I I haven't always been overweight. In my lifetime, I've had years when I've been slimmer, and many more years when I've been curvier. I’ve had times when I thought of myself as naturally “big boned” and times when I was a serious athlete. During the times when I was bigger than I wanted to be, it's not that I didn't care about my health! It's just that "life" was too high a priority to the detriment of my health... I lost my way. And I didn’t know the right strategies that worked for real sustainable long-term weight loss and health!

As a teenager, I trained seriously to become a professional tennis player. For nearly a decade, my life revolved around tournaments, rankings, and results. I even spent four years at a boarding tennis academy in Florida, surrounded by coaches, nutritionists, and endless hours of training. But behind the medals and trophies, I struggled. I was constantly injured, frustrated with my body, and convinced I could out-exercise a bad diet. Food was fuel, not nourishment, and I had no idea what true health or self-care really meant.

When injuries ended my tennis dreams, I lost my reason to move. For me, exercise had always been about performance, medals, trophies and rankings, certainly not health and not joy. Over time, I gained weight and drifted further from the athlete I once was. Looking back now, I see that my journey wasn’t about losing my athletic identity, it was about redefining it. I had to unlearn the “push harder” mentality and rebuild a relationship with my body based on trust, compassion, and balance.

By the time I reached college, the usual “freshman 10” pounds of extra weight that many college freshmen gain was closer to 50 pounds for me. And that really started the roller coaster for the next twenty years of my life. When I'd have years when I'd grit my teeth, and try a new diet, or program, or just "suck it up" and go on a very restrictive program, to make some quick progress. Just to then undo it all again when life got too busy or too much!

Over the years, I've done various methods with various amounts of success. From meal replacement drinks, to skipping meals, to calorie counting and calorie restriction, to doing hours of cardio a day, to WW tracking apps, to becoming vegan and then vegetarian for years, to going to raw food and everything in between. And yes, some of the approaches had limited short-term results. But the thing is they were all without exception is UNSUSTAINABLE. They gave me short-term progress and the illusion that I finally had my health and weight under control. But when life got in the way (doesn't it always!!), that all fell apart and the weight came back on as did the shame, frustration, and embarrassment! And the deep feeling that I wanted more for my life! And my health! But feeling like I just wasn't disciplined enough or motivated enough or hard-working enough to make real-long lasting change!