Today is my 6th “rebirthday”. It started with breaking an all-out addiction to sugar in general and Coca- Cola in particular when I gave up both for Lent on 2/13/13. After a few weeks of intense crabbiness, I noticed I was feeling better than I had in years. I gradually started making more healthy food choices, and after a while, joined a gym. Soon, physical changes joined the mental, emotional and spiritual work I had been doing for several years, eventually leading to the total transformation of my body and life. For the first time in my life, I was treating myself with kindness and respect, accepting and loving my body in spite of, and because of, its flaws. Finally, I found peace with food. Food wasn't good or bad, and neither was I for what I chose to eat. At last, it was neither reward, nor punishment, nor drug. I learned to listen to my body, and started noticing what foods made me feel good or not. I either fed my physical health and goals or enriched some part of my emotional or mental health with my choices. I gave up my scale. Because I was naturally choosing more healthy food more often, I lost weight rapidly. I eventually added moderate amounts of sugar back into my diet, but haven't had any type of soda since.
2013 was a tough year. I lost my father. I ended a 23 - year long relationship. The person I thought was my best friend betrayed me when she couldn't stand how I was transforming. And it was okay. I survived, I didn't fall back into my old strategy of self- soothing with food. I ate for health, not weight loss, and continued my Mental, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual self- care. I set goals, I detached from their outcome. I practiced gratitude. I practiced faith. I practiced kindness and compassion for myself and others. And it was okay.
Almost everything about my life is different, and so much better now. Just when I thought, "that's okay, I'm fine on my own", I met and ( 2 and a half years later) married the love of all of my lives. We lead a charmed life. It is not without struggle, but we are conscious and present and grateful for each other and all that we've built and become as a unit. We continue to grow individually and together, experiencing all of the lessons and blessings the Universe has provided us with fully.
It's especially fitting that another piece of my future fell into place on this day last year, when I passed the test to become a Certified Personal Trainer. I’d spent the previous year and a half studying, becoming a Certified Integrate Wellness and Life Coach and earning certificates in Weight Loss and Sports Nutrition. I'm still finding my way on this new path, but I'm excited about all of the new experiences, relationships and places I'm discovering along the journey. While I've been essentially doing "relationship coaching" between people and their dogs for over 30 years, I'm fortunate to have discovered this calling to help others achieve healthier and more loving relationships with themselves and food, achieving balance, fulfillment and wellness in their own lives
This rebirthday started with a celebration of what my body can still do- a strength session at the gym, and will end with another favorite activity I found in my 2nd life, kickboxing. After a special dinner cooked by my husband, I'll take a bath, meditate and journal.
It is a very Happy rebirthday indeed!