 16:30

Okay. So when I talk about no BS, like if you say to me, you know, I say, rachel, you know your homework is I want you to track your food and let's see how much sugar you're having each day. Yeah, just take the milligrams or the grams of sugar. And then we have our coaching call and you say, I go, okay, so, how was it? Well, I didn't do it. So my response is why not? And you're like well, okay, so.

Speaker 2: 16:53

So what's the real reason that you didn't do it? Well, my kids no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What's the real reason that you didn't do it? So I will call you out on stuff Like I'm not gonna like there is no excuse. If you have committed to doing it, just like I've committed to show up and help you, then you're reciprocating by doing your homework and you are responsible for telling me how many grams of sugar did you eat every day? Well, I just knew it. Or I was too tired. No, unacceptable. These are unacceptable things. I love this and not everybody responds to that, and that's totally fine, but I think sometimes we actually need somebody to give us a kick in the pants.

Speaker 1: 17:32

Like we do. You're right 100%. Some people need to be held accountable and need to know that if you don't show up, you're gonna be called on it.

Speaker 2: 17:41

Right and like. So that's sort of you know, let's say that's a nutrition piece. And when I talked about earlier about what are the inflammatory, okay, we gotta get rid of them, right? Well, I can't, well, sure you can. I've been gluten free for 30. Oh, I'm dating myself here. 30 years I've been going, oh so, and I was gluten-free before. There was nothing to replace it with. Yeah, there wasn't anything. So you can do it. But my question then would be why don't you want to Like what is the reason that you're protesting me saying let's try gluten-free? I like that question. Like because there's a reason, right, there's always. And the reasons that we don't do things often boil down to very simple things fear, lack of love, like, no self-esteem. Those are the things that it really boils down to, right. And then the movement piece. My philosophy is just move, like I don't care what it is, just move. If you like dancing, put on your favorite song and dance. I did a workshop last week and it was called Exercise.

Speaker 2: 18:54

For People who Hate Exercise, I hope that and all of you that showed up were like we really hate exercise. And I'm like great. So we did cardio. Do you know what cardio was? We put our hands above our head and we walked around the room. That is cardio. That's cardio because the heart has to work to pump that blood, to hold those arms up right.

Speaker 2: 19:14

I'm like put on your favorite song, like one I had music playing and a song came on that one of the women liked and she just started dancing. Like there you go, that's exercise, there you go. So find something you enjoy and incorporate that. So you know you have to really think about what are you doing or not doing and what is the reason? Like what's the real reason underlying it? Because it's not about I don't have money for that or I don't. You know, my family doesn't want to, or I don't want. Like that's not what it is.

Speaker 2: 19:44

There is a reason that you are not doing something or you're doing something you shouldn't be, that's affecting your body, and my feeling is, you know, for people who are living in pain, if you are always in pain, you don't actually know what it's like to be out of pain, and so that I live like I don't have pain, like I don't take anything. I love that Like once, okay, once in a while, yeah, sure, I'll take an ibuprofen or something. Generally there's no pain. And when you finally get to the state where you're not in pain, you don't want to go back but you don't know the difference. Just like have digestive issues. You're like, okay, well, that person, I only poop every three days. Yeah, but wouldn't it be amazing if you went every day? Yeah, not feeling right. But to get there, there has to be changes and people, for some reason which I don't know maybe I'll do a PhD on this or something. I am sup I am I am astounded how much we hate change. Yeah, because our whole entire life is change.

Speaker 1: 20:56

Yeah, and people get used to being uncomfortable.

Speaker 2: 20:59

Yeah, like you know what I mean. And the thing is, though, it's all about like, and that's the where the mindset piece comes in. It really is about your perspective. So, instead of you know when you're exercising, instead of going oh I can't do that Like I showed my participants this morning at exercise, and I and I demoed it, and I said before I even showed them, I said before I show you what's going to happen is you're going to look at me and you're going to go. I can't do that, and so what I would like you to do is go. Let's see if I can.

Speaker 2: 21:31

I want what's your perspective, because changing your mindset and changing how you view something changes your ability. I mean, I work with seniors. I work with. I have a woman in my class who's 84 years old, and every time I give her something, she's an amazing tiny little Jamaican woman. She's hilarious thick Jamaican accent, and every time I show her something in her thick Jamaican accent, she goes well, let's see what happens when I try this Every accident. So switch your perspective, because that might make things more accessible to you.

Speaker 1: 22:05

I love that. So in your book, Healing the Hurt a step-by-step guide to alleviate and minimize pain, what is one core lesson you would hope that readers take away from it?

Speaker 2: 22:17

You have the power to change things and it is completely your decision. So if you do or you don't, totally fine with me, but it really is up to you.

Speaker 1: 22:26

And it can be done. I love that, so before we ask you the last question, if anyone is interested in it and it sounds like you do in-person workshops. I mean, you have books, you have a lot of social media. She also has a free pain quiz. What is the best place for someone to get in touch with you if they want to learn more about you?

Speaker 2: 22:45

Yeah, they can find me on Instagram. If they're on Instagram, it's frangartenpaincoach, but I also have a website, so frangartencoachingcom is the website. So those are kind of two places to find out the most about me and to connect with me. You can message me through both of those.

Speaker 1: 23:02

Actually I have two more questions. Okay, go ahead. So you have a diverse range of interests, from volunteering with Don Kee's to watercolor painting. How do these activities complement your professional work and personal well-being?

Speaker 2: 23:16

Oh, they allow me to just focus on me, they allow me to keep my mind calm, they allow me to have enjoyable time where I'm not worrying about other people or doing things for other people, because when you're in service for others, as you know, it drains you in many capacities and many ways. And so, yeah, these hobbies and these interests that I have, just, let me just take a break and give back to myself. I love that.

Speaker 1: 23:44

So, fran, for someone that is listening, who might be struggling with chronic pain or body image issues, what is one piece of advice you would offer to help them to start their journey towards healing and acceptance?

Speaker 2: 23:54

That's a good question. I would say think about this question. If everything in your life remains as it is today, is that acceptable for you? If the answer is yes, I bless you and let you go. If the answer is no, then you need to decide what is the first step that you want to take. And truly deciding that you want to make a change is the first step, and then, from there, reach out. I'm happy to help and there are lots of people out there that can help.

Speaker 1: 24:36

That is a beautiful piece of advice. It really is. I want to thank you so so much for coming on the Spiritual Spotlight series. It honestly was amazing to talk to you today. Thank you so much for having me.