My Quest for a Healthy Lifestyle

My quest for a healthy lifestyle journey has brought me here to share my thoughts, feelings, fears, commitment and my vulnerability with you. I have struggled with my weight for a very long time, years actually. Like many of you who have dealt with being overweight, I tried many ‘diet’ programs with some fair results, only to regain the weight I lost again and again. Each time I regained the weight, I felt defeated. I felt not worthy of more, I felt stressed, I felt depressed, unhappy and I lacked the desire to try again. I suffered in silence, not sharing my pain, which added to my poor self-image and lack of self-esteem. 

My husband has always been supportive and has always complimented me on how beautiful I looked, I would thank him, hug him, but inside I was in pain. To add to my discomfort and stress every doctor I saw mentioned my weight. They would say, “eat less”, “make better food choices”, “exercise”. Did they really think I didn’t know that? Sometimes, I would become very defensive and ask the doctor if he had counseled his front desk staff, because there was a lot of weight there. It wasn’t kind, but it sure made me feel better.

So here I am. What happened? Why this blog? Why now? Something big happened. I asked for help! One evening during a team group call, we shared our goals, our dreams and our well-defined WHY. As I led this group of wonderful women and listened to each one share their desires and goals, it became apparent to me that I had to share my honesty. I had to share my heart with this group. Oh no, I had to be vulnerable! I was filled with anxiety. I thought, will they reject me, will they make fun of me, will they be accepting, will they understand, will they think I’m weak? Oh my gosh, it was my turn to speak. My conversation started with the things that are very important to me, my family, my legacy, the freedom I longed for financially and my desire for true health. Then, the big one came out of my mouth. I boldly told the group that I had been successful at so many things. I do a great deal of mentoring, training and I do my own personal development, but there is something I have not been successful at accomplishing and that had to do with  my weight. I set my intention. I shared a short term goal and a long term goal. I told them I was 100% committed to succeed and I needed help from someone to hold me accountable. Whew, that was tough! I felt open, wide open!

Our call that evening ended around 10:30 pm (eastern) and at 10:45 pm I received an email message from Angela Middaugh, one of the team members on the call. She proposed a win/win relationship. She mentioned, I had something she wanted (business know how) and she had what I wanted (a wellness coach & personal trainer). When we spoke by phone, the decision was made to begin to work together. I told her I needed a strong accountability coach because I may come up with many excuses and I needed someone who was going to be strong enough to keep me on track. Well, I’m here to say, Angela has been lovingly tough, encouraging, very supportive and lots of fun. We have developed a wonderful relationship. We are helping each other achieve and each of us is looking forward to a very successful future.

I started my journey with the USANA 5 Day RESET program. This program wasn’t new to me. I have been sharing the benefits of the RESET program with others for many years. I had done the RESET program many times myself, but something was different this time. I felt different. My thoughts were different. I felt excited. I was committed.

Dora