Welcome to Friday’s Featured Female!

This weekly series features inspirational stories from admirable women.  IMHO, it’s always good to be reminded of how strength, determination, hard work, heart and ingenuity can impact the quality of one’s life and I’m proud that these women will allow me to share their stories here.

You might remember that I met Sheila Viers, designer of the Live Well 360 fitness bag line at the Summer Tune Up with Lucy in July.  I was not only impressed with Sheila’s designs (remember the Live Well 360 Ultimate Fitness Bag BlogFest giveaway?) but I loved that Sheila’s commitment to the fitness world was based in the multilayered commitment to healthy living (quality food, fitness, relationships and work are the quadrants that make up the Live Well 360 swirl logo).   Sheila’s story is more than about how she changed her body but more how she discovered a new philosophy that transformed her life.

Sooooo have you met Sheila?

Diet Obsessed To Happy, Healthy, & Whole: My Transformation

I started on the road to fat loss and fitness, and ultimately health and happiness, on shaky ground at the tender age of 15. I had a lot of self-esteem based “must be skinny to feel beautiful” motives.

I wanted to be accepted, to matter, to be “seen.” Can you relate?

Throughout high school and college, I tried every diet plan and pill I could get my hands on, from Weight Watchers to Hydroxycut (the kind that was eventually banned), my weight and self-esteem yo-yoing throughout the process.

After college, I met a trainer that taught me how to count calories and create strict meal plans based on protein to carb to fat ratios. It worked. I lost weight and hit my goal.

This was so validating! I felt a rush of pure bliss and finally felt worthy when I saw pictures of myself. Secretly though, there was another feeling creeping behind the satisfaction. It was fear.

• I was scared of venturing off of my strict plan.

• I was nervous about how I would navigating happy hours with friends or office birthday cake parties, both of which I had been avoiding while on my strict plan.

• I felt deprived and like I was stuck in some sort of strange “body jail” and even though I hit my goal weight, I still hadn’t worked myself completely out of my old binge behaviors.

• I couldn’t trust myself around the samples in the bakery section at Whole Foods or what might happen if I accepted a plate of cake and ice cream at a Sunday barbecue.

I knew a large piece of the puzzle was still missing. I had achieved my weight loss goal, but I had no idea how to transition from “super strict program” mode into a mode that felt sustainable for the long-term.

For the next year or so, I struggled. My weight went back up and then down and then up. I had a weird relationship with foods like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and fruit because I was afraid they were going to make me fat.

But I continued to seek out the answer to how to find this balance and how to build a life around how I wanted to feel rather than chasing a number on the scale.

Eventually I got the hang of it. I lost weight without dieting. I found a fitness routine that I truly enjoy. I learned how to incorporate more feminine practices into my very masculine way of being. And I found MY balance.

It was tough at the time because I didn’t have any guidance. I was doing it on my own through trial and error. I look back now though and can appreciate that time of challenge and self-discovery. Each challenge was a step forward on the bridge that led me to where I am today—healthy, happy, and whole.

Want Sustainable Weight Loss? Build A Strong Foundation

Women often make their way to me for coaching/guidance because they are sick and tired of the cycle of dieting and falling off the wagon.

My response to those amazing women, is that diets aren’t the problem. It’s our relationship with food and our body that is at the root of frequent emotional eating, diet and fitness plans not working, and lack of motivation.

Jumping on the next diet or fitness band wagon is like slapping a Band-Aid over the problem, covering it up, and hoping it just goes away on its own.

Long-term, sustainable dream body results aren’t about committing to a structured, precise plan. It’s much deeper than that. They are about consciously building a foundation with the mindset, nutrition and exercise that nourish you inside and out.

If you don’t build a strong foundation, you spend a lifetime bouncing from plan to plan because a plan becomes the crutch. 

It’s like using a GPS but never actually paying attention to the street signs or roads you travel. One day you won’t have access to the GPS and suddenly you’ll be on your own.

Are you going to know how to get from point A to point B without the navigation system?

Are you going to know how much to eat without your trusty scale or calorie tracker to tell you the precise, correct amount to eat?

Or like me, will you know how to handle happy hours and plates of cake and ice cream at barbecues?

This is what I realized for myself. I had to take ownership of my body and my emotions. I had to do the emotional work, release limiting beliefs, forgive myself and others, and build that strong foundation.

It was the only way to achieve true sustainable freedom and happiness. The bonus was that by doing this emotional work, I also achieved and now maintain the body of my dreams without anywhere near the effort and determination that I put toward it previously.

It seems like magic or like it couldn’t possibly be true, but it is.

I love my body now, not because of a number on the scale but because of how I feel in my skin. And if this sounds at all appealing to you, I’m here to tell you, it’s possible for you too.

About Sheila

Healthy living advocate Sheila Viers is the CEO of the premium fitness and yoga bag brand, Live Well 360, and Creator of ROCK Your Dream Body. Renowned for her practical and intuitive self-love philosophy, Sheila’s healthy living journey began a decade ago when she decided it was time to end her struggle with emotional eating and self-sabotage for good.

After years of yo-yo dieting, over-exercising, and issues ranging from food sensitivities to hormonal problems, she learned how to get out of “body jail,” lost 35 pounds, and now teaches women how to create this freedom and ease in their own lives.

Today Sheila’s passion is to help women feel amazing in their skin along the way to the greater vision that they see for themselves. Her vision extends far beyond weight loss and her unique ability to inspire women to step into their potential, by ROCKIN’ their dream body and in turn, their dream life, is catching fire.

Sheila believes that together, women can change how we view ourselves and each other so that we can embrace our perfectly imperfectness, shine our light, and allow ourselves to experience the love and happiness that we all crave and deserve.

For more from Sheila, sign up for her VIP newsletter at sheilaviers.com/freegift an follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!