Health Coach Wendy

I've been working with clients for the past month and it's been quite interesting. I've felt nervous hoping that they find some of the success that I have had - yet at the same time I know it's their journey so I need to respect that. But so far, so good. My newest client, though, will be more challenging because she's a "foodie". I got to thinking that I gained my weight with food that I didn't necessarily enjoy. I had sleeping kids in the car for the past 8 years so much of the food I would eat is drive-thru & I don't like fast food. And before that I would buy food and even if I didn't like it, I'd eat it. But my new client is a caterer and loves GOOD food and takes pride in cooking for her family. She has a beautiful garden in her back yard and even has an artichoke plant. It might just be me, but I think you really have to LOVE food to grow an artichoke plant in Oregon. So, for her, eating bars or shakes throughout the day feels like major deprivation. For me, it was hard because I wasn't emotional eating, but not loving my food wasn't too horrible. I don't mind what I eat throughout the day. So we'll see how this goes. I guess part of having a weight problem is figuring out that food isn't always about enjoyment - sometimes it's about nutrition and energy. If you can combine both, that's great but in this culture where we drive everywhere and sit most of the day, we have to sacrifice eating what we love and settle for eating what is healthy for us at the moment.

PS - My phone call from this client this morning likened eating bars and shakes to Nelson Mandela eating gruel in prison. "If he could do it, so can I" (Yes I have permission to publish this)