I am a social psychologist who studies the unconscious influences that affect our choices and actions. As a well-published scholar and former professor, I am devoted to finding the best tested ideas and using them to create a healthy, joyful, and meaningful life. I use these ideas to create my own life according to my desires and I help my clients do the same.
I had achieved a satisfying level of success in my former profession, though it came with a cost: a long commute and the related lifestyle challenges. Between heavy stress and lots of driving, it was nearly impossible to exercise and prepare meals. That first year commuting I packed on 15 pounds, which was 2 sizes on my 5’2” frame. I struggled for nearly a year to take off most of that weight but never managed to return to my starting point.
While I was pleased with my professional accomplishments and my lifestyle, I had a deep inkling that this wasn’t quite “it” and that there was something more my life was meant to be. When the opportunity came to make a radical life change, I jumped and was ready to find my true calling. I wanted to figure out how to live exceptionally well, how to make a true contribution, and how to be connected to what matters most.
Making this transition was both liberating and terrifying. I experienced regular waves of fear as I chartered these unknown waters. Like many, I turned to an easy source of support during challenging moments—comfort food. Now those few extra pounds were adding up and nothing I did could turn the scale in the other direction. I asked my physician what I could do about my weight gain, and he told me, “oh everyone gets fat in middle age.” Great I thought, now I’m old and fat! I sought out help from alternative health professionals and ultimately tried more than 20 different methods to try to lose weight and get healthy, with no lasting success. I feared I would become another casualty in our “war on obesity.”
By October 2007 I had wanted to lose weight for nearly nine years. My “fat” pants were worn out and tight. I couldn’t bear to go up yet another size. I looked in the mirror and had my “Scarlet O’Hara” moment: as God as my witness I swore I would find a fast, simple way to lose weight now and never again see my reflection and think, “ugh, I need to lose weight.”
Two months later I found the way, and in mid January I started the program. By the third week of March, I had lost 32 pounds, which was 25% of my body weight. At 40, I felt better and looked better than I did in my 20’s. Most importantly, I was able to achieve permanent weight loss and lifestyle change and now continue to move along the path to Optimal Health.
I know what it’s like to struggle, and I know how to permanently achieve the weight loss and health goals that eluded me and so many for so long.
I found that my quest for physical health was interwoven with my desire for a meaningful life, that what was happening on the “inside” was being mirrored on the “outside.” I made lifestyle changes on all dimensions, the physical, emotional, and spiritual so that I could evolve my life to the level of balance and harmony that was my personal desire.
Food and movement can and should be among life’s greatest pleasures. Certainly we all need to eat! To the extent our daily food choices are fraught with peril we are wasting a tremendous amount of effort and energy. We cajole ourselves to make “good” choices. We feel tremendous guilt if we make “bad” choices. This attention and energy can be put to so many more worthwhile endeavors! At the extreme, we end up trapped in a cycle of increasing self-hatred as we find it next to impossible to allow ourselves both the pleasures of eating well and the experience of good health.
It has been liberating to end this battle and both eat the food I love and experience the health I desire. It is my greatest gift to share this path with my clients and assist them along the path to optimal health.
Good health is the cornerstone of a thriving life. Let’s put the pieces in place so that your weight loss is a done deal and your healthy habits are automatic so that you can spend your time and energy on the things that matter most!