There I am! See above!! I just finished leading my very first WW Workshop in California! I’ve now officially met all of my new WW members, here in Fresno. I’m so incredibly happy to be back at it.

I started last week and although it was nerve racking being the “new” Coach, replacing a past Coach everyone loved, it turned out far better than I expected. Everyone has been so welcoming and kind!! It’s a funny feeling to be “the new one” trying to establish myself in my 18th year at WW☺️

I’m excited to be starting a new chapter with new routines and new scenery. If you know me at all, you know I love, love, love to write, so it was curious to me how I got out of the habit of writing this blog during my last couple of years in Illinois. As I now have time to reflect back though, I realize how busy my life actually was and how many things and people I needed to put first. So that’s what I did and I definitely don’t regret it.

Today, as a brand new empty nester and not selling real estate in my new city, I have an opportunity to create and prioritize my schedule with more freedom. A LOT more freedom. I’m learning there’s a fine line between feeling free and feeling no longer needed!!! There were rivers and rivers of tears as I left my 6’4 baby, Chase, at Arizona State for the first time in August. Then I had to say goodbye to my oldest son, Cole, as he left to finish his last semester at Colorado State. More tears. And then the final kicker…..saying goodbye to my family and friends in Illinois. Needless to say, August 2019 was a rough month!

Adjusting has been interesting. I moved through the sadness pretty quickly once I settled into our new house in California. I love the weather, having a pool and living in the same house with Darin again is pretty darn nice! As a result, I’ve treated the first several weeks as one long vacation! On many levels it’s been awesome! Woohoo! A running, endless party! Yahooo! And Darin has been a very willing accomplice! Haha! He’s so fun..just the best😍

But ultimately, I like routine. I like purpose. I like order. Without those things, somehow my behavior always comes back to overeating. And with overeating comes weight gain. Besides not being healthy, I know myself well enough to know my life just doesn’t work if my weight gets out of control. I wish I could be someone who is happy with themselves no matter what, but I’m not. I know what it feels like to be very overweight and I also know what it feels like to be fit. To live my best life, I’ll choose the fit and healthy feeling over the alternative any day. I don’t need to be “skinny” but maintaining a weight that works for me is worth far more than the amount of time and effort that goes into it. We all have our challenges and managing my eating seems to follow me around even after all these years! But hey, that’s ok.

Getting back to the WW Studio as a Coach but also as a member, has given me the inspiration to dig down and figure out how I really want to live. I’m realizing how much I enjoy mindful eating and for me, that means tracking most of what I eat. Being back in the workshops has reminded me that tracking isn’t a drag! Instead, it’s what gives me the freedom to make choices without any guilt, regret or remorse. It give me control and like most of us, I love control!!! Tracking helps me to make food choices on purpose, which I’m trying live with more of everyday. When I’m “on” I fully enjoy meal planning and finding new ways to make my favorites in a lower point/healthier way. It’s like a game and it’s not only effective, it’s fun!!

Being back at WW has reminded me of all of this. Life’s about balance and as fun as an endless vacation sounds….it’s not realistic when it comes to our health. Not to mention how much more we enjoy food when we are honoring it rather than eating everything in site.

I don’t know if this post will resonate with you or not, but I felt strongly compelled to get it out there. If you’re up for starting a new chapter and molding it to fit the person you are now versus who you may have been last year, last month or even yesterday, join me! You don’t have to move across the country to make a fresh start. We have the power and ability to ditch any behaviors that are no longer serving us and create a new normal for ourselves today, no matter where we are.

Warning: If you chose to do this, your “evil twin” will start screaming things like “It’s too hard”, “I don’t have the motivation”, “I’ve tried before and it didn’t work”, “I’ve always been like this”……..and so on and so on and so on.

Block. Her. Out.

Did you get that?

Shut. Her. Down.

None of those things are true and each of us has proven it in at least one are of our lives, so we can do it with eating patterns as well. We can control our eating and healthy behaviors and feel incredible doing it!!

Reach out and let me know if you’re still receiving my posts and if there is anything in particular you’d like me to write about to help on your wellness journey. You can simply add your thoughts in a comment at the bottom of this post and I’ll be sure to respond! I’m back to writing and thanks to modern technology we can stay connected from anywhere!! I’m excited!! Are you??

All is well❤️

Terra🌺