My Happiness Coach

My History

I have studied, developed skills, & collected experiences all my life that led me to become and Life Coach in January of 2022.

   As a young child, I dreamed of being a doctor & helping people. At play, I was always the teacher, right down to assigning homework. I received my Red Cross training as a professional babysitter at the age of 12.

   Throughout the years I honed my skills at helping people. With the help of Girl Scouts, 4-H Club, & volunteerism, I found my self with a good foundation by the age of 18.

   In June of 2006, I received my baccalaureate degree in English. My college years were spent studying people & how they thought & behaved. I did this through the books & poems I read, the psychology classes I took, & the university paper I wrote for. It was also then that I found my voice & passion for talking with people.

After graduation, I continued my study of people. I took MOOCs in the psychology of happiness, writing, & sociology. I also, developed a self-help habit, reading every philosophy & completing the accompanying workbooks.

In June of 2019, I completed a certification in the Psychology of Happiness from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was then that I started this blog.

After having Gastric Sleeve surgery in August of 2021, I started my coaching business. I am currently studying to receive my certification in Professional Life Coaching from Transformation Academy.

My Journey

Once upon a time, I was a fat kid. I grew up to be a fat adult. Now, I hate the word fat! It does tend to grab people’s attentions though. So, now that I have your attention, here is my story….

    When I was about 10, I remember feeling overweight for the first time. I thought of myself as “fat” sometime around the age of 12. I remember shopping with my mother, she would encourage me to get clothes that were too large. That way I could hide the shape of my body. Mostly I didn’t see other girls that looked like me. I was different and in middle school that is the worse thing that you could be. 

    As I got older my weight crept up. By the time I reached high school, I knew that I had to do something. So, I began to exercise regularly and eat less (not better, just less). Things were looking up for me and my health, until I started college and became very depressed and withdrawn. I stopped losing weight and started slowly gaining again. 

   In my early 20s, I started eating a diet of fresh food, completely preservative free. I lost about 20 pounds. I was doing great and was at my lowest weight in my adult life. I felt beautiful and healthy. I also started to gain confidence and really let my personality flourish.

    After having my beautiful daughter, my weight went up and down for 7 years. I was struggling tremendously. At first, I was in denial about my weight. I had lost a good 40 pounds the first few months of my daughter’s life and thought that the weight would continue to come off. 

    As a mom, I worked really hard on my body image and accepting myself. I knew that I was a beautiful person, but started sinking into depression. Postpartum depression is very serious and real. I had to climb out of a hole created by depression. This time, I was focused on my daughter. I knew that I had to get through the postpartum depression and not climb further down the rabbit hole.

    As my daughter grew up, I taught her to love herself and created a body positive environment in our household. All while struggling myself. I felt huge. My health started slipping: cholesterol, blood pressure, and eventually diabetes. It was around this time that I was diagnosed with Bipolar II and started treatments for my depression and mood swings. 

   The biggest issue that I found myself facing was cooking for myself. Takeout was just more convenient and so much easier. Why cook when there are so many fast food places right down the street? So, I took the “easy” way out and the results were a 20 pound weight gain. 

    Fast forward a couple years and I found myself living with my parents. Their house is always full of food and snacks. Sugar was readily available and it was hard to say no. I gained another 20 pounds there. 

    Once I moved out I had goals to take better care of myself. It was hard at first. Then, COVID-19 hit – hard. I lost my job and was stuck in the house. Takeout was the answer, yet again. I gained another 30 pounds while unemployed. I was at my highest weight ever. I was even at a higher weight than when I was pregnant. 

    This was when my Doctor told me that I had to do something drastic. I listened and went to the bariatric clinic. It would take a year of appointments to get to my surgery, but I was ready. I finally had the drive & support.

   Fast forward another year and many (many) doctors appointments. In August of 2021, I had gastric sleeve surgery and started losing weight fast. I feel healthier and happier than ever.

Asking for something is easy…
being responsible for it is the part that develops character.

Joyce Meyer