Monthly Archives: June 2018

I am posting my before picture because it represents a time in my life when I was deep in the weeds of life. I had lost my dad to complications related to his diabetes, I was helping two daughters with the college process and I was recently diagnosed with MS.
I had all the excuses to quit on my nutrition and just buy some better clothes to hide my choices. Instead, I made an agreement that I would be better, faster and stronger at my oldest daughters graduation from college in 4 years. I learned to focus less on the after photo and focus on showing up for the milestones.  Milestones are the greatest gifts to anyone living with chronic disease.
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I went public with my journey and invited friends and clients to join me. I had some bad weeks and some phenomenal weeks along the way, but those bad weeks were just learning opportunities. I did get better with time and with every obstacle I faced.
My daughter graduated last weekend and I hit my goal. I sprinted every hill in Ithaca.

I have been in this business for years and discovered the after photo makes people sick. Any stylist can make Oprah beautiful and that has nothing to do with good health.

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A true transformation is focused on getting healthy and staying healthy. The waistline is the best measurement of health and wellness. Visceral fat(the fat around the waist) is the bodies way of saying that something needs to change.

The choices that we make today will be more powerful than any pill in the future. My favorite part of my job is getting calls from my clients on the way home from their physician. I get a lot of those phone calls. Those phone calls make me think of my dad.

I was a teenager when my dad came home with a “miracle pill” called Actos. He struggled with diabetes after living in this country. Living on an island in Greece was great but the US diet impacted his health.

For most of my life, I remember how careful he was with his diet. He listened to his doctors when they told him to eliminate sugar, but artificial sweeteners were fair game. He drank Tab and eventually Diet Coke like I drink water. He carried Sweet n Low and eventually Splenda for his coffee in his wallet. He was careful with his health.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/business/takeda-agrees-to-pay-2-4-billion-to-settle-suits-over-cancer-risk-of-actos.html?_r=0

I lost my dad 4 years ago to bladder cancer. During his diagnoses, there were multiple commercials on TV about joining the class action suit against his miracle pill. He used to watch a lot of TV when he was recovering from his grueling chemo treatments and joined the class action suit.

I am passionate about everyone finding a healthy lifestyle because my dad would have been at my daughters’ graduation if someone had forced him to change in his 30’s or 40’s or 50’s or 60’s. There is no magic pill for anyone. A healthy lifestyle requires being consistent.

Success with a healthy lifestyle is a marathon. Find the right program for your family.  You can see with my weigh-ins that this marathon never ends. Success is about trending in the right direction.

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I would not be here without those challenging days. Set a goal and realize that it will take time and patience. I would not have reached this goal without the support of my community. Encourage your family and friends to join you in January.