I’m Claudia, So glad you’re here. I’ve an awesome life but I didn’t start here. Actually I spent 16 years of my life not feeling good about myself, not knowing how to manage my emotions, especially stress, and battling the confusion that lead me to use food to deal with my unhappiness. My ‘aha’ moment came as I stood at my parents house alone scanning the cabinets for what I could eat (it hit me then this isn’t normal who does this when they don’t live here any more), but a routine I’d done since I was a kid, but in that moment I realized I need help, I can’t do this alone. In that moment of clarity I reached out for the support and guidance I needed. It was the first step towards changing my life. The Solution That’s the day I moved towards a solution. Up until then I was always reaching for the next thing but it was always a temporary fix to make me feel better like a: new diet, a better job, new city, relationship, but none of those things addressed the real problem, which was I had a difficult time handling situations that came up I was uncomfortable with without turning to food or closing myself off. I struggled sharing what was going on with me because I had been raised to handle things on my own, and turning to someone else for help seemed like weakness and I prided myself on being able to do things on my own, and there was shame and embarrassment sharing it with another, but that day, standing in my parents kitchen I realized I need help this way, isn’t working! Accepting I couldn’t do things on my own, horrifying as it was, it was also freeing to think someone might actually be able to help me. Making the phone call to ask someone for help ignited excitement, hope, possibilities that I could move beyond where I was, I didn’t have to stay stuck, I was bit scared about opening up and revealing where I was with myself and my life but I also knew my relationships with eating, myself, my reactions to stress, and my inner self-doubt, were all in the way and I needed to at least try to do something different. I was determined to break the habits holding me back. The Process Once I began the process, I was like a little kid who learned to read, I wanted to know all the things about me that I could do to live and feel a different way. I had an unstoppable commitment to my new lifestyle, I was willing to do things differently, which in turn meant I was becoming someone different. I started seeing drastic results, with my thinking, eating, my body, love of self, ability to say what I felt, say yes to what I really wanted and not be lead by “the shoulds” or guilt or obligation. This changed my life so profoundly that I was compelled to share my journey with other women.