From bagel to breakthrough: Ben's story

Ben, a former firefighter and lifelong athlete, thought he had his health figured out.
  
But after a surprising glucose spike from his favorite weekend bagel ritual, everything changed. With his Lingo biosensor and app, Ben uncovered how everyday foods were impacting his energy, weight, and performance. What started as curiosity turned into a 25-pound transformation and a new approach to health.

Watch Ben's story

Tell us a bit about your background.

I'm extremely competitive. I always have been. Growing up, I played in several sports. I wrestled for ten years. In college, I played racquetball. I started off when I was young in lifeguarding, and went from there, spent five years as a firefighter, and then moved on into the corporate world after that. 

How did your experience as a firefighter shape your view on health? 

My career as a firefighter shaped how I view health, and how I take care of myself. I saw people that had heart attacks at early ages where you look at them and you just think like, this person's too, too young to be having a heart attack. And that really left a lasting impression in my mind of the importance of why you need to take care of yourself. 

“I saw people having heart attacks way too young. That stuck with me.”

What made you start using Lingo? 

Most corporations offer biometric testing for corporate employees. And I had taken my testing, and the blood glucose on my test came back high. And that really kind of upset me. When I first got Lingo, I was actually really excited to try it out because I want to see what, what information it was going to give to me. 

Ben will never forget his moment of bagel truth.

What happened during the 'bagel incident'? 

I have a tradition with my younger son. I take him to breakfast every Friday before school and we would go get bagels. And one day we went and got bagels, this was the second day that I had my Lingo app, and I was real curious to see how my body responds to the bagel.

But I ate a bagel thinking that really would be kind of a non-event. And a little while later, after we had breakfast, I checked the Lingo app. My glucose shot up. And I was surprised because I didn't previously have the awareness of how my body would respond to that. And that insight was extremely valuable to me. And my friends and family, I tell them, I call it the bagel incident. 

That moment sparked a shift in how Ben approached food, movement, and daily habits. He began making small changes that led to big results. 

“I ate a bagel thinking it would be a non-event. My glucose skyrocketed.”

Informed by his Lingo data, Ben made modifications to his eating habits.

What changes did you make after that insight? 

Seeing how my body responded to that, I started to make changes by reducing the number of carbohydrates that I was eating. I learned to eat protein first, or vegetables first. And really just be more conscious about what I was eating and how I was eating it, and the number of carbohydrates that I was taking in my body. 

Did those changes impact your weight? 

When I made those changes, I started losing weight. Not even with the plan to lose weight. But I just naturally started losing weight. That motivated me to increase activity. I had already been taking 10,000 steps a day. But then I challenged myself and said, what if I could start taking 20,000 steps a day? And within a matter of months, I lost over 25 pounds because I had that motivation, I had the education from the Lingo app, and I was eating healthier and feeling better. 

“I wasn’t trying to lose weight. I just started eating better — and dropped 25 pounds.”

Naturally athletic, Ben took advantage of the benefits of exercise with his increased energy.

What advice would you give to others starting their health journey? 

I feel like everyone has a health journey, and the better you can increase your awareness about your relationship with food, the better that it's going to create value for you. After I got Lingo, I shared it with some of my friends. I had multiple friends try it out. They had some eye-opening moments also, and to me it's just about increasing awareness and then taking that knowledge and learning to make small changes that are going to positively benefit your body. 

“I had that motivation, I had the education from the Lingo app, and I was eating healthier and feeling better.”