About

Discovering MY Optimal Health

I was turning 40.  I love milestone birthdays.  They give you some unspoken permission to turn a corner.  So, on December 5 of that same year, I took a sharp bend in the road toward changing my life.

My Journey To Obesity

Growing up I was never the fat kid. I remember what it's like to have my collarbone sticking out when wearing a pretty, off the shoulder dress.

I've been overweight for half my life now.  I don't wear dresses anymore.  And my collarbone has been hidden for so long I'm not even sure if I know where to find it anymore.

Over the years I have tried countless, crazy attempts to shed the pounds.  When I was younger I wanted a quick fix.  I tried every fad, every pill...any crazy idea I read in a magazine.

I also tried reputable things.  Don't get my started with my plethora of attempts where I counted up points and paid to get weighed!  Those people knew me by name, even when they hadn't seen me in months.

I tried relational methods.  I started a blog with friends, hoping that just some good, old-fashioned encouragement would help me lose weight.  When that didn't work, I took it to the next level and started a group where people actually paid money to be part of a club--the money became a cash prize for the biggest loser.  Surely money would motivate me, right?  Nope.  I helped encouraged everyone else to "keep going" and "reach for your goals" while I stayed right where I was.

I tried being famous, and then just being beaten. I went to an actual casting call for the TV show Biggest Loser.  Yep, I was willing to vomit in the gym.  When I didn't get a call back, I started a similar training program at a local gym and worked with an ex-marine, who was the male version of Jillian Michaels.  In eight months of intense training I barely lost 18 pounds.  That's not much for, now, a morbidly obese woman.

But, what was the one thing that was the same about each of these attempts?  Me.

I was a compulsive over-eater.  NO.  I AM a compulsive over-eater.  I was am the food equivalent of an alcoholic.  And I had no clear strategy for rehabilitation.

My Journey Toward Optimal Health

The week before Thanksgiving I was introduced to a health coach.  She had lost over 210 pounds, and I knew right away I wanted what she had found. I didn't want to wait.  On the day before an enormous holiday feast, I knew was ready.

People said I was brave for starting my journey in the middle of the holiday season.  But, that's how serious I was about changing my life.  I could go into Christmas with 20 pounds off, or I could go into Christmas and gain another 5-10.  It was not worth it to keep gaining.

I started becoming a student of the Habits of Health.  I worked closely with my FREE health coach and stayed close to her.  I followed the prescribed program (which was easy, safe and effective!), and I started to change my entire life.  It became about being healthy in body, mind and spirit--and I began to taste FREEDOM!

My journey toward optimal health has not been without bumps and swerves in the road--you can read about that on this blog.  It has, however, been reassuring that I now don't have to worry about HOW to lose weight anymore.  I know how to do that now.  With that removed from the equation, I just keep learning and growing and changing.

"Habits are to life as rails are to trains" -Charlotte Mason, renowned educator

When I began to see my journey as forming habits, I started to see it more clearly.  Habits take practice.  Everything we do is a habit.  We are either forming good habits or poor habits.

With God's help, I can change.  YOU can change. We ALL can change.

Pulling up old rails--those rails that were taking me to places I didn't want to go--is hard work, but so worth it!

I completed my health coach certification through Villa Nova University's Center for Obesity Prevention and Education, and that was a fantastic decision.  I now am qualified to help others change their habits and lives, too!

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Julie Garner

I am a certified health coach through Villanova University's Center for Obesity Prevention and Education. I share candidly about life as an obese woman and the freedom of transformation, as well as support others as they step toward health and change in their own lives. I am also a public speaker, blogger and writer. I enjoy my life with my best friend and husband, Dan, as well as our two beautiful children, a black dog and two black cats.

To contact me as a health coach or for speaking and writing opportunities email me at jgarnerhealthcoach@gmail.com

Applied to any of my blog posts regarding my weight loss or the weight loss of others, please know that results vary. Typical results on our program are 2-5lbs the first 2 weeks, and 1-2 pounds each week thereafter.