Sarah W.

I’ve been putting off writing this testimonial for months, not because I don’t want to talk about what an amazing force Kate has been in my life; quite the opposite. Making the decision to become a client of Kate’s is one of the best choices I have ever made, and this all means so much to me that I think I was afraid of not being able to do it justice.  I’m up to the challenge now.

I like working out, I have always liked being active but like so many people in today’s society I found myself slowly gaining weight, and adopting more sedentary habits that were not conducive to an active lifestyle. I tried all kinds of tricks to get myself back into shape and eating right but ultimately nothing worked. Being a graduate student just made it worse; it wasn’t that I was unwilling to put in the effort but in some ways I didn’t have any effort left to give. All that I am, all of my drive and desire goes towards obtaining my degree and I basically forgot that I wanted to try and be healthy. I would wake up after usually less than four hours of sleep, go to school and start my day. It wasn’t unusual that my first meal would be when I got home around 7pm and by then I was so hungry, tired, and frazzled that I would order takeout from somewhere. I was over 200 pounds and really unhappy with my body and frustrated by the fact that even though I knew what I needed to do to change it, I just couldn’t seem to do it.

I met with Kate just wanting to work out, I wasn’t willing to change my diet or quit smoking. She was incredibly respectful of the boundaries that I put up at our initial meeting, and did not judge me when I told her how I had been living for the past few years. It was like something just clicked with me, all of a sudden there was a person I associated with working out and being healthy in general and I couldn’t forget that. I went to the store and bought healthier foods, figuring I’d give it a shot and see if I could start eating right. Kate was surprised and did nothing but encourage my new healthier habits and push me to succeed during our workouts. I quit smoking a few weeks later, cold turkey from one pack a day down to no cigarettes and I haven’t touched one in over 8 months.

I started shrinking soon after I started working out but more important than that, I felt amazing… I feel amazing. I’m happier; I sleep better and need less sleep to function well. I’m more productive when I’m awake and when I look in the mirror I feel good about myself, not because I’m thinner but because I’m stronger and the way I look is visual proof of my ability to be dedicated to something. This is not to say that it has been easy or that I haven’t struggled, because I have. I’m still not perfect when it comes to nutrition, far from it. I revert to my old habits if I’m not careful, and why not? This isn’t easy, it’s work but the rewards are as great as the effort you put into it and it’s not about a quick fix or some magic solution, it’s about making a long-term change in your life to be a healthier person.

Having Kate here to help inform, support, guide, and cheer me on while I try to make these changes is the only reason they’re happening. I couldn’t do this alone and while I won’t diminish the work that I have done for myself, it has all been built on a foundation provided by Kate’s wisdom, grace, and encouragement. I work out on my own now too and even though she’s not with me when I’m off running by myself I know that I push myself harder and try to achieve more because of her. I know that I can try my hardest when I’m with Kate because she’s never going to judge me if I can’t do something; I know that she will recognize the effort and place just as much value in that as if I had succeeded. How do I know this? I know this because I’ve seen it when I have struggled. The only time Kate has ever sounded upset with me was when I wouldn’t stop saying “I can’t” when something was challenging, and my statement would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. One day she’d had enough and said “Stop saying that! Yes you can!” and even though she was frustrated I knew it was because she believed in me and truly wanted me to be able to believe in myself instead of working against myself. “I can’t” does not exist with Kate, only “I can” and “I will”.