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AJ Barbosa Podcast Interview Transcription For 1/19/2022

Intro  (0:00)

Facebook Group Body Positivity

AJ Barbosa Intro & Medical History (1:04)

• AJ Barbosa is on today’s podcast to share his story.

• Crohn's survivor & Dad.

• Having Crohn’s led to getting an Ostomy

• 10 years old, going on 11 when he was diagnosed.

• Very athletic and active as a child and played all kinds of sports.

• Mother almost died as a child from a car accident, parents split, mother in prison and it was a lot on him as a child.

• Started having stomach issues and no one really knew what was going on and took 3-4 months to diagnose him with Crohn's Disease. This was a severe case of it and it was so rare for a child this young to have that level of severity in Crohns.

• Lost a lot of weight as a child and could not do much. Could not be the active child he had used to be. 

• Struggled with the dynamic of his household as he got older, angry, experimented with drugs before he began to turn his life around. 

Leading Up To AJ’s Ostomy Surgery (5:49)

• The first surgery was in December of 2009, the same year he graduated High School. 

• For years he went back and forth into the party scene and experimented with drugs, feeling completely lost and it just began to consume his body. 

• Arrested after high school. Followed up community service. 

• After this AJ got his first job and while working one day had extreme pain in his stomach and just knew that something was not right. Progressively got worse until he went to the hospital, only to be told that there were no abnormalities in the CAT scan. The next day, after being sent home, when AJ woke in the morning he could not move his body and went back to the hospital.

• Immediately rushed to the operating room after coming into the ER not knowing anything that was going on. Only to emerge from surgery with an Ostomy Bag. Everything had happened so fast that it gave him little time to even process what was going on let alone the logistics of it all. 

Colostomy Surgery (9:31)

• The first surgery was a colostomy which was on the left side of his stomach, having to remove the transverse colon, which is where the perforation happened.  

• The goal was in three months to reverse the surgery so that he could be without a bag. But that was not the case. 

• The doctor told him he had a perforation after surgery. Still had Crohns at the time as well. 

• Was not taking the medication for Crohns, not taking care of himself, drinking and smoking and partying and his body finally had enough. 

• Son was born after this surgery in December of 2011. 

Life After Surgery (12:43) 

• Took about a year to heal

• Did not feel good about himself and had felt some depression. Didn’t know how I would work or what my relationships would be like with this bag. 

• Needed something to help me get grounded again. And had a friend introduce me to the gym after I was given the go-ahead to work out. 

• Started going to the gym 5-7 days a week. 

• 1-2 months after working out, tore an abdominal muscle above where the surgery was. And he had no idea that this could even happen. He had no one to tell him what he could or couldn’t do. 

• Experimented with so many things to get himself feeling good again, but looks at this experience as a way to teach others. 

• Took about 5 years to heal this, but continued to work out and build stability around the rest of his body and around his core. 

• This is why he became a trainer so that he can show someone else the right and wrong things to do, especially in his situation. 

Tips & Techniques For People In Ostomy Wanting To Workout & Feel Better (18:28)  

• The biggest thing he learned was about the body and myself. It is the cellular level that is the most important. If your cells aren't functioning at their optimal performance, you're going to feel like crap and you are not going to get the results that you want.

• A lot of the results of the people that he helped, all began at home, not even at the gym. What are you putting inside of your body? 

• Fast food & processed foods, your cells won’t be optimal if you are eating a bunch of bad foods. Can indulge once in a while, but definitely keep it to a minimum.

• Optimize cell function by ensuring you are consuming more superfoods. 

  • Fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, but essentially a plant whose nutrient history is a lot more concentrated than other vegetables. 

  • Chia seeds, quinoa, flax seeds, and so many others. And these are foods that at a cellular level help your body perform and heal at its best. 

  • Bodies meant to be alcoholized. If we eat too much of the wrong foods, we become acidic and the acidity, mucus, etc are what cause IBS, headaches, fatigue, etc. 

• Supplements; Green Superfoods Blend.  This works great with the microbiome of your gut helping to maintain balance.

  • Combination of wheatgrass, spirulina, etc. 

Our Diets & What We Eat (27:18)

• Proteins, good fats, vegetables, etc.

• Some people struggle with roughage and being able to digest it so the best way is to get it through supplements and helping your body get more of it. 

• Digestive enzymes are really important as well to help break things down. 

• Foods are stripped of so much of their nutrient value that supplements are the best way to go to get added nutrients into your diet.

• I get adhesions around my colon that cause blockages, so Ihave to stay away from roughage. (LeeAnne) But I can do chopped salad if chopped really fine, then I take digestive enzymes to help break it down more. 

Adhesions & What To Look For LeeAnne Speaks On This (30:20)

• Need to have more education around this.

• Adhesions are scar tissue on the inside of our bodies. 

• When we have abdominal surgeries like we have had, there is a ton of scar tissue on the inside.  This floats around the body until it sticks to something, then it will tighten up like a muscle. 

• Found mine because of a blockage and just happened to find it when I had a CAT Scan scheduled. 

• My blockages are from the adhesions wrapped around my stomach and intestines. 

• If I have too much food at a time, it gets stuck. (Or too much fiber)

• More dangerous to go in and remove the adhesions, because it will then create more. 

• They don’t speak about this a lot but it is something that CAN HAPPEN!

Flair Up’s & Remission (33:30)

• Love to cook and found myself cooking all of my meals.

• Combination of the right foods, proper supplementation and exercise I could see a huge difference

• Minor flairs here and there but been in remission since last surgery.

• The only thing that has been consistent is cutting out a lot of sugars, eating whole foods and supplementing the way I do, I have been okay. 

• Take care of your body for a long period of time and alkalize your body, you will consistently feel better.

• Strive to eat 60% or more of healthy, good foods each day. Keep it lean and simple so I don’t need to fuss and fight my body in the future.

Wrapping Up Podcast With AJ (36:30)

• One thing you'd want to leave listeners with?

  • Most important thing in my opinion, is the mental game. Life begins in your mind and your thoughts become outside of you. If life gets you into a negative mindset and you allow yourself to stay there, it will only bread and perpetuate more negativity and energy that is not good for you

  • Your body will follow up physically if you allow yourself to feel that way. (depression, anxiety)

  • Being on this spiritual journey and finding out how powerful our subconscious minds are, our thought process, I have been able to overcome a lot of my demons inside and outside of the gym. 

  • Comes down to reflecting with yourself, taking accountability for everything you do and when you can do that you are more attuned with yourself and people see that and it only attracts more people who can understand who you are. 

• Don’t beat yourself up too much.  We are all stars. “Stars need the darkness in order to shine.” Fight through that darkness, keep pushing forward and don’t give up. 

• Find AJ on socials:

  • Body Positivity Facebook Group 

  • Bag Boys Club Facebook Group. Men with an Ostomy platform where men can talk about their experiences and be comfortable speaking about those things.

  • Facebook Page: AJ Barbosa 

  • Instagram: @ IMTHTCROHNIE