From mastering self-awareness with Wellness Coaching, to gaining strength with our Revive & Thrive program, Gina has transformed her life. Learn how here:

What goal did you set out to achieve?
My initial goal was to achieve some weight loss but then my goal turn to discover self-awareness and my triggers. I had a pattern of helping others before taking care of myself. Scheduling and prioritizing my workout time has helped me create healthier boundaries with my personal time. Until I could become aware of my destructive patterns and my current behaviors I couldn’t really be the best I could be to myself. I’m still learning how one behavior or habit impacts another action. I’m still learning little things like giving myself permission to sleep another hour is not bad, not saying yes to others all the time protects my boundaries, stop putting more effort in others request on my time than they are on their own. This has all been a part of me learning about myself in my self-awareness discovery journey.

What barriers did you run into while pursuing your goal?
One of my barriers that I’m still struggling with is to stop watching TV while eating. For me watching TV promotes excessive thoughtless eating. The TV is a trigger to eat mechanism which I discovered during my self-awareness journey. I’m also working to be less stagnant and move more. The DAHLC Wellness Coaching sessions have been very helpful in my self-awareness discovery.  I’ve changed my workout schedule and the type of workouts performed. I’ve started strength weight training with little cardio. I’m also working on changing my sleeping patterns. I’m working on getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night which is an increase from my average of 4 to 5 hours per night.

What are some factors that helped you make that change or that helped you achieve your goal?
My original goal was to lose weight by the end of the year. I was working out and not getting any positive results. Also I was not feeling well rested during the day. All of my success came from my participation in the Revive and Thrive Program. The program is a structured 10-week program that provided nutrition training, physical activity training in addition to wellness coaching. As the program came to a close, I didn’t want my progress to stop so I continued to participate in aftercare work. Which in my opinion is a strong part of the program. I participated in an additional 12 weeks of 1 hour wellness coaching which continues today to help me with my self-awareness discoveries. I also participate in a  structured strength training small group session two days a week with and then two days of strength training homework. Aftercare work motivates  me to participate at the DAHLC at least 5 days a week.

What would you tell or encourage someone with who is in your old shoes and doesn’t know where to start?
I encourage anyone to seek wellness coaching. It really helped me to understand my behavior triggers. I started journaling and that has been very helpful to discover my bad habit triggers. The journaling is simple journaling, I write down when I woke-up, went to bed, what I ate between 5 to 9 PM, how much water I drank, time I shut off electronics. I indicate how I felt for the day, if there were any unusual things that happened or any successes to look back on for possibly triggers on why I felt a concern way that day.

How does the future look different than it did before?
I will continue to grow in my self-awareness. Recently I’ve realized that if I don’t drink a good amount of water for the day that I don’t seem to sleep as well and if the temperature is too hot in the house then that contributes to a lack of sleep. Feeling good about my progress and learning about myself has had a positive impact on my happiness. I’m not so focused on weight where I can focus more on my self-awareness which is bringing me happiness and self-care!   

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