Member story
Jill's story
Jill shares how coaching that combined encouragement with accountability helped her feel more patient with her kids and more confident in herself.
About this story
Jill has a home life she describes as great: a family she loves and kids with busy schedules. What she didn't have was the energy to show up for them the way she wanted to. Evenings were the hardest. Homework, practice and dinner all landed at once, and she could feel herself getting irritated over small things.
"I wasn't taking care of me, so I didn't feel good, and that affected how I took care of the family."
Why she started
Her family was the reason she looked into Embla. She wants to be around for a long time, to see her kids grow up and have families of their own. And there was one specific goal on the list: her daughter wants to run a 5K with her.
A coach who is kind and honest
Jill works with her coach, Melissa, and describes the relationship as a balance of two things: encouragement and accountability.
"She's positive, I think, but she also holds me accountable. And then she also calls me out when I'm being a little too hard on myself."
When Jill had a week where she felt she hadn't eaten well, Melissa didn't let her fixate on it. She walked through the whole week with her and challenged her to look at her food log as a pattern, not as one meal that may or may not have been the best. That shift, from judging single moments to looking at the bigger picture, has stayed with her.
Showing up differently at home
Jill says she noticed a change in how she felt early on, before anything else had changed. Over time, sleeping better and feeling stronger have given her more patience with her kids, and more room to handle her own emotions in the busy evening hours.
The person she is today
Asked to describe herself now, Jill doesn't hesitate: confident, happy and glad to have the energy for everything work and family ask of her.
What stood out
- Her family was her reason for starting.
- Her coach combined encouragement with honest accountability.
- Looking at patterns in her food log helped her stop judging single meals.
Transcript
Jill: I was unhappy with the way I looked and felt about myself. My home life is great. I have a great family, but I don't think I had the energy all the time to give everything to them that I want to be able to. And that was very difficult, to not be 100% there for your family.
I would struggle most in the evenings. That's when we would be doing homework, and we'd be going to practice, and we would still have to make dinner. I could feel myself getting very irritated. I felt bad that I'm yelling or upset or frustrated over something silly, because I wasn't taking care of me, so I didn't feel good, and that affected how I took care of the family.
My family was a big factor in looking into something like Embla and starting the weight loss process. I want to be healthy for my kids. I want to live a long time. I want to see them get married and have children. My daughter would like for me to run a 5K with her, and I previously have not been able to do that.
I think I felt the mental shift probably within about a month. Even though I had not lost weight, my mood was already better, I was already sleeping better, and in general, I felt better about myself, even though there really wasn't any change yet.
I think Melissa has played a very important role in this. She's positive, I think, but she also holds me accountable. And then she also calls me out when I'm being a little too hard on myself. There were a couple of times that I didn't eat very well during the week, and she just went through all of my stuff with me, and she said, "And I'm going to challenge you to go back and look at your food log and really pay attention to what you are eating, because you can't just focus on that one thing, that one meal that may or may not have been the best."
I think since starting the process and losing weight and getting stronger, therefore sleeping better, has also improved my ability to have more patience with the kids. And I think I'm able to heed those emotions a little bit better. And I think that's because I'm not emotionally and physically drained.
Interviewer: How would you describe the person you are today?
Jill: Oh my, the person I am today. I think the person I am today is confident. I think I am happy. I am very blessed. I'm just really glad that I have the energy and stamina to do all the things I need to do with work and family, and managing all of that.
Individual results vary. Results depend on many factors, including engagement with the program.
Testimonials reflect the individual experiences of Embla members, shared with their permission and edited for length. Individual results vary. Medication is prescribed only by an independent licensed clinician when determined appropriate. Not all participants will qualify.