My Story
Mid-life and beyond has been the beginning of another new chapter in my life.
It’s a time of growing aspirations. There’s so much I want to accomplish.
Like you, I wonder how I’ll ever find the time to fit everything in despite the fact that I have more free time. I find that I’m connecting more with my inner self. My body is “evolving” and my hormones are sometimes out of whack. And my attitude toward what really matters has changed.
Menopause did not happen slowly for me.
Over the course of one month, I literally became a different person.
Out of nowhere came crying spells (for no reason that I could fathom), hot flashes and horrible mood swings.
Instead of easing into menopause gradually, it happened all at once. My doctor informed me that I’d had a hormonal crash.
Around this time, I was cycling, working out at the gym, taking long walks and fitness classes several times a day. I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening. Not sure what my options were, I began to do some research.
Time passed and then with help from a botanical plant supplement, my hot flashes pretty much vanished and my moods stabilized. I was back to my old self once again … or so I thought.
I love to move and so I studied to become a certified personal trainer.
I felt great!
In fact, I felt so good I thought I’d enroll in nutrition school to become a health coach.
Now I wish I could tell you that I studied health and nutrition to take better care of myself but that wasn’t the case.
You see I love food. I love to eat. And being a relatively thin person, I’d been able to eat anything and not have much to show for it.
Honestly, it was curiosity that propelled me to study health and nutrition. I’m curious about the world, people and places. I love to collect information. And I was curious about what healthy foods could do for me.
Could I become even healthier, even more fit?
Everything was great … until it wasn’t!
When I became a board-certified holistic health coach, I was thrilled.
Everything seemed fine for a while until I noticed my weight creeping up. My waist was expanding. And the weight there wouldn’t budge.
I pushed myself to exercise more. I went into deprivation mode. It seemed that almost every night I felt compelled to report to my guy Ed, that I’d eaten two cookies or had some ice cream or eaten an entire bag of popcorn. I’d start each conversation with, “I hate myself.” And he’d sigh and say, “Okay, what did you eat now.”
What happened to the old me?
From fit and 50+ to a middle-aged woman with a meno belly.
The mind-gut connection fascinated me, which led to my studying mindset and the subconscious. And I knew intuitively that exercise and eating a certain way would make me feel better and I also knew I needed to ease my stress. Yet some piece of my puzzle was missing.
What turned everything around for me.
I began reading romance novels. Don’t laugh, it’s true. Many of them were set in villages along the Mediterranean and many were set in France. I was smitten with the way of life described in these books.
So, I slowed everything down and simplified my routines. I redid my exercise and eating plans. I began to enjoy life and love myself more. It may sound easy, but I’m still working on it.
You see it’s my belief that great health is not a state we get to. Rather, like yoga, it’s a practice. It makes the journey so much more satisfying. It’s taking time but my belly is still shrinking. And I’ve never felt better or happier.
As a woman, I know that sharing our unique gifts with the world is important.
And the result of my constant learning, training and experience, is that I developed my own holistic health coaching company, Feed Yourself Fully, LLC, to help women in middle age and beyond keep the weight off and live a healthier simplified life, subdue stress, fight fatigue, feel empowered and at ease and step into all that they are and can be, while living a healthier lifestyle.
It’s here in my little corner of the universe that I want to share with you my love of great health, my always expanding expertise (I’m a lifelong learner) and my desire to help other women to transform their lives (as I do mine) into their grand vision of health, happiness and harmony.
This is my story, and every woman has her own distinctive tale.
The path to managing our menopausal lifestyle is challenging. I get it. And I’ve learned how to handle my menopausal body. You shouldn’t have to struggle, stress and starve as you come to grips with yours. I’d be honored to be a part of your healthy menopausal journey.
Isn’t it time to transform from merely feeling okay to feeling on top of the world? I did this for myself, and I’ve created health programs to help you do the same, while having fun, too. Nothing beats feeling great. Don’t you agree?
And since you’ve stopped by, why not sign up for the Feed Yourself Fully newsletter. You’ll get all the love, attention and care you want.
