Member story
Linda's story
Linda shares how working one-on-one with her Embla coach helped her see how her daily habits connect, and why she views lasting lifestyle change as her real goal.
About this story
Linda was thin growing up. Then life happened: school, marriage, divorce, and the weight came on gradually over the years. What finally pushed her to act was partly practical, like having to go up another size and finding fewer clothes she wanted to wear. And partly physical: aches and pains, and a sense that carrying the extra weight would make her body work less well as she got older.
Why going it alone stopped working
Linda is honest about her history with structured programs. She got tired of the regimen and of having to account to someone, and her rebellious streak would kick in.
"I don't wanna do this anymore. I could do this on my own. Well, you know, you can't. I can't."
A coach who draws her out
With Embla, Linda works with her coach, Andrea. They have set appointment times, but Andrea is available whenever Linda needs her. What Linda appreciates is how Andrea gets her thinking.
"Andrea has tools to draw me out, to make me think about different things."
Between sessions, Linda gets reflective homework: something to think about over the coming week, followed up with "How are you doing with this?"
Seeing how it all connects
One tool made a particular impression: a wheel of interconnected areas of life. Working through it, Linda saw how they affect each other. Some were going well. A couple needed more attention to make the rest work better. Andrea was open to following Linda's lead on where to focus.
The real goal
For Linda, the long-term goal isn't a number. It's a lasting change in how she lives.
"The lifestyle change is, of course, what the goal is."
What stood out
- Regular sessions plus support between appointments kept her engaged.
- Reflective homework helped her think, not just follow rules.
- Seeing how her habits connect showed her where to focus next.
Transcript
It was not being able to wear the things, and realizing, "Oh, I've got to go up another size," and, "Oh, there isn't as much available to me to wear." I can't just wear anything. I have to wear this kind of genre of clothes or something. And I didn't want to do that.
But also I started feeling aches and pains and realizing that I was going to have some arthritis in my life. And knowing that the weight was gonna weigh down my body and make it not work as well.
My name is Linda.
I was always thin, always skinny, running around in little bikinis when my mother would finally let me wear one. But then, starting in middle school, it seemed like my thighs started getting too big. And of course I wasn't exercising or eating healthy. Well, my mother cooked healthy meals. But anyway, life goes on, got married, got divorced, and picked up the weight. More and more weight, definitely.
And now there's so much more information available to people that you should be eating better, and you should be doing this. But I just got tired of the whole regimen and having to account to somebody. And I get rebellious and go, "I don't wanna do this anymore. I could do this on my own." Well, you can't. I can't.
Andrea's been available to me anytime I need her, although we do have our set appointment times. And she's just wonderful. She's real supportive. Andrea has tools to draw me out, to make me think about different things. And she would give me some homework, to think about this this next week, and, "How are you doing with this?"
And so she had a wheel of seven things, I think. And I realized how they were so interconnected. I said, "Well, this is going really well, and this is going really well, and I'm working on this, but I've got to get these other two things going better to make this better." And she was just real open to that.
And discussing that, I did have a goal weight, I thought, and now I've lowered it, 'cause I think I can get there. So that's nice. I think I can get there.
And of course a lifestyle change is gonna have to happen, because I don't think that I'll be taking shots for the rest of my life. The lifestyle change is, of course, what the goal is. I think that's the [?] goal: to change your lifestyle.
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.