The answer to this lies in my own story.  Born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1978, I was a normal-sized baby, a lucky 7 lbs, 7 ounces. I was slender as a young child, but by about age 6 was struggling with obesity and food addiction. Like most chubby kids I was made fun of, was last to be picked for sports and was basically an outcast. With my drive and attitude I never allowed myself to be bullied, but I still had a miserable grade school experience.

Fast forward to my early twenties and I was a full-blown alcoholic and was at my heaviest weight so far. At 23 I had hypertension, high cholesterol and was well on my way to Type II diabetes. That was a wake up call, and I made a decision to lose the extra weight. Over the course of about a year, I lost 60 pounds and kept it off for about five years. Then life happened. The birth of my beautiful daughter took my weight to a new all-time high, but I was able to lose most of that weight.

What happened next, though, abruptly changed everything.  My mother was diagnosed with a benign tumor on her brain stem, but brain surgery and biopsy proved it to be being cancer. Really bad cancer that took my mother away from my sister and I five weeks later.  She left us with a huge mess–literally, because she was a hoarder. She also left me with my sister, who had been cognitively disabled since birth. The years after our mother’s death challenged me with some paralyzing hurdles and life adjustments, but they brought some life changes that were long overdue. I decided to quit my high-paying corporate job to pursue my newly discovered passion and purpose, life coaching.  Though I was happy for the first time since before my mom died, my weight had gotten out of control. I decided I needed to make a change. I needed to take my life back and–without being crippled by excuses and traumas–lose the weight. I was over 30 at this point, though, with a BMI close to 50 and a back injury that kept me from exercising. I couldn’t lose the weight, no matter how hard I tried. I felt devastated and broken.

Then I made a call to a bariatric surgeon that would  change my life. It was an empowering and frightening call that I would relive countless times. I made the decision to have laproscopic gastric bypass surgery, after doing a lot of intense research and soul searching. This was it. This was me taking my life back, and no one could take that away from me.

After having the surgery I had to make a lot of adjustments. and Although my surgeon is one of the best in the country and the aftercare is the gold standard–innovative, really–there was something missing. I really needed the daily non-judgmental, unbiased support that I couldn’t get from my friends and family. So I sought out a coach of my own; with her help (and that of my family and friends), I know I’m in this for the long haul and will continue to make progress.

So “Why Murphy Life Coaching?” Because I have been where you are, I felt those feelings and I know that sometimes you just need someone to hold space for you, give you a hug and really understand what you’re going through.