Life, you think you have it figured out – then it changes! Let me tell you a bit about myself and why I feel passionate about helping others live out their dreams as well.
Some of this is pretty hard to tell – but, I am hoping that by telling this story you can feel my sincerity as to how to make changes to live a more ‘charmed life’ – full of vitality and joy.
Let’s preface this by saying that this site isn’t just about nutrition and weight loss. Living a charmed life means seeing and experiencing beauty in all its facets. But, alas – my story starts out with my weight struggles…
I had issues with weight since about sixth grade. I tried numerous diets – none of them worked. The upshot of all this is that I topped out the scales at 220 pounds in high school. This had a tremendous impact on me, socially and mentally. I considered myself ‘the smart/fat girl’ and to be fair, I was.
I was able to lose enough weight before high school graduation to fit into a size 10 dress (yes!!). That was quite a feat for a young girl who, a year earlier, couldn’t fit her legs into size 12 palazzo pants and cried herself asleep with a few, or maybe not so few, Hostess Twinkies.
Once in college and graduate school, I was able to connect with others and maintained my weight through running and eating ‘properly’. But, it was a struggle. Every once in a while, I would dip my toes back into the ‘diet trend of the year’ and lose a bit of weight – but, it always seemed that I would stay at my set-point of 150 – 155 pounds. I didn’t look bad, but – wanted to look better. At least I was healthy.
It wasn’t until I was 53 years old that I started to question how healthy I was – and, a full blown physical told me that I wasn’t.
I researched and met with numerous nutritionists and counselors to try to find the answers. I took ‘a bit from here’ and ‘a bit from there’, if I felt those things worked for me. And, the physical transformation was incredible…Within 3 months, I lost 23 pounds (I started at 158 pounds) and I could wear clothes I hadn’t worn in years. My physical markers improved, and my energy soared.
Now, that should have been the end of it right? Based on society’s superficial definition of success, I should have been living happily ever after.
But, no. I went through a phase of depression which hampered my ability to really enjoy life. I used to live for work, and work was failing me. I needed to understand that my worth did not come from ‘what I did’ but, ‘who I am’. For an overzealous overachiever, that was hard. Especially since I didn’t know who I was (outside of my job)! But, getting out of that job was the best thing that happened to me. I got out of an environment that no longer allowed me to grow – and, I am now able to concentrate on my passion of health and wellness – and, helping others achieve their goals.
Changes don’t happen overnight and yes, it can be hard and takes work. But, struggles make us stronger – and, I am all for that. We make these changes for ourselves and those we love.
The cost of poor health is high, as is the cost of not living a fulfilled life, and don’t we owe it to ourselves and to those we love, to have the most vibrant life we can? That is why I am so passionate about this. I want us to be on a journey where we can learn from each other and expand our horizons. I hope you will join me.
The Cave Woman Diva