Well, let me tell you right from the start that my background is a funky cumulation from several different paths in the world of health. But please don’t jump to any conclusions about me. I am not some ultra-healthy, perfect-diet, gym-bunny! Actually, I have an insatiable sweet-tooth. I was never successful in athletics when I was younger. And maintaining a healthy weight and balancing my diabetes is something I work really hard at every day.
But today I am living this life well, and I’m living it happily, too. But let me fill you in on the details.... First and foremost, I’m 24 years old and I’ve lived with Type 1 diabetes and Celiac disease since 1999 (over 11 years). I diagnosed myself, actually, at a health fair in the 7th grade and no one believed me for a week. I read the symptoms listed on my classmate’s poster and said, “Mom, I think I have diabetes.”
But you never think that kind of thing can actually happen to you. Sure enough, a week later and a trip to the doctor’s office, my world was turned upside down. While I absolutely did throw myself a tremendous pity-party for several hours in the hospital, I left that hospital three days later having realized that I don’t know a single person in my life who doesn’t face immense challenges. Diabetes is one of my challenges, and it has never stopped me from achieving anything I’ve set my mind on achieving.
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Secondly, during the year 2009, I set 14 records in drug-tested national powerlifting federations and I’ve won the Vermont State Bench Press competition in 2009 and 2010. Today I continue to train and will compete again in 2011 after rehabilitating two postural injuries. But I never used to be much when it came to sports. Sure, I dabbled in almost everything, but in late 2007, I joined a gym and hired a trainer, because I was suddenly truly determined to take better care of my health. I’d started on my own but I wanted to do more and learn more.
By 2009, I was training to compete in my first powerlifting event, and by May 2009 I realized my body was absolutely designed for this sport, for lifting ridiculously heaving things. You can see competition videos, exercise video blogs and video blogs on life's emotional obstacles at my YouTube Channel and you can find me on Twitter here. Balancing diabetes around powerlifting training and competing is a whole other story--and it wasn’t easy--but having to learn how to do this changed my life and the way I live with this disease.
To make a long story short, I realized how much more there was to learn that the doctors never had time to teach me...and I realized I was capable of learning it on my own.
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And lastly, I am a cognitive health and chronic illness coach in my own business, Living In Progress. The foundation of my training is through David Rock’s neuro-science based program, www.ResultsCoaches.com. As a cognitive coach, my clients are people who are facing any challenge in their physical and emotional health. Everything from managing an illness like diabetes to working on your nutrition habits to rebuilding your self-esteem and self-worth after surviving an abusive relationship.
My primary training is in the “neuro-plasticity” of the brain; how our brains are hard-wired to think and act in a certain way...but we are able to build new wiring, new ways of thinking and new ways of living our lives. With a background of working as a personal trainer and Ashtanga yoga instructor for over two years, I also write “Personal Exercise Programs” for people who are interested in becoming more active or taking their fitness to the next step. I know from experience that it is really hard to stick to a plan if you don’t have one in the first place! I write programs for people based on your level of fitness, your goals, the environment you want to exercise in (the gym, your living room, you name it), and how much time you have for exercise in your life. I also help people with diabetes understand how to balance their blood sugars around exercise.
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You see, if you asked me five years ago if I’d be a record-holding, health-teaching, fitness guru, I would’ve laughed hysterically! Maybe I wanted to be, but I didn’t know back then I could make that many changes in my life and actually succeed. I believe we are capable of any change we want to make in our lives. Some changes can happen quickly while others need time to build and develop. In the words of Epictetus, a stoic Greek philosopher I admire, “No great thing was created suddenly.”
Please contact me any time with questions about your own challenges and goals at ginger@living-in-progress.com or 303-947-7212.
