In January of 2021, I decided once again, (yes this has happened far too often), that it was time to lose weight. At the time, I had a high energy 7 year old, (now 8) and I was turning 48 that month, and I was worn out, out of energy, and exhausted all the time! Well, for the first time ever, nothing I tried was working. I’ve tried so many weight loss programs over the years, and ALL of them work, when you just DO them! But, not this time. I was doing ALL the right things, AND working out, and seeing my weight fluctuate up and down daily without really moving the scale. It was super frustrating to say the least.

Let’s back up a little bit to October 2019. I was severely depressed, probably one of the worst depressions I’ve ever faced where I felt incapable of doing much of anything besides studying the Word of God, and taking pictures of nature. Both were good choices that filled my mind with peace, but I still couldn’t beat the sadness in my heart. I was unmotivated to accomplish anything else and I was experiencing extreme anxiety on top of the depression which made my mind believe things about people that were not true (but felt 100% true, at the time). People that loved me, I thought were my enemies, and that made me feel super alone. This depression had begun in August of 2018, so had gone on for over a year at that point, and to live that way was awful. I cried every single day, many times multiple times a day. I had the hope of Jesus in me, but felt like I had no hope at all. I thought I was trusting Him, but actually I had become prideful, and believed only my way was the best way, and because my prayers were not answered the way I thought God should answer them, I didn’t know if God really was hearing my prayers or answering me. Of course, now I know that God was grieving right along with me. He felt my pain. And, He still has a plan unfolding that is far greater than anything I ever could have imagined.

About September of 2018, a dear friend invited me to Celebrate Recovery. I know it sounds like a place for people to go that have addictions, but in reality, it’s for every person, everywhere. We all have habits, sin, hang ups, issues, so we all could benefit from this ministry. I’m an introvert, so it took me quite awhile to warm up and share anything in the small groups, and when I did, the tears flowed freely. And, the people there showed me the great love of God that I’d been blinded to. He loved me, flaws and all, even with my imperfections, insecurities, and belief that no one was really for me. I learned there, that no matter what ANYONE else thought of me, God deeply loved me…. As I was, mess and all.

Back to October of 2019…. Someone invited me to an online Pampered Chef party. Now, I loved Pampered Chef, I’d even been a consultant twice before in the distant past (my twenties and possibly early thirties). But, I had never heard of an online party, because when I sold, it was in homes and all on paper … Nothing online at all … Not even a website! So, I was very intrigued. I attended and loved every bit of it and since I could do this business online from home, and still homeschool (which anyone who knows me, knows I’m super passionate about, and did not want to give up), I signed up!

Celebrate Recovery and Pampered Chef both helped bring me out of my depression. Once I became a part of my PC family, I was encouraged, lifted up, and was inspired to be the best possible me. I started taking baby steps in cleaning up around the house, homeschooling more consistently, and I was rocking the Pampered Chef business! I was rocking it so much that I promoted to a Director in my first 6 weeks!! Then, I promoted again in March of 2020, and again in May of 2020! Despite Covid, I was doing amazing!

So, because I was doing so well, I wanted to improve all the areas of my life! And, weight has been a struggle for such a long time, I decided it was time in January of 2021. And, I also chose my word for the year: self-control. Something else that I struggle with, not just in my eating habits, but in many areas. But, this time even when using self-control, I still wasn’t seeing results that I wanted to see.

Fast forward to May of 2021. Another dear friend of mine had been going to school to become a health coach and was trying to launch her business after finishing school. I decided to hire her to help me. I figured, why not? I’d be helping her launch, and I could benefit along the way! Win….win!

We started with a Detox where I ate homemade bone broth soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 weeks. Thankfully it was REALLY good soup!! Lol. I made it through that, then the day after I finished, my family and I left for vacation! I was terrified I’d undo all that I’d already accomplished! (I had lost 20 lbs already, and my gut was getting healthy!) But, I was determined. I packed my own healthy foods for while on the road, and I made many of my own meals…. Which, by the way, were all delicious! I now eat whole, healthy foods, and I believe I can sustain this for life!

My goal now, besides continuing to lose weight, get more healthy and energetic, and boosting my confidence, is to help all of you to see how easy it is to tweak just a few things to get healthy, but even more than that… To help all of us create mealtime connections. I feel like in the beginning of Covid, we were forced to stay at home and make our own meals and reconnect with our families. However, as things have gotten more back to normal, are we losing that connection again? It’s so hard to make mealtimes together as a family a priority anymore! But, I believe there is a way to do it, and to make it a time of meal prepping, cooking together, cleaning up together, and memory making all wrapped into one…. All while feeding our families whole, healthy foods that everyone enjoys! My hope is that I will be able to provide you with tips and tricks, ideas, and tools that will help you and your family make mealtimes more meaningful and full of life giving connection. Our world needs connection, especially in the age of social media and cell phones, which so often distract rather than help! I plan to post to my social media sites, and right here at least once a week offering mealtime connection content. I hope you will stick around and see what I have to offer!