Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics. – Dave Willis

I have a confession to make. My name is Erin and I am a former prisoner of fear. To be fair, I am also many other things of which I am very proud – a wife, a mother to a teenage son (which is a feat in itself), a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a follower of Jesus. As I sit here thinking about what I want to say in my first blog post, ironically, all I can think of are the things I am scared of…Will my writing make sense? What if no one is interested in what I have to say? What if my life is really not interesting enough for a blog? And, you know what, all of those fears led me to where I want to start. Fear is bullshit (sorry, folks, right out of the gate, you’ll see that I love Jesus and I occasionally love to curse). Fear has kept me from experiencing some of the very best parts of life. It has held me back from pursuing careers, dreams, opportunities, and living my life to its fullest. So today I am calling BS (see I’m trying) on fear and saying enough is enough.

So why begin a health blog on the subject of fear and what does it have to do with my health journey? Well, quite honestly, fear has everything to do with my health journey. Last year, I was at one of the lowest points in my life. My marriage was a disaster, my kid was hurting, I was depressed, overweight, unhealthy, and feeling completely unable to do anything to change my situation. Depressing, right?! I promise it won’t be a depressing blog. But I want to keep it real, and to be honest, life had kicked me in the booty (again, keeping it G-rated). I was honestly desperate for change but didn’t know how to get the momentum. Because change takes an incredible effort to start. It’s tough and when you’re stuck and depressed, the thought of changing your situation can seem completely overwhelming.

So fast forward to the fall of 2018 when I met a friend through my son’s football team. She friended me on Facebook and I began to see her posting before and after pictures and I noticed that she had lost 72 lbs over 2 years before. I was intrigued and curious but skeptical. I have honestly tried every diet, every fast, every cleanse, every pill on the market over the years in order to try to lose the 20-30 lbs that I would lose and regain over and over throughout my adult life. I used to joke that you could see what my mental health was like just by looking at pictures. If I am happy, I’m in control and thin. If I am hurting emotionally, I am typically carrying around extra weight. Because food was my coping, my comfort when I didn’t like what I was faced with in my life, and this cycle went on throughout most of my life from my late teens all the way to my 40’s.

One day, I finally put my skepticism aside and decided I would reach out and talk to my friend. She basically just told me her story and how this program had changed her life, and I was struck by how much hope and freedom she had found. It seemed like it was about more than the weight, and I liked that. So on November 23, 2018 I started my health journey with OPTAVIA. About 6 weeks in, I had lost over 18 lbs and I decided to start coaching my mom, and 5 months later, I have lost 54 lbs, coached over 60 people to good health and dramatically changed my life.

As cliche as it sounds, I lost weight but I gained a bigger life. My marriage has been renewed (God did a lot of the work & hubby got healthy too); my energy is off the charts, and I have found a purpose – to be an encourager and help people find a way to reclaim their health, their purpose, their joy. I no longer fear change. I now know that change is where we grow the most and where the good stuff really happens.

So my hope with this blog is that this will be a place for people to find encouragement, inspiration, and a way back to their healthiest self. OPTAVIA gave me my life back because it focused on rebuilding healthy habits and getting healthy in every area of my life – mind, body, and spirit, and I want to share that gift with others.

This will be a place where I can share what it looks like to live an integrated OPTAVIA life – my wins, my losses, my struggles, and what I have learned. It will be a place where we can share great recipes, food hacks, tips for success, and fitness trends and information, and where you can come to (hopefully) be encouraged to fight your fear and start contending for yourself again!

“Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” – Morgan Harper Nichols

Yours in health,

Erin