I recently joined the NY Executive Podcast Network to discuss the transition from “surviving” to “thriving.”

Listen to the full interview [HERE]

As I shared my personal health journey—the crisis that led me to become a Health Coach—I found myself pausing to ask a pivotal question: “Who do you currently have in your corner?” It’s a question that has stayed with me long after the interview ended.

We often get caught up in the how—how to lose weight, how to fix our hormones, how to lower our stress. But I’ve learned that the how isn’t the hardest part. The hardest part is recognizing that we are often navigating these questions with outdated perspectives and deeply held beliefs that aren’t actually serving us. In my early years, I approached health as a matter of willpower. I spent my early thirties convinced that if I could just “tough it out,” I would see results. Looking back, I realize I was trapped in a perspective filled with myths. I was engaging in disordered eating disguised as “the right way to diet,” convinced that the only path to health was to restrict, punish, and push my body through relentless high-intensity exercise while body-shaming myself along the way. I thought I was disciplined. In reality, I was following unproven advice that would fail me and my health.

I was in my early thirties, diligently following the “no pain, no gain” mantra. I was doing all the “right things”—two hours of intense exercise a day, five days a week—and yet, I was plateaued with no rescue in sight. That was the day I broke down sobbing on the gym floor. I hit a wall, caught up in a frenzy of self-pity, guilt, and shame. I had been so patient and graceful with everyone else in my life, but I was brutal to myself. I was running on a hamster wheel, trapped by the illusion that if I just ran faster, worked harder, and ate less, I could outrun my it and return to “normal.”

But that illusion eventually went up in a puff of smoke.

I realized I had to confront the one thing I had been avoiding: myself. I was holding onto beliefs about my body that were fundamentally untrue. I had to look inward to find the gap between who I was and the life I was meant to lead. I realized that the “sick” version of me—the one mirroring the health struggles I’d watched my relatives face—did not have to be my identity.I didn’t know exactly what the path forward looked like, but I knew that staying stuck was no longer an option. I chose to press on, swallowing my pride and letting go of the need to do it all on my own. I quietly admitted to myself that I needed help—and for the first time, I realized it was okay to not have all the answers.I researched a provider who I perceived was qualified to point me in the right direction. That was the step that changed my trajectory. Was it that one provider who changed everything? No. I discovered it took several qualified practitioners, over the course of a few years, to help me reach the reversal of those conditions.

Contemplation hit like a ton of bricks.

I realized that the ‘sick’ version of me—the one mirroring the health struggles I’d watched my relatives face—did not have to be my identity. I knew I deserved more, and my young family deserved more. I looked at the outcomes I’d seen in my family’s past and made a choice right then: I wasn’t going to let that be my future. I had to do something. I didn’t know exactly what the path forward looked like, but I knew that staying stuck was no longer an option. I chose to press on, swallowing my pride and letting go of the need to do it all on my own. I quietly admitted to myself that I needed help—and for the first time, I realized it was okay to not have all the answers. That moment of surrender didn’t show weakness; it showed strength and resilience.

Decision day came to with one small step — the decision to find help.

I researched a provider who I perceived was qualified to point me in the right direction. That first step changed my entire trajectory. Was it that one provider who changed everything? No. I discovered it took several qualified practitioners, over the course of a few years, to help me reach the level of wellness I desired and ultimately a reversal of those conditions.

This is why I do this work, being the wellness partner I once needed. I know what it feels like to be lost in the complexity of health shifts, and I know the courage it takes to ask for help. If you are at your own crossroads, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Let’s build your roadmap together.

If you’re tired of navigating the noise of diet culture, restrictive myths, and the loneliness of “doing it alone,” I want you to know that it is okay to admit you don’t have all the answers. You are worth the investment of clarity and support.If you are at your own crossroads, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Let’s build your roadmap together.

Click here to schedule a discovery call with me today!

Coach Angela

B.S. Edu., CMHWC, CIHC, GEI

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