Hi, I’m Lauren.
What makes me a compassionate coach?
I’ve been there too!
When I was 8-years-old, I began to realize I did not look like the other kids. They were growing in one direction — tall — while I seemed to be growing in the other direction… wide. By age 15, I had hit 180 pounds and the extra weight was destroying my self-esteem.
While trying on outfits in a department store dressing room to wear to my brother’s Bar Mitzvah I sobbed uncontrollably. Even a size 14 was too small. I felt I would never be comfortable in my own skin, never be able to love myself in a dress, and never be able to wear a bikini.
I believed I would never be accepted by my family, unless I fit in. Literally.
Then I discovered that staple of 1970’s culture: the crash diet. My mom was great at informing me of the latest miracles of modern medicine, “You eat only grapefruit one day, and only cabbage soup the next!” She would take me to ribbon-cuttings of the newest diet centers where “the nice people” handed out pieces of cardboard I was supposed to pretend had something in common with a Ritz cracker.
I yo-yo dieted my way through my teens and twenties, losing and gaining more than 100 pounds. It was brutal. BTW, diets work (in the short term)! The problem is you go back to eating the way you were before and guess what? The weight comes back on.
I battled weight for more than half my life in what became a painfully familiar cycle. Seeking self-worth on a scale felt like being in prison. My happiness was tied to a number and that number was never realistic. Maybe you can relate?
Life as a grown-up…
In my thirties, I began a career in fashion publishing at Elle Magazine followed by a series of other magazines. Nothing like joining an industry that worships skinny models when you’re struggling with body image!
All of the magazines perpetuated a stereotype of how women should look in and out of clothes. None of them looked like me. It was heartbreaking. Years later, I found out they literally ate paper to keep their stomachs full! We didn’t publish that diet – it wouldn’t have been healthy for our audience or bottom line (Weight Watchers was one our biggest advertisers and probably wouldn’t have loved the competition.).
The Journey Begins
My transformational moment wasn’t a moment — it was a journey. Although I wasn’t the best athlete, I always enjoyed fitness and realized when I applied myself to working out, the benefits were quickly apparent.
When I started to take more responsibility for my eating habits, I learned I could eat almost anything I wanted as long as I didn’t eat a lot of it.
My confidence grew, but not because my waistline was shrinking. Wellness, you see, isn’t about weight loss. I can’t stress this enough. Food is not the problem, it is a temporary solution and often an attempt to mask pain or fill a void.
True healing is about acceptance, empowerment, and a relationship with yourself…the person you most often neglect.
This time, without a diet or any quick fix, I lost the weight and kept it off. I kept an exercise log, made appointments to meet friends at the gym, and began to teach myself to cook at home: first an egg, then a salad, and eventually three-course meals!
Little by little I learned to love my exercise, my nutritious food — and most of all, myself.
My ongoing journey — with all its struggles — helped me discover my life’s purpose:to help other people, like you, get healthy. I believe we are all here to help each other and as I’ve learned we are not meant to do this life alone.
Love your choices, love your life
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Love your choices, love your life •
Why I am here — for you!
As a coach, my holistic approach to health covers areas such as nutrition (think high protein), exercise (strength training is the most important), meditation (don’t believe everything you think), and relationships (to food, thoughts, other people, the natural world…).
After 30 years in Corporate America, I am no longer defined by my busyness. I actually try to strike the balance between BEING and DOING (after all we are Human Beings not Human Doings).
I help people find the tools they need to succeed and the inspiration to use them in real life. When you work with me, the process is ultimately about getting to know yourself. The key is to figure out how to be happy right where you are and live your life with intention. Health isn’t a destination and it certainly isn’t about a number on the scale. It’s a journey, and one that you do not have to travel alone.