Healthy Me and Healthy You
After a lifetime of morbid obesity, I am celebrating 17 years of being healthy. Not only have I personally thrived with optimal well-being, but also with 17 years of my coaching practice that has helped over 10,000 people across the United States create sustainable health. At age 54, I can truly say that I am living my best life and that, my friend, is why this subject is so important to me.
You see, I was morbidly obese, 320 pounds, for about 25 years. I know what obesity is all about, the physical and mental struggles. I know how it feels to believe that you have nothing to offer people because of the way you look. I know that being the life of the party is a false front for all the deep hurt inside. I know what it’s like to struggle enjoying fun activities with the family such as horseback riding, roller-skating, swimming, hiking, etc. I couldn’t even lift my leg to get on the back of a motorcycle with my husband, Dale.
One painful memory was in a boat, on a lake, with my family. I remember the day well. It was 100°F in the middle of July. Everyone was in the water cooling off, and I was sitting in the boat with my life jacket on, sweating profusely, wishing I were it would take an army to help a wet 320-pound woman climb back into the boat. I did not have enough strength to do it on my own. My husband would stand in the boat pulling on my arms while my two teenage children would push me from behind. It was humiliating!
I also know what it is like to stand in line for a roller coaster and scan the crowds to see if there are people bigger than me getting on the ride. It is terrifying to think that you will be kicked off the roller coaster because you are too large for the safety harness to close. You stand in line engulfed in fear, sweating because your heart rate is increased because of anxiety. Then one day it happened: I will never forget that moment—the moment when the attendant gave me an uncomfortable, sheepish look and explained that I would have to leave the ride while hundreds of eyes watched me slowly get up and walk out the exit. I felt incredibly humiliated, not for me, but also for my husband. I thought, “What must he be thinking? How does this make him feel? Is he embarrassed to be with me? Does this make him love me less?”
When I was 320 pounds, I would wake up in the morning and skip breakfast. I wasn’t crazy about breakfast or the typical breakfast foods. I would much rather wait for lunch at 11 a.m. You see, when I woke up every morning, all I could do was think about what I was going to eat for lunch. After about an hour of feasting at the buffet, I would go back to work and start thinking about what we were going to do for dinner. At 4:00 p.m., I would call in an order for two extra large and one medium ham and pineapple pizzas from the Papa John’s across the street. Unbeknownst to my family, I would eat the medium pizza on the way home from work and share the two extra large pizzas with them for dinner. I felt many things after such a day—sick to my stomach, regret, and guilt. My eating habits were affecting my physical health and mental health.
I know what it is like to suffer from the inside out. I know what it is like to put up a front and pretend to be happy when you are miserable on the inside. I know how it feels to believe that you have nothing to offer people because of the way you look. I know that being the life of the party is a false front for all the deep hurt inside. I know what it is like to have physical pain from carrying so much weight. I know what it’s like to not have energy to do the fun things your family desires. What changed? My “why.” It was no longer good enough to not care about myself and be addicted to food. I knew what I wanted from my life, and what I was doing was not going to allow me to accomplish my hopes and dreams of having children. Finding the program that assisted me to change the trajectory of my life was one of my biggest blessings and allowed me to realize what true health looks like.
Creating health can be hard. Being unhealthy can be hard. Choose your hard.
Just as a conductor leads the orchestra to not simply play the notes on a page but make beautiful music, we have the opportunity to lead our body to not simply survive but thrive through life. If we care for our body, the way it was designed to be fueled and treated, then we will have the energy, clarity, desire, and joy to live out our lives with the meaning and purpose designed for us. I feel health is the starting point for all joy filled living. If you don’t have your health (physical, spiritual and mental), you don’t have anything to give to others.
That is what I love most about helping others, guiding them through the protocols of the same program I used. I have an incredibly beautiful gift to give to others so they can live their best lives! I have the opportunity to awaken the desire for something more within the heart of people. I can give hope where there is hopelessness. I can believe in you until you can believe in yourself. I can help you show up in the world as the best version of yourself. Just imagine what our community, or even world, would look like if we all showed up to every occasion, every event, every conversation, every disappointment, every struggle, every victory, as the best version of ourselves. WOW! What a difference we could make!
Optimal health is not a number on a scale. How can you weigh the feeling of total well-being? It is not a diet/cheat mentality. Optimal health is making daily decisions to move yourself forward while having joy in your journey. It is having a healthy body, mind and spirit. I never want to go back to the way I used to feel. Ever! That is why I love supporting others in their journey. Your well-being is worth fighting for. Living an optimally healthy life is addictive and can open the door for new experiences you never imagined. We are truly better together. Want to go on this journey with me? Fill out this questionnaire and let's have a conversation. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOTSK64-C4F5x_lCIeaYRQLfmcw1PCkBdr23I-WuCF5TYw_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link
