I am originally from Seattle, WA. I moved to Phoenix in 1985, so this is more of a home to me now.
I went to Arizona State University for my undergraduate degree, and for my law degree. I’ve been licensed to practice law since 1997 and opened my own firm in 1999. My practice area is Divorce and Family Law.
I am “Grammy” to two beautiful boys, ages 11 and 8.
Before I discovered CSF, I thought I was feeling good. However, I was not sleeping well, I was under an enormous amount of stress, drinking too much wine, and eating whatever I wanted. I felt like I “earned” the right to eat whatever I wanted at this point in my life. After all, I was “Grammy.” Then, one day I saw a picture of myself on Facebook, and couldn’t believe it was me! My skin did not look very good and I looked super bloated. What to do?
I tried Red Mountain Weight Loss, and a Weight Watchers. I was never more than about 10 to 15 pounds from where I wanted to be, so I actually didn’t have a lot to lose. But those 10 pounds were brutal!
On RMWL I was instructed to eat eat 500 calories a day, no alcohol, no working out, and I took medication every day. My hair was falling out, and I had headaches a lot! I did lose weight, at first, but then real life kicked in, and eventually I gained it all back.
I did a lot of negative self talk. In the era I grew up in, women strove to be as petite as possible – think Barbie. You were that number on the scale. Even now, I have to remind myself that there are so many other health benefits, and the “number” really doesn’t matter all that much.
Everything else I tried started with good intentions, and then fizzled out as time went on. My resolve got less and less and I had even more justifications for why I could eat and drink anything I wanted to, which resulted in more weight gain and just feeling crummy.
Copper State FIT was different for me because it is a realistic program that I can stick with for the rest of my life. I never feel deprived, and it adds balance to my life in the way of diet, exercise and sleep. None of the other programs I had tried took a holistic approach.
I took CSF seriously from the day I fully committed to the process, which included exercise in addition to eating. My first monthly challenge was to walk for 30-minutes every day, and I did it!! I joined a gym, got a personal trainer, and was lucky enough to have Coach Dana as my Nutrition Coach. Between all of that, my life is totally different. Since I started CSF, I have improved every area of my life. I sleep well, I cut way back on wine, and I eat well within parameters. I feel alive, vibrant and healthy!
I feel better now than I have in at least 20 years! There is really nothing difficult about sticking with this program. It just takes a commitment in yourself, and you are worth it! This is a lifestyle that I truly enjoy, thanks to all the people helping me on this journey. Now I look forward to my gym days, and of course my check-in with Coach Dana every week.
Here are three things I learned while working with CSF that made a significant impact on my success, and I intend to continue practicing them:
- The first thing is to just decide to commit to yourself.
- The second is to forgive yourself if you are not perfect every day.
- The third is to know by making these changes slowly, but surely you will feel better every day. It’s not about the scale or what other people think or comparing yourself to someone else, but to be able to fully enjoy your life and feel good while doing it.
Before beginning this program, I went to my doctor for a check-up and labs. I was on blood pressure medicine, asthma medicine and heart medicine. Stress was through the roof! I had no idea, but I was very close to having a stroke with my numbers. I thought it was odd that they took my blood pressure 4 times in 20 minutes! My doctor told me I was all the way in the “red zone” and she was very concerned about a stroke.
Within 6 months of starting CSF, I went from that to all the way in the “green zone”. My Doctor even asked me what I was doing differently because the results were remarkable! No more blood pressure meds, no more asthma medicine, and a lower dose of heart medicine. Thank you CSF!
Had I not decided to start, I would still be doing what I was doing and feeling awful. It’s funny that I didn’t really know I was not feeling my best until I started this program. Indeed, I may even have had that stroke by now. I’m so happy that I embraced this program when I did. I will never regret it.
If you’re on the fence, don’t worry, I was there too! At our first consult, Adam asked me if I was ready to commit to the program, follow the eating plan and exercising – and I said no!!
Then, after I thought about it (and saw myself in photos), I just decided to do it – what did I have to lose? And, what I have gained is an incredible amount of insight, and I’ve been empowered with the tools to be responsible for my own health.
You will be amazed at the difference in how you feel, in a short period of time, how you look and most of all the sense of taking control of your life.
