My parents got us one of these cool new digital picture frames for Christmas that links up with online services such as Dropbox, Facebook, Google photos, among others. As I was setting it up I connected it to old albums I had on Facebook and Google so the kids would have some pictures to look at and reminisce over. Watching the pictures pan through, I was alarmed when I saw photos of myself from just a couple years ago. They simply did not look like the person I feel like I have always been on the inside. There was an old profile picture from Facebook that showed our wedding picture and that was the only one I recognized as myself.
Over time I had gotten up to a maximum of 293 pounds at one point. I remember watching a video that was taken at our daughter’s T-ball game at one point in the midst of it all and realizing that the large lady in the background was myself. It was alarming to me as I didn’t recognize the figure as myself at all. As time went on and my desire to change increased, I was overwhelmed with where to start to the point of paralysis. I eventually learned about the year-long program through Precision Nutrition dedicated to daily lessons and bimonthly healthy habit formation that would address not only my physical health but also my mental, emotional, and spiritual health. At this point in time we had two older daughters and a baby in the house. I felt I didn’t have the time to seek out different counseling and nutrition and personal trainers to help me. So, the package bundle that Precision Nutrition provided in its online coaching format seemed appropriate for me. I really battled with feeling worthy enough of paying the monthly fee and taking the time daily for myself. It turns out it was the best thing I could have done for myself. And for my family. Over the course of that year-long program I ended up losing 50 pounds of weight, gaining a more slender body, and gaining confidence in myself and in my new healthy habits. I was called an athlete for the first time in my entire life. I still have more weight to lose but I’m continuing my healthy habits daily. My husband was also affected by this program in watching me go through it and sharing what I was learning. He would do the workouts with me and would eat the same foods as me and he also began to notice improvements in his physical health and his energy levels. At the time he was working at Boeing. He had been an engineer with them for nearly 12 years. For the past few years prior to this I could tell that my husband’s passion for engineering seemed to be waning. His skill set and natural gifts seemed to be more working with people. He was exploring in his free time what he was passionate about and looking for what would be his next pursuit in his life. By the end of the Precision Nutrition program I ended up as one of their finalists in their transformation contest they hold. The transformation that he saw in me was not just a physical one, but was almost more dramatically in who I was becoming. It was inspiring to him and he realized that so many people in our world today are facing similar problems with their health as I was. He learned of Precision Nutrition’s certification program for certifying health coaches and he signed up without hesitation. His program went over the science of nutrition and the body and then went over coaching and the psychology of change. It took him nine months to complete and he finally received his certificate this month. He is passionate about helping people to improve their health and their lives. He left his job with Boeing to pursue his new business, You Better Health, where he conducts individual health coaching over the phone. Throughout my program I had learned all about living deliberately and not getting sucked up in the swift current of life or the shoulds of our culture. The program had us reflect on what we could do, what we wanted to do, and how we wanted to live our lives. As I reflected on that it turned out Brian had also been. We shared our dreams and it turned out we both desired to travel and learn more about the world. And so the idea of full-time traveling was born and we quickly jumped on board this new lifestyle. We were ready to move past our suburb home that frankly we were having a hard time keeping up with anyway. There is so much out there that we wanted to explore and show our children. The idea of road schooling our kids seemed very natural for us. Recently we visited a museum in Santa Fe as a part of our roadschooling lifestyle and my husband took a photo of me enjoying one of the interactive exhibits. I look at this photograph and it looks like me again. It looks like the me that I feel like inside. I am proud of that. And when I see the old photographs of myself that I don’t recognize, I can look in the eyes of that version of myself and remember where I was emotionally and mentally, physically and spiritually and honor the person that I was and the things I was working through. But I can say with 100% certainty that I am glad that I took that first courageous step towards getting help and addressing deep-seated unhealthy habits I had acquired over time. So here we are now in our fifth wheel in New Mexico experiencing life and living deliberately with our three kids. Healthy eating, exercise, and stress recovery are all a part of our lives. As I continue with my weight loss journey and my healthy living journey, I work on my healthy habits daily. I also signed up for the certification program through Precision Nutrition so that I can pay it forward and help other people in their journeys of transformation towards health and well-being. My husband now is passionate and excited to do his work. He keeps a journal with him that he jots down ideas for his clients in and he looks forward to his conversations with them and seeing how they’re progressing. I believe the problem solving capabilities of an engineer do come into play but he’s also able to use his creativity and his natural optimism and hope and ability to connect with other people to really help those who are on their own health journeys. Another word or two about the fact that I had established my Etsy business, Pretty Sensitive Ears, back in 2009 with the hopes that someday it would fuel Brian being able to pursue a new venture. We have taken the earring business with us on the road and fulfill orders wherever we are. This business is also a business of helping people. I design, make, and sell earrings for sensitive ears out of hypoallergenic materials such as niobium, titanium, surgical steel, and Argentium silver. We also had begun homeschooling our children when they were in kindergarten. We were used to the role of student and guide / mentor in their education. Road schooling has a similar dynamic though the routines are all tossed up in the air. We definitely make use of classical literature, living books for mathematics, and unschooling principles, learning from the experiences we have, the things around us, and always exercising curiosity. Make no mistake that the decision we made was not an easy one. We had a comfortable life in our home, in our neighborhood, in our community. But we felt there was more out there calling to us. We prayed over this decision extensively. We definitely felt led to this new lifestyle. There have been bumps in the road and there will always be bumps in the road. But the highlights seem a little higher and the excitement of seeing our children getting to experience the world and getting to learn firsthand has been invaluable to us. The advice Precision Nutrition gave at the end of their program was to dream big and crazy about what it is you want to do in your life. Then find someone out there who is doing that thing and learn from them and how they got started. How did they take that first step? And figure out how you can take YOUR first step. Put away the distractions in your life and get towards really deliberately living it. After all, we only have one life to live and tomorrows are never guaranteed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you or someone you know would like help getting healthier and establishing healthy habits (in the midst of the chaos of daily living in a society that is overscheduled!), I highly recommend getting in touch with my husband. His one-on-one coaching follows the teachings of Precision Nutrition and is less than half of their fee. Let him help you change your life for the better. YOU ARE worth it! Visit You Better Health and fill out the contact form to schedule a free consultation.
2 Comments
Grandma and Grandpa Jensen
12/29/2016 01:37:38 pm
Incredible! Love seeing the pictures afterwards to connect a visual to the stories.
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Jamie
12/29/2016 07:06:07 pm
This made me tear up. Love you guys and am so proud of your journey!
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AuthorBrian - Health Coach, You Better Health Archives
December 2016
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