Sabrina wakes up ready to start her day.  She recently finished working with a wellness coach, and she’s excited to test out her newfound freedom.  Sabrina used to struggle with a lot of guilt and harsh self-talk when it came to trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  But after working with her coach, she learned to recognize when these thoughts would come up and how to react differently.

Initially, Sabrina planned to get up early and go for a run.  But her 2-year-old was up sick last night, so Sabrina let herself sleep in.  When this would happen in the past, she would sleep in, feel terrible about missing a workout, then move throughout her day with a low-grade feeling of defeat.  But this time, she was ready.  Because of sleeping in, she only had 45 minutes to exercise, get ready, and feed her son breakfast before jumping on a Zoom call for work.  So, Sabrina got her son’s breakfast ready and while he ate, she pulled up a 15-minute yoga workout and got some movement in before work.  “Normally I would have been so upset that I didn’t get a full hour of exercise in, but now that I know ‘everything counts’¹, I feel good about what I could do this morning.  Not to mention, some stretches before sitting down to my desk felt good!”

Between each Zoom meeting that day, Sabrina alternated between playing with her son – who fortunately was feeling better throughout the day – and doing some air squats and walks around the house to move her body more.  A couple of times, her son joined in and tried doing squats with her!  “Just think,” she said to herself, “I used to be so upset about not getting my morning runs in, I wouldn’t do any other exercise because I thought I’d failed that day.  But now, my son gets to watch his mom get creative and move her body, and he’s having fun, too!  Definitely a win-win.”

By the end of the day, Sabrina feels fulfilled, but exhausted.  She knows some fresh air would do her good, so when her husband gets home, she suggests they go for a family walk.  On their walk, the “neighborhood grandma” sees them and rushes over to say hi.  After hearing their son was sick and Sabrina worked and took care of him that day, she brings out a fresh batch of cookies.  “You need this more than me – you had a busy day today!” she laughs.  Sabrina thanks her for the kind gesture and they take the cookies home.  

Once dinner is over and her son is asleep, Sabrina and her husband eat the cookies and chat about their day.  “Wow!”  Sabrina thinks.  “I’m actually enjoying these cookies.  I used to try to not eat ANY cookies, or I would eat ALL the cookies and not even taste them.  Either way, I would feel terrible afterwards.  But now, I can sit here, enjoy time with my husband, and really SAVOR these cookies.  I don’t have to feel bad about eating them.  I’ve made a conscious decision I’d like to eat these, I know eating treats has its place in a balanced diet, and I know how to slow down and truly relish the flavors.  All this means I’ll feel satisfied afterwards.”

At the end of a long, but good day, Sabrina hits the pillow grateful for the time spent with her wellness coach.  “I feel so much freer enjoying my food and moving my body.  And I know this freedom helps me be kinder to myself, which means I’ll keep wanting to take care of my body by moving it and fueling it well.  This is a much better cycle to be in.”

If you long to experience a guilt-free health journey like Sabrina, wellness coaching can help you do so!  Click here to get a free PDF to learn more, or if you’re ready to get started, click here to register for a free 30-minute coaching session!  We can’t wait to help you experience freedom on your health journey.

Cheers to your health!

Sources:
¹Segar, M.L. (2015). No sweat: How the simple science of motivation can bring you a lifetime of fitness. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Photo credits:
Photo by OC Gonzalez on Unsplash
Photo by Shashi Chaturvedula on Unsplash
Photo by kabita Darlami on Unsplash