Realizing that I wanted to share a confession with you came at an odd time...I was in the closet.

You see, my husband has been away for work, and over the years I’ve found that to be the perfect opportunity to tackle his closet chaos.

Aside from the clutter of unfolded pants and wonky hangers, this time I found his side to be a refreshing site.

He just has clothes, and he can wear them ALL. No ‘someday I’ll fit into this’ or ‘remember when’ items cluttering the space. He just has clothes.

Then there’s my side. Yep, still a few pieces clinging to the hope of a past fit. In 2019 I was rocking it. I had…

Weight loss…I lost weight I’d been yo-yo-ing with my whole adult life.

Revamped eating habits…that supported me, felt easy, and satisfying.

I was feeling fantastic…letting go of excess exercising and regaining my time.

I had it figured out.

But then in 2021, I had an injury, sending me a little off course.

I had a front-row seat to experience what happens from poor sleep. In me, it shows up as cravings, mood swings, and my brain just goes haywire.

Despite my best efforts, the scale crept up a bit. I was 10 lbs over 2019 numbers, but I wasn’t bothered. I felt good about my habits, routines, energy levels, and most of my clothes still fit. I felt like I had found an even sweeter spot of health. The spot that made all parts of me happy.

But here’s the deal, life is always changing.

There’s an ebb and flow that you just gotta ride. Just when I thought I was living the most amazing and blessed life, not one, but two new injuries popped up.

Cue a high level of frustration!

I mean I was doing all the right things, so why this curveball? I didn’t deserve it!

Stick with me, because I’ve learned so much from it.

I spent a solid 9 months trying to nurse a bum shoulder and what I thought was a hip issue on my own. Yes, I WebMD myself and went deep into the weeds on alternative ways to help my body heal itself. Once at an urgent care visit for a sinus issue, I brought up my hip pain to the on-call doctor.

Her comment was very frustrating. In her defense, she didn't know me or my views. So not knowing me or anything about my life she suggested I could be having an autoimmune issue and she could prescribe me something to help with the pain.

I knew I didn’t want a random label and I for sure didn’t want a bandaid medication that would never fix the real issue. I left that office mad as a hornet and vowed to just research harder.

It was in December '23 that I realized I just might be losing myself in the pain. My weight had gone up again (past the sweet spot of my health), and the real kicker was not even feeling a desire to put up the Christmas tree.

I’d had some relief from eating to eliminate inflammation and it was nice to find it wasn’t a drastic change from my normal. So that led me to believe that my body really was overworking to heal something inside and creating excess inflammation. It was time to raise my hand for help.

When I couldn’t make my best choices or move freely due to walking around in a sad face level of pain daily, seeking help became the obvious choice. It will be up to you to determine how long it takes to realize you no longer want to struggle with your current situation.

I started by talking to a sports physical therapist who gave me some ideas. I tried them and had no real relief.

Next, I visited my primary care physician to get blood work plus hormone testing (that’s a story for another day). It all came back in a normal range and very close to all my past testing.

My third stop was a regenerative cell clinic. Surgery was NOT a path I wanted to explore since I felt my 2021 shoulder surgery was less than optimal. Stem cell treatment has fascinated me for years, using my body’s tissues to help my body heal me is right up my alley.

What they found was 3 torn ligaments in my right shoulder. Not a big surprise to me, other than they were a mirror of my left shoulder, hmm.

And my hip…Well, it wasn’t a hip issue. It was a torn gluteus medius and two torn ligaments.

There were tears shed, there was frustration - the whole shebang. How was I falling apart so badly? I am a health coach who is not at all healthy!

Where my previous shoulder doctor said my torn ligaments were just because I was aging (yes I wanted to kick him where it counts)...this doctor explained that the quality of our ligaments and tissue is determined by the combination of our parents' DNA. Some people hit the jackpot and get great quality tissues and others (me) get a combo that isn’t the best.

What can a person do to help themselves when they’ve drawn the short stick on tissue quality? Collagen is one thing. I used a collagen supplement for a while but got away from it for various reasons.

Now I’ve added one back in! (Once I form an opinion on the product I’m using I’ll share more about it with you.) And after my stem cell procedure, I’ll begin sharing how this recovery is over the more common surgical route.

Now back to this health coach, that's not healthy issue…

I’ve come to terms with being human. I am human and life is happening to me (I also believe for me), and sometimes the ebb and flow of what is happening is easy to live with and sometimes hard. The fact that I’m a health coach and have a deep bag of tools is precisely what has kept me sane.

I know that because I’ve witnessed others who are in pain and see how they are dealing with daily choices. I know that I’m not a better or stronger person, I’m just consistently using the tools that I’ve learned, which have kept me from being bent out of shape over my slight weight bump because I know that the sweet spot of health is within arms reach for me.

I won't shame myself for the clothes that don’t fit the way I want them to today, because I know…

🎯I’m going to start sleeping better soon.

🎯I’ll soon be able to start moving in ways that make me feel better.

🎯I’ll finally be able to move to the happy face of the pain level chart and release the stress that gets me through the daily tasks.

🎯I’m making food choices that keep my blood sugar balanced and my body will thrive with this extra boost of stem cells.

🎯And lastly, I’ve been able to keep my mindset in a great place through it all (because of tools.)

I know this was long, but I wanted you to know that I deal with issues too.

Being a health coach doesn’t mean perfection. It means having the tools and the grit to bounce back.

If you’re in a place where physical or emotional pain is robbing your joy, I’d love to share some tools that could help you stay focused on the end goal. Pair that with consistent habits that are the right habits for you, and you’ve set yourself up to reach the end goal. I’m here to listen to what’s going on with you and point you in the right direction. You just have to ask for help.

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