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Posts tagged ‘transformation journey’

Feb 4

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2019: The year of STRETCH!

She made a promise to herself: This year, she will be brave and bold about EVERYTHING!

I’m back! And it’s been quite a journey to get here.

In August of 2018, I embarked on an adventure to live “A Year by the Sea.” I packed up my belongings, rented my house in St. Paul, MN, and ventured off to Maine — my self-prescribed “Happy Place!”

As I drove off to make the trek across the country, friends and family wished me well and commended me for living brave and bold. Yet I know many of them secretly thought — “What the hell is she doing leaving everything behind and starting fresh in her 50’s…alone?!” Or perhaps they wondered, “Why can’t she just be happy with her nice life in MN?!”

Well, that’s easy. I knew deep in my gut that this was something I needed to do. This is for my soul. It’s aimed at busting myself open to discover what next. It’s meant to push me way outside my comfort zone and it absolutely includes doing hard things.

Once I decided that I needed a fresh new start, including time and space to crack open my heart and live into the answers, there really was no stopping me. To stay in my familiar life would have been the easy choice. But I don’t believe you get “really good” without doing hard. And we all know that I’m not interested in living safe and small anymore. I am on a mission to live up to my absolute greatest potential — and that changes and evolves as I change and grow. Therein lies the work of this journey! Read more

Jan 12

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The powerful combo of grit & grace

I started the year reading a poem written by a new friend. It opened with a line about “grit and grace” and I was immediately captured by how connected I felt to those two words. I felt like the poem was calling to me and that someone really “got” me.

I re-read the poem about the same time I was reflecting on my Dad’s recent passing and his legacy, and noted that it was perhaps “grit” more than anything that he instilled in me — by genes and by example/experience.

Ironically, just days after I discovered the poem, two different friends (in two separate conversations) recommended a book called “Grit: The power of Passion & Perseverance” written by Anita Duckworth. I began reading Grit earlier this month and, wow, does it resonate — for me personally and as a Health & Wellness Coach aiming to help others. I highly recommend it! Read more

Dec 26

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The first Christmas without Dad

Honoring my Dad who gave me the gift of health & more!

Today would have been my Dad’s 77th birthday. He died on Dec. 3rd this year, just three weeks before Christmas and his birthday, and after a sudden bought with Meningitis followed by an official diagnosis of Lewy Body disease.

When I spent the day with my Dad on Aug. 5, he was seemingly strong and resilient, like always. Days later he was hospitalized in ICU with delirium and a dangerously high fever. He never really came back to us after that day and he never went back home. Dad spent the final months of his life in and out of the nursing home, hospital, memory care, and finally hospice. It was only four months from the time he got sick until we lost him.

As I turned on the computer this morning to write, I wasn’t sure what this blog had to do with health and well-being — or even if it would be published. But I knew I needed to write. I now realize the message is powerful — for me and perhaps for you — and it has almost everything to do with health and well-being. Read more

Jul 12

The power of acceptance

We can’t change what we cannot ACCEPT. And that includes ACCEPTING what we can & can’t control.

I was talking with someone the other day about my transformation journey and five-year anniversary and she fixated on one question: “Aren’t you mad that you have to work so hard to stay healthy and fit and that you’ll struggle with this for the rest of your life?” (No!)

In another conversation recently, a close friend was having a terrible time accepting the reality of depression and was spiraling deeper because of his refusal to accept it. It made me sad.

In a much more trivial moment, I was personally challenged to accept the answer I got from American Honda about a serious defect in my Honda CRV that might cause the engine to blow up and their process for dealing with it. (Don’t even get me started on this one!)

How many of you have had difficulty accepting a misfortune —  something you don’t really like or want in your life? Yep, I’m guessing pretty much everyone.

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Jan 20

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Embracing the whole, beautiful & imperfect me — swim outfit & all!

The surprising gift of my first 2017 adventure

This lucky girl just got back from her first adventure of 2017 — a fabulous and fun trip to Cozumel, Mexico to kick off the new year!

This trip was significant for me as it meant tackling a list of fun “FIRSTS” that included pushing outside of my comfort zone. I’ve been on a personal mission to say “YES!” to life since I lost weight and put myself in the equation five years ago. And it’s been awesome.

Before my personal transformation, I held back and lived a “small” and safe life. I didn’t put myself out there or take risks. Too often I let fear rule my life decisions — fear of what others would think, fear of looking silly or doing it imperfectly, and fear of failure.

Perhaps the saddest part of this “old” reality is that I had convinced myself that I could be happy living small and safe. But the truth is, I wasn’t happy deep down inside. I was hiding behind the layers of fat I donned for self-protection. I hid behind my work. And at my core was a foundation of low self-esteem, lack of confidence and a fear of not measuring up.

Lucky for me, that’s not the end of the story! In 2012, as I reached my goal weight and the peak of living a healthy, happy and WHOLE life, I realized by definition that “living WHOLE” meant putting myself out there. Taking risks and going for it, even and especially when I was scared. I decided to live brave and bold. That meant saying “YES!” to life and tackling a whole list of “firsts,” seeking opportunities to grow and expand — even if that meant falling or failing or looking silly. It’s been a fun and joyous ride, and five years later, I’m still going strong!

So what surprised me about my first big adventure of 2017 was how in the process of saying YES! and doing new things, I ended up embracing my whole and imperfect body and self in an even deeper and more meaningful way. That’s pretty cool and I wanted to share it here in case it inspires you. Read more

Aug 1

Changing from the inside out

ITE_Whole-Life_Quote_sqWhen I share my transformation story with others I’m often asked a provocative question: If I could do it all again — meaning lose 200+ lbs and become a fit, healthy and in-the-equation girl — but only keep ONE of the gifts of transformation, which would I choose?

What they mean is. Would I choose to keep the external, physical transformation of a 200-lb weight loss OR the internal transformation (the mindset and behavior shifts that garnered the happy, healthy and WHOLE life I describe in those speeches)?

For me, it’s a “no brainer.” I would absolutely choose the internal transformation — hands down!

Some are surprised by my answer, but here’s why. It’s because of my internal transformation –– changing my limiting beliefs and self doubts, learning to really love and accept myself, believing I’m enough exactly as I am, embracing my imperfections, having the courage to push past fear, learning to let go of what I cannot control — that I KNOW I could lose the weight again!

It was the limiting thought patterns and beliefs that I learned at a young age and practiced most of my adult life, that had me turning to food as a source of comfort and put me on the path to weighing 381 lbs. It was those very same limiting beliefs and thought patterns that kept me working like a crazy person to prove my self worth, cutting myself off from love and romance, and ultimately limiting my universe to things I thought I could control. Life got small as I got bigger. It certainly wasn’t what I now call a WHOLE life. Read more

Oct 21

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An epiphany on my mountain

She climbed until she saw: No more victim-mentality. No more slippery slope. No more stinkin thinkin. Today we reboot. Yes!

Lori-oberg10-2015Today, I climbed Oberg Mountain on Minnesota’s North Shore for morning cardio. That, in and of itself is not significant as I’ve climbed that mountain no less than 50+ times in the last five years.

However, this climb was significant for many reasons: 1) This was my first on the mountain in several months due to a back injury and chronic case of sciatica; 2) I did so weighing more than I’ve weighed in almost 3.5 years — since I hit my goal in May 2012; and 3) I did so carrying a lot of emotional burdens and some stinkin thinkin.

I had an epiphany on my mountain today. One that jump started a major life “reboot.” Yep, on this day, October 21, 2015, the buck stops here and we restart. Today is the beginning of the official  Lori in the Equation Reboot! Read more

Jul 20

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I do hard things…

…and I’m better, stronger for it! #bravegirl

LoriandAnneonMountaintopMy friend Anne coined the phrase, “Hard is fun.” In her awesome Ten Centuries blog (which you can read here), she explains that by stretching our limits, conquering fear, and setting big, difficult goals – we learn all kinds of interesting things about ourselves. And for many, like Anne, hard is fun.

I share Anne’s tenacity for life. The “new Lori” does hard things. I seek adventure. Look for opportunities to conquer my fear. Say yes more than no. And run head strong into difficult things instead of running away from them.

Finally, I have confidence in myself and my abilities to live life to the absolute fullest. Even, and especially, when that means doing hard things.

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