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Posts from the ‘Emotional Eating’ Category

Aug 18

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Success is changing the inside to sustain the outside

Meet the amazing Lori Martin, Transformation success story #4 in my series titled, “Success. It’s personal. And that’s a good thing.”

Success - Lori MartinDetermination. Focus. Heart. Passion. Courage. Stubbornness. Self-awareness. The ability to go all in and then some. A sense of humor. Learning to embrace the process, as well as the end result.

These are are all qualities I had to muster in abundance during my transformation journey. And each serves me well today as I embrace my new healthy way of living.

They are also the very qualities that my friend, Lori Martin, shares in abundance. It’s why she is one of my favorite transformation success stories, and I’m delighted to share her story with you today as the last in my series – “Success. It’s personal. And that’s a good thing.”

Lori’s Martin measures success differently than you might imagine. While she has lost and maintained 109 lbs — and wants to lose another 100+ — she doesn’t measure success in terms of weight loss. At least not totally. Lori is focused on her WHOLE self, transforming inside and out. We’ve shared this “wholeness” goal since the very beginning and I feel privileged to support her through the ups and the downs. Read more

Jul 21

Success is finding your authentic self

Meet Dean. Transformation success story #3 in my series titled, “Success. It’s personal. And that’s a good thing.”

Dean Packingham

Dean Packingham (upper right) participating in his first competitive race, 2012.

Have you ever had a situation in your life where you felt like the timing was perfect…meant to be? That’s how I felt when Dean Packingham reached out to me via this blog.

He told me that I had inspired him and that he was about to embark on his own personal transformation journey. He admitted being afraid, fearing failure, but also expressed hope and determination. What struck me about Dean was that he had the courage to leap and go after something he desperately wanted, despite his fear. He asked for help. And that was the beginning of his success story.

We corresponded that night for quite awhile. My response was: “Dean, we’ve totally got this! There is no question that you can do it.” This was the same response that my mentor, O’Neal Hampton, gave me. A message of hope that arrived just when I was ready to receive it. Then, I was able to pay it forward by helping Dean.

What’s cool about this pay it forward story, is that last month, I hooked Dean up with a delightful young lady who also asked for help. She admitted she was terrified to take the leap, and that she was not in the equation of her life. And, guess what Dean said to her about two years after he reached out to me? Yep. He said, “We’ve totally got this!” Read more

Jun 10

Our “In the Equation” Community is growing

LoriSchaefer-After-BigPantsThis week we launched a new “In the Equation” community page on Facebook. Click here to join us.

Rather than a closed Facebook group, we’ve started a community page focused on sharing ideas, inspiration and support for those wanting to live life from the center of their equation.

What does that mean? Whatever it means to you! To me, it means I nurture my overall health, wellness and well being — inside and out. And I hope to inspire others to do the same. Read more

May 12

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Two years fit & healthy. New life…new lessons.

Maintaining -200 pound weight loss for 2 years. What it looks and feels like…really!

Lori Schaefer & Transformation Team O'Neal Hampton, Leif Anderson & Jay Grove

Two years ago, May 12, 2012 at my celebration party — with my physical transformation team.

Exactly two years ago today I was standing in a blue sparkly dress at Surfside on Lake Superior surrounded by 50 of my best and closest peeps. The occasion? To celebrate my -211 lb weight loss and the fact that, finally, I had put myself in the center of my own life!

After 18 months of hard work, and a personal transformation journey that had many ups and downs, I had just reached my weight loss goal — at age 49. The stats were impressive: -211 lbs, -nearly 50% body fat with a final body fat of 14.5% (that of elite female athletes), and an internal happiness that I was only beginning to understand.

To celebrate, I threw a weekend party and invited my closest friends and family to the place where my journey officially started. It was a meaningful, dream weekend and a celebration I will never forget. I still smile when I think about it. It was one of those threshold moments in life. For the first time ever, I was able to celebrate my own accomplishment,, share it with others, and allow them to celebrate me, too.

I remember being so overwhelmed with emotion that I was in tears for much of the early party. And I was so choked up when it was time to speak that I threw out my speech and spoke from the heart. I don’t remember what I said, and I’m certain I didn’t thank every person that I intended to. But it didn’t matter. I was surrounded by those who loved and supported me, they knew how much I appreciated them, and the evening felt truly awesome.

Now, fast forward two years. Read more

Mar 5

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Oooops. Off track. Yikes!

Time to restart! Pull out the non-negotiables. Here we go!

Nonnegotiablequote-loriinequationThe pants are too tight and some clothes don’t fit at all. My regular exercise routine has been temporarily interrupted for medical reasons. My motivation has waned.

The truth is, I’m happy, comfortable and having fun, but not as focused on healthy living, or as diligent about living from the center of my equation as I usually am, and as I need to be. As a result, things are slipping out of my comfort zone.

There is only one answer: Restart! No excuses. No tomorrow. It’s today. Are you with me? Read more

Feb 6

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Too thin? Unhealthy? Who decides?

rachel-biggest-loser

This is Rachel Frederickson before and after at the Biggest Loser finale.

Since NBC TV’s Biggest Loser finale on Tuesday night, there’s been a firestorm in the media over Rachel Frederickson’s final weight. Rachel, a native Minnesotan, lost 155 pounds and nearly 60% of her body weight to win the reality TV show’s weight loss challenge. She weighed in at 105  pounds to claim the $250,000 prize and the title of Biggest Loser. And, I believe she lost more percentage of body weight than any other Biggest Loser contestant, ever!

The firestorm is the public debate about whether she went to far and is too thin and unhealthy. Twitter and Facebook exploded with viewer comments ranging from she looked  “frighteningly emaciated,” to “she’s anorexic,” to “shame on NBC for allowing this to happen.” And the media lit up over the controversy with everyone from People Magazine, to Time, to entertainment news weighing in.

I watched the Biggest Loser finale with several girlfriends and, admittedly, we all had the same reaction — shock at how thin and frail Rachel looked, combined with surprise that a contestant could get that thin (not muscular or fit) without NBC’s show producers intervening. It turns out, that our reactions were typical. Perhaps the natural initial human response. Even the show’s famous trainer’s Bob and Jillian were captured in a photo looking shocked. Read more

Dec 7

Sugar turns you into a junkie.

suargraphicLast June, after a six-hour hike/climb in Acadia National Park in Maine, I stopped in a cute little chocolate shop in Bar Harbor and rewarded myself with an ice cream cone and a cookie. I was at goal weight and didn’t eat that stuff regularly, but had just worked out really hard and I was on vacation so I thought it was Okay. NOT!

That instantly set off a sugar craving/binge that lasted hours and turned into days. When I tell people this story, I tell them that I was so into my sugar binge and felt so out of control, that if you had put a gun to my head and challenged me not to eat it, I am not sure it would have mattered. I felt out of control. Then, with every intention of stopping and never doing that again, I did it again. Read more

Jun 30

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Carbs trigger food cravings…YEP!

sugar-addictionMy personal battle with sugar and how I am winning!

Okay, I don’t mean to be a cynic — but, really?! Some of us know this and live it every day.

The June 27, 2013 New York Times article titled: How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings, seems a bit late to the party. It reports a new study that shows all calories are not created equal and that “sugary foods and drinks, white bread and other processed carbohydrates that are known to cause abrupt spikes and falls in blood sugar appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving, and reward.”
Read more

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