My path to wellness has been a journey. I have struggled with weight for as long as I can remember. My earliest remembrance of dieting is sitting on the swing set drinking “Slender” (the 60's version of Slim Fast) when I was in second grade. From that point on I spent thirty years yo-yo dieting. You name it, I did it – Ayds Diet Candy, counting calories over and over again, Weight Watcher's numerous times, Nutri-System twice, Dexitrim, The Grapefruit Diet, High Protein Diet, The Cambridge Diet, Scarsdale, fasting, Jenny Craig, counting fat grams, Slim Fast, and the Weigh Down Workshop. I always seemed to lose weight but would regain it and more each time.

My wake up call came six years ago when my mother was fighting cancer. I began studying everything I could get my hands on about nutrition and wellness. It wasn't long before I realized that I was digging my own grave with my knife and fork.

One of the gifts that a wake up call gives you is the motivation and courage to reexamine and reevaluate your life. I took a hard look at my life and told myself the truth for the first time in a long time. I wasn't the jolly fat girl. I felt stuck, unhappy and sick and tired of being sick and tired. I had struggled all of my life with compulsive overeating and compulsive dieting. It was a prison. I was 5'2”, weighed 196 pounds and was wearing a size 20.

I lived with debilitating allergies and fatigue, spending most mornings on the couch. I survived on allergy medication and caffeine. Taking antibiotics every 6 to 8 weeks for reoccurring sinus infections or urinary tract infections became a way of life. I had passed 5 kidneys stones and had my gallbladder removed due to gallbladder disease. My knees would swell and were painful. I slept with a pillow under my left knee because I couldn't straighten it out. I fought mild depression off and on.

There is a saying that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I decided that I was through with the insanity of dieting and deprivation. I came to understand that sickness and exhaustion are warning lights – God-given sensors in my body to get my attention. I was finally willing to pay attention to what my body had been trying to tell me for years.

The journey began with baby steps. My goal was to regain my health and avoid disease. I began to detoxify my body by choosing foods that supported health and healing. I adopted natural and holistic approaches to cooking and caring for myself. I quit eating food additives, chemicals and preservatives. I started drinking water. Weight loss became the by-product of a healthy lifestyle.

Even though I had always been a couch potato and hated exercise I decided to start walking around my neighborhood. Occasionally I would do an exercise video, still hating every minute of it! My husband and I began to take ballroom dance lessons. At last I had found a form of exercise that I loved. My momentum was building and I began going to the gym. About six months later I kissed my couch potato days goodbye, hired a trainer and committed to working out five days a week. My body began to change significantly and my metabolism increased. I was hooked!

In addition to doing the “physical work” of losing weight I also chose to do the “emotional work” to get to the root of the problem of what was driving me to eat compulsively in the first place. I endeavored to discover and deal with the wounds from my past rather than continue to use food to numb the pain. I learned to love myself.

Today my life has changed – body, soul and spirit. I weigh 123 and wear a size 4. I am a competitive Ballroom and Latin dancer studying, training and competing Pro/Am with Rabih Timani ( danceez@excite.com ). I've easily maintained my weight loss for over five years and can't remember the last time I was sick. I haven't been on antibiotics for years and no longer experience allergies. I am strong, healthy, fit and forever grateful.

My purpose and passion is to educate, encourage, and empower people to create change in their lives. I am continuing my education in coaching, nutrition and Naturopathy.

After thirty years of struggling with compulsive overeating and compulsive dieting I can offer anyone hope. I found joy in the journey and hold out a torch of hope to others knowing that you can overcome poor health or lose weight and keep it off forever. Change is possible. The journey of a lifetime begins with a single step.