Member story
Oda's story
Oda describes how personalized coaching and regular check-ins from her coach made a long-standing struggle with food feel less isolating.
About this story
Oda joined Embla for one main reason: she wanted real support with her relationship with food. She knew it was something she couldn't work through on her own.
Struggling with food and weight can be isolating, she says, and even more so when other health issues come into the picture. Much of that comes with a sense of shame, shaped by the society we live in.
Coaching built around her
Oda describes her coaching as incredibly tailored to her as a person and to her own journey. She can schedule calls whenever and as often as she needs them. And when life gets too busy for a call, her coach still checks in.
"My coach will have looked through my week, noticed little things and pointed them out, saying, 'Okay, how was that? How did that make you feel? How are you doing?'"
Those check-ins, she says, are a big part of why it works. Someone is paying attention, even in the weeks she's too busy to reach out herself.
Someone who listens
For Oda, the biggest change came from simply having someone to talk to.
"It was really freeing for me to have someone to talk to that would listen and provide guidance and care."
Finding calm
Food used to come with a lot of anxiety and stress for Oda. Today she describes something she hadn't felt before: a sense of calm in her thoughts and feelings around food.
What stood out
- Coaching was tailored to her as a person.
- Her coach checked in between calls when life got busy.
- Being listened to without judgment made the experience feel less isolating.
Transcript
Well, my reason for joining Embla was mainly support for dealing with my relationship with food. Basically, I didn't have a very good relationship with food, so I knew that I had to get proper coaching.
My name is Oda. I live in Berkshire. I've been with Embla just under a year now.
My experience with Embla's personalized coaching has been very positive, I would say. It's been incredibly tailored to me as a person and my journey.
I think anyone who's struggled with a relationship with food or, in general, struggled with their weight, it can be quite isolating. So when you add on top of that other kinds of health issues, I did find it quite isolating.
I really enjoy the fact that we have our calls, we can schedule the call whenever and as often as we need to, but I don't always have the time for a call, and sometimes life just gets too busy. I think I even messaged my coach the other day saying, "I'm not ignoring you." But life just gets in the way, and I get messages where my coach will have looked through my week or my last few days, noticed little things and point them out [?], saying, "Okay, how was that? How did that make you feel? How are you doing?" Checking in on you. I like it. It's really good.
I think when you struggle with these kinds of food-related issues and weight-related issues, there's a lot of shame with it. A lot of it is the society we live in at the moment. It's just how it is. So it was really freeing for me to have someone to talk to that would listen and provide guidance and care.
There's a calmness in me now. There used to be a lot of anxiety and stress with food, whether it being too much or too little, there was just never a normal or a calm with my thoughts and feelings surrounding food. And I think that's finally, yeah, finally...
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.