Meet Emily.
Anchoring in Shifting Tides: Healthy Habits through Pregnancy, a Pandemic, and the Post-Partum Period
Emily is a 38-year-old pharmacist, wife of an on-call helicopter pilot who is in the Army, and homeschooling mother of five. She loves to travel and spend time with her family.
Needing to Break the Cycle
Emily tried her first fad diet in elementary school and had been yo-yo dieting for years. She shares that she was good at losing weight, but it always came back. When wanting to lose weight, she would search for a fad diet that was, “fast and crazy.” The results were never sustainable.
Emily wanted to improve her health and lifestyle for herself and for her kids. She didn’t want to expose her daughters to the culture and memories of fad dieting from an early age. She describes, “I wanted to feel better… to be active and play with my kids… to be stronger… it didn’t feel good to run, and I didn’t like that.” She continued to search for the right diet that would break the cycle.
Inspired by Heidi’s Journey
Emily met Heidi’s family in 2014. Her family hosted Heidi’s husband and son during a layover on their way to take the Czerkes’ newly adopted son home from China. The two families found they had similar parenting styles and worldviews and stayed in touch over the years.
Emily watched Heidi’s journey through her Facebook posts. She followed as Heidi got sick, was septic in the hospital, and was diagnosed with an aortic aneurism. She then saw Heidi's significant and sustained weight loss and lifestyle changes.
Heidi's positivity and joy inspired Emily. She and Heidi are around the same age, both have large families, and share many of the same views on life. Because of these similarities, Emily could envision herself finding similar success with Heidi’s help and decided to become Heidi’s client.
Striving Toward Change
When Emily hired Heidi, she didn’t have a goal weight or size in mind. Her primary focus was to feel better and eat healthier. She also wanted her kids to learn healthy habits so that they won’t have to make similar changes when they are in their thirties. About starting with Heidi, she recalls, “I was excited to make a change. I have this all or none personality. It was a fresh start for me. I was nervous. I didn’t want to fail… I didn’t want to let Heidi or myself down.”
Emily expected her experience with Heidi to match the ones she’d had with previous coaches. She expected that she’d report her weight, food journal, and measurements at each check-in. Instead, she says that Heidi, “takes it to the next level of coaching. It’s about the whole person…” and is “not sterile” like some of the other programs she’s tried. Emily loves that Heidi helps her problem solve and plan to meet her goals in a way that works well for her and her family.
Emily looks forward to her weekly calls with Heidi. The two discuss Emily's progress and challenges. Then, they problem solve and set objectives for Emily to work on during the next week.
Emily values Heidi’s holistic approach and feels like she always has someone in her corner. She says that it’s not just about the numbers and food. Heidi asks questions that tell her about the biofeedback Emily’s body is giving to assess her health. She asks Emily questions about her menstrual cycles and periods to assess hormonal health. She also evaluates sleep, energy levels, and Emily's mindset and emotional states. Emily says that, “it’s a total experience instead of just your weight loss.”
Heidi’s holistic approach reaped excellent results. Emily learned to track macronutrients (macros) and lost 15 pounds in her first few months working with Heidi! Then came an unexpected change in course.
Recalibrating: Pregnancy, Pandemic, and Post-Partum
A few months into working with Heidi, Emily became pregnant with her fifth child!
Heidi recognized that Emily would benefit from support during her pregnancy. She explains, “I knew I could help her walk through the 9 months, troubleshooting any struggles and helping her prioritize her health needs. I knew that the busyness of being pregnant with young kids AND the physical changes to her body were going to be a struggle. I knew I could support her through that.”
When coaching a pregnant woman, Heidi emphasizes building healthy habits that will continue to benefit her after the baby is born. She doesn’t put her in a caloric deficit. She helps her build, “a system that allows her to eat well, practice meal prepping, and increase her sleep and movement. That system will then be a sturdy framework for the postpartum period.”
Heidi shifted the focus of Emily’s plan accordingly. They stopped tracking macros. They ensured that Emily was drinking enough water, sleeping enough, and safely moving her body. When Emily's gym closed because of the pandemic, Heidi helped her adapt so that she didn’t have to put her health journey on hold.
Of Heidi’s support during pregnancy, Emily says, “She was cheering for me and wanted the best for me. I felt like she really cared for me.” Emily said that rather than going through a checklist, Heidi took the time to dig into each of her answers with care. “She didn’t just care about the what. She cared about the why. She cared about why things were happening and how she could help me be better.”
Post-partum, the two are building on the framework they laid before and during Emily’s pregnancy. They are focusing more on nutrition while being mindful of protecting breastmilk supply. For example, Heidi helped Emily find ways to include vegetables in each meal.
They’ll wait at least 6 months to return Emily to a calorie deficit. In the meantime, they continue to focus on forming good lifestyle habits. They're emphasizing nutrition and slowly working back toward tracking macros.
Emily appreciates that Heidi’s coaching astutely shifts with client needs and shares:
“She’s very good at adapting. It shifted… when I got pregnant, when the baby was born, with Covid… she changed the plan. She always has advice for adapting the plan to fit your lifestyle. She’s very good at adapting to your personal situation… at that moment in time.”
A Healthier Pregnancy and Sustained Lifestyle Improvement
With Heidi’s support, Emily’s mindset was different this pregnancy. “Previously, when I was pregnant, I treated it as a free pass to eat whatever I wanted,” Emily recalls. This pregnancy, Heidi, “motivated me to make good choices,” Emily says. She was more conscious of her health and the baby’s health than she had been during previous pregnancies.
Compared to past pregnancies, Emily says, “I did have a better pregnancy.” She felt better and experienced less swelling than she did during previous pregnancies. She only gained ten pounds this pregnancy compared to 30-40 pounds during her previous pregnancies.
She says that she stayed healthy and “felt stronger and more prepared for birth” than in previous pregnancies.
Beyond physical results, Emily says that she’s in a better place mentally because of Heidi’s support, encouragement, and help prioritizing sleep. She says that Heidi has helped her give herself the grace to take care of herself in simple ways, such as taking a nap or having a snack when she needs one. “She encourages me to fuel my mind and body… I feel better mentally, but my body has probably healed better, as well.”
“I feel like she’s made me emotionally healthier. You don’t get that anywhere else, especially in times like these (the pandemic)… This is a totally different experience than I’ve ever had.”
Whether you’re looking for a lifestyle change, weight loss, or support during pregnancy and post-partum, Heidi can help!