Ask the women participating in the 2018 Her Heart Challenge, and you’ll receive a beautiful bouquet of stories about the spark that fueled their interest in change. Today, we invited Richelle Miller, a busy mom with high cholesterol and blood pressure who is participating in the program, to tell us a bit about her journey to the Challenge.
What inspired you to apply to for the Her Heart Challenge?
My mother and father both passed away from heart disease. My father was 67 and my mother was 71. Right after my mother passed away (on New Year’s Day), I received information for the Her Heart Expo. I gathered a few friends to go with me and while we were there, I really connected to the women who were talking about their experience with the Her Heart Challenge. I couldn’t wait to apply for the challenge and was so excited to begin the journey in the program.
Before joining, did you experience a turning point in your personal health journey?
My wakeup call was my mother’s passing and just realizing I was struggling with high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high cholesterol. I was on the same path as my parents, and as a single mom of two amazing kids, I didn’t want to not have time with them.
What are you hoping to achieve through the Challenge?
I have had the motivation and self-control to lose 50 pounds in other programs several times in my adult life. My hope for this challenge is to figure out why I have never been able to keep the weight off.
What are your biggest obstacles?
My own self-destructing behaviors are probably the biggest obstacles. In the past, I would “slip up” and then tell myself, “Well, it’s over now.”
What does it mean to you to be able to do this with the other women?
Having the other women has been amazing! We are all going through a very similar journey. It is such a safe place to be open and honest and to ask any question we have. I’ve asked a few questions that, even in our safe environment, I felt a little awkward asking, and there has always been more than one person that spoke up and said they have been experiencing that or wondering that or are struggling with the same thing. It is the safest place I have ever been in to address who I am as a learner about my health and how my past has affected my present.
What characteristics do you possess that will help you succeed?
I am determined and I am a continual learner. I am so open to this process and all it has to offer us.
What has been the most surprising thing so far?
How important the bootcamp was! I was surprised how we got so close and how open and raw that time was for us.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?
That we aren’t on a diet and that when you have a piece of cake or a soda that there is no need to feel guilty. My mindset has completely changed! Every time I would do a different program it was about giving up what you weren’t supposed to have. It was about complete restrictions for a period of time, but those programs didn’t reintegrate well back into life.
This program has taught me what a true healthy lifestyle is. Focusing on the facets of a healthy lifestyle instead of purely weight loss has allowed me to completely change my mindset. I haven’t once beat myself up over a food choice. I make healthy choices 95 percent of the time while knowing I’m going to have times where I have things that I don’t eat on a regular basis. This has been so freeing and so powerful for me!
What would you tell other women debating about taking control of their own health?
Apply to the Challenge! I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of something that has made such a large impact on my thought process and self-talk. I really believe it is more important to find a way to change your mindset than it is to lose weight. I’ve finally found that change and the weight is coming off without me even feeling like I’m trying to lose weight. The weight loss is a wonderful side effect of the change in mindset in combination with education we are receiving from the weekly meetings.
