Me a Health Coach?

I've felt many emotions since this journey of ours has begun. I have been excited, overwhelmed, terrified, nervous and insecure. For whatever reason and much to my surprise I feel very much led to this decision to become a health coach. I initially joined up only to save on the cost of the program for my husband. BUT as i learn more and more I am more and more impressed upon that I NEED to be a health coach. I am not sure why. I can see how it would make me grow in many ways with the incredible bonus of helping others along the way but I admittedly feel very insecure in how much I can contribute. I still have SO much to learn. I am far from feeling like I have reached my optimal health but I know my feet are at least on the path in the right direction.

I am VERY uncomfortable about the idea of 'selling' myself and this program to others. EXCEPT I KNOW that this program can help so many others and so it lessons the discomfort a TINY bit. I do LOVE to help others. I think that is what entices me the most about this journey. It's that Thom and I could be able to help others get the success and the health that they have longed dreamed for. Thom is now on day 9 and feeling GREAT! I am sure he will post soon with more details. But the thing that we were both concerned was just a myth actually occurred and is real after all. He is no longer hungry. His body has accepted this as a new way of life and is rolling with it beautifully. He is officially in what is called 'fat burning'.  I know this is what is going to work for him and for us. I have full confidence and faith that we were led to this program at the most perfect time. This is the year. OUR YEAR! We are going to become a healthy couple, family and individual and hopefully we are blessed to help others along the way!

I know I have so much more to learn still. I know that this will be so good for me in so many ways. I am going to be pushed out of my comfort zone. Although I really don't like being uncomfortable, I know that with this discomfort will come growth. I am excited to help others by being their health coach. I may not know what it is like to struggle with weight first hand but I do know what it is like to not love yourself. And as we journey toward optimal health that self love that so many of us have struggled with will increase immensely, I just know it. I know I can help others if they will let me. And I am so excited for the opportunities that I am hopeful will come.

It's going to be okay. In fact it's going to be great! I can do this. Thom can do this. We can do this. You can do this.

Day 6
This is Thom.  Today was a challenge but I pulled through! The nice thing is that I think my body is starting to adjust to the lower calories and smaller portions. The only time I really felt hungry was right after my "Lean and Green" lunch. I ate a chicken salad with a large amount of romaine lettuce and spinach, plus some tiny tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. Is it just me or do vegetables make other people hungrier after eating them? I swear that's the case for me. Give me two slices of toast and I'm feeling ok; give me 5 lbs of lettuce and I feel like Roto-Rooter just went to town in my stomach. The feeling might have been exacerbated by the fact that our team had a pretty major software launch recently and to celebrate they bought huge pizzas from The Pie and a large box of fresh-made cookies. It all smelled so good.

Fortunately, I had already decided that I was NOT going to eat anything there and went to my office cafeteria and created my now standard lunch. I ate it while everyone around me ate incredible pizza. I'm not going to lie, it looked and smelled very good. But, I had a plan and I stuck to it. I had to step back from my desire to eat and realize that this was just a moment, and the moment would be over soon, and then it would make way for the next moment. That moment could include the lingering taste of pizza breath, a satisfied tummy, a lethargic feeling, slightly tighter pants, and disappointment, OR a vegetable hungry tummy, spinach breath (which doesn't seem to last as long as pizza breath), a lighter more energized feeling, and slightly looser pants. Once I saw the outcome from this moment, it became easier to choose which moment I wanted to experience next.

 Aside from my veggie hunger, which eventually passed, I felt pretty good on the hunger scale. I'd say if a 1 = the level of hunger right after Thanksgiving dinner and pie and 10 = the level of hunger after a few days of fasting, I'd say I averaged about a 4.8. Hungry enough to probably down a Whopper without pausing, but satisfied enough that I didn't feel hangry or deprived.  I image that might be where most healthy people stay.  I'm not sure though. I'll ask around.

I just said no to this

Jamie already mentioned how hard Saturday was, but I'll add some detail.

I stayed up late Friday night and slept in Saturday. I then waited too long to eat my first meal and I think that is really from where much of the difficulty came. I felt like each meal I ate from there just took me from being crazy hungry to pretty hungry and I just couldn't catch up with that satisfied feeling I craved. Add this to the fact that this was my first day doing this from home and didn't have the bustle of work to occupy my mind and was in a place where I could, if I wanted to, pour a bowl of cereal at any time to put me out of my misery. It was tough. Fortunately, I pulled through. I did end up having to drive through the beginnings of a snow storm to buy some dill pickles (I admit I giggled a bit as I was walking to our door with a jar of pickles in hand like I was carrying a bag of Reese's).

So how is it going so far for me really? I'd have to say, so far so good, but if the hunger doesn't subside, I have a hard time predicting sticking with this for the long-term.

On the plus side, it is REALLY nice to have relatively great tasting, pre-prepared, quick snacks that I can just throw in my laptop bag and have when I need them. I've also packed a few spares in my bag and office just in case I get stuck somewhere without my food when it's time to eat. The bars, in particular, are great. I've also enjoyed the honey mustard pretzels, brownie, and ziti.

Also, I already feel the difference of eating smaller quantities of food at regular, short intervals. I feel lighter inside. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but that's how it feels. I'm not tired after lunch at work and I feel more energized in general. It helps too that I'm already down 9.5 pounds!

So, I'll stick with it for this next week and see how it goes.

Day 4

According to my health coach mentor, Thom should be in fat burning by now which will be evident by how he will no longer feel so much hunger and low energy. Today is a Saturday. The first day home around food and a less busy schedule. The hangry has increased today. He did not exercise today nor will he tomorrow so we are hoping he will get into the fat burning cycle soon!  But lets be honest, we are both skeptical that in the fat burning cycle he will not feel hunger anymore. This is a lot less calories he is used to and he strongly dislikes the feeling of hunger especially after consuming a 'meal'.  He is dedicated to continue for another week.  And if he is still struggling he has decided he will stop exercising for a week. On the BRIGHT side though he has already lost 10 lbs on the scale!  This is a huge motivating factor in deciding to continue despite the discomfort. He flies to Fiji for work in February and every pound he can lose before then will make that long flight that much more bearable.
After speaking with my health coach mentor she informed us that he could add a little more protein each day as well as one of the approved snacks to help with the hunger.  He discovered dill pickles this evening with much rejoicing!  He savored every bite of those and they did help immensely with the feelings of hunger and grumpiness.

Day 2-3

As one starts the TSFL plan it is recommended that the individual does not begin exercising at the same time. It is recommended that you let your body adjust to the lower calorie intake for several weeks before adding exercise. Well Thom received a generous gift from his parents for Christmas that was a 3 month membership at a fancy gym by where he works. The best part is that his brother also is a member and they have begun meeting there at 630 am this week to workout together. Because the membership is already underway Thom does not feel he can take 2-3 weeks off from going to the gym, however we're concerned that this will keep his body from fully adjusting and accepting the change in food and beginning the sought after fat burning cycle. Thom and I are anxious to see how long it takes to get into the coveted fat burning mode where supposedly he will no longer be so hungry which leads to being hangry (hungry+angry) as well as a lower dose of energy. These days have been challenging for Thom. The food is continuing to be tasty for the most part but he is still feeling too much hunger to be content. He is not ready to give up. But he is currently skeptical that this is something he could maintain for long.

Day One

Thom has begun! He did well today. He enjoyed most of things he ate. His least favorite was the chocolate chip cookie. But the rest of the items he chose for today he enjoyed eating. This is HUGE! We were nervous that the food would be awful. He could not continue the plan if he did not enjoy the food. I saw a negative review of TSFL online that said the food was mostly sweet, so how was that going to teach anyone to eat healthy? But you know what? I think it is GENIUS!  We all like sweetness; it is easily appealing. So when people who have a love for unhealthy food decide to make a change, their taste buds don't all of a sudden love the taste of spinach and tomatoes. Having the meals be pleasant makes the program so much more doable day in and day out.  He didn't feel too hungry between meals today. There was some hunger but he said it was not extreme. So today was a beautiful beginning overall.

I am very interested in learning so much more about this program. I have begun reading the Dr A's Healthy Habits book that came with Thom's food. I've already learned so much in just a few pages. I have not ever struggled much with my weight.  People deal with stresses and life in different ways. When I am busy or anxious or stressed, I do not eat. So despite my appearance of "looking" healthy I am not. I know I do not fuel my body with the right things each day which is evident when one of my 2016 New Years Resolutions was to eat one piece of fruit and one vegetable each day. (This was before we decided upon the TSFL journey by the way). I am so excited to learn how to properly fuel my body to get to the optimal health that I desire!

Before Pictures

 Starting Weight 334 lbs

 Normal

 Pushing Belly Out

Flexing Stomach

Flexing Other Muscles

Sucking In

Measurements:

Waist 59.6

Neck 20 3/4

Bicep flex 18

Bicep relaxed 17

Thigh 30

Chest 54

Why Take Shape For Life

My husband and I have begun an exciting journey together. A mutual friend presented Take Shape For Life (TSFL) and we were very hesitant at first, but after a few months we decided to try it out. Jamie signed up to be Thom's health coach for the number one reason of saving a few dollars a month on his food. Although the more we both learn about the program the more excited we both are at the idea of how being a health coach for others could be amazing and so rewarding!  We both want to see first hand how the program goes for Thom before we attempt to attract other clients. And Jamie wants to get walking the walk and not just talking the talk as well.  A hypocritical health coach would be a disservice to all.  What attracted us the most to TSFL was the simplicity and lack of effort associated. The goal is to eat 6 small meals a day, five of which are provided for you in Medifast meal replacements. The one meal not provided is to be a lean and green meal which is explained in detail as to what it should and should not contain. PERFECT!  Thom has tried weight loss plans before where there were similar ideals of many small meals a day and there were recipes to choose from. I spent at least an hour in the mornings preparing all of his meals for the day. Um....I have 5 young children. I do not have the time to do that right now and Thom does not particularly want to wake up an extra hour before work to do such. He has tried fad diets of crackers, tuna, cottage cheese as well as others. You can only eat these items for so long. He now cannot stand to eat cottage cheese. He has tried using the information we already know on what is and what is not healthy, counting calories, trying to choose good options, working out. But all of this did not stick. We are very busy people. We need simplicity or it's not going to happen. And TSFL offered that to us! We are excited and very hopeful that this journey will be a success!

Birthday celebrations. Tomorrow TSFL begins.

Today we celebrate Thom's 37th birthday.  Tomorrow is the big day, the day he officially begins the TSFL program. It's exciting that tomorrow begins the journey, but with the excitement and hope for what this could mean for him and for us, there is also a feeling of almost mourning. Food is Thom's go-to for pretty much all emotions, whether he's happy, sad, stressed, bored, celebrating, depressed, or overwhelmed.  We know that no longer being able to use the food he loves in these areas will be hard and so to celebrate his life and mourn the loss of the foods he loves, we have eaten at all of his favorite places today.

As his wife and health coach I want to be the most supportive as possible. He plans to eat his lean and green meal at work, where all of the options are provided in the cafeteria, so that these foods are not something that I need to think about. I would LOVE to say that I would instead cook and prepare a lean and green meal for him at dinner that we all would eat as a family BUT we have 5 young children ranging from ages 9 to 1. And I have unfortunately enabled, somehow, them to become very picky eaters. I cannot at this time switch completely to the TSFL way of eating. Thom's journey will not be short. With more than 100 lbs to lose to get to his ideal weight, this journey will take most if not all of this year. So the plan for now is that I will have dinner with the children and clean up completely before Thom arrives home for work each day so that he is not surrounded by temptation. I am anxious to learn all of Dr. A's Healthy Habits and incorporate them into my life as well as the children's lives over the course of this next year. My goal is that by the time Thom enters the maintenance phase, we will all be on board completely as a family. He will not eat separate things than us and vice versa any longer. We want to become an optimally healthy FAMILY as well as individuals.