A little background seems appropriate to set the stage.

As with many women, including my Mom, I have for much of my adult life struggled with weight and body image.  This resulted in several costly and sometimes painful outcomes:

• Yo-yo weight fluctuations
• The “scale” became either my friend or adversary depending on what was displayed
• Diets and deprivation; food became both the “enemy” and the “reward”
• Infrequent, obligation-based exercise—we’re talking ho, hum time-based “am I done yet?” type workouts
• Self image and personal satisfaction with self-image became associated with which size pants I was wearing
• Enough different sizes in my wardrobe to fill a small boutique
• Feeling like the ugly step-sister, when on a weight upswing which was becoming more often than not

It was generally all or nothing.  Not a toe in the water, either all-in or all-out.  This cycle was based upon DIETING.  I personally hate that concept as it a fraud…for me it meant:  Diet and lose weight, stop dieting and gain weight, diet and lose weight, stop dieting and gain more weight.  A vicious and unhealthy cycle that I needed to stop for both my physical and emotional wellbeing.  A myopic focus on the numbers displayed on the scale…was a focus on the wrong thing.  I needed to shift my energy and focus to becoming FIT & HEALTHY.