MBT freed me from so much weight shame! I was raised in a family with generations of challenges in eating and body image, in this culture so many of us were raised in that values thinness. I was a naturally slim child who knew I had body image issues by the time I was seven. By puberty, I had what I would call disordered eating – I turned to food and often binged to soothe many other problems in my life. I spent the next 30 years with my weight yo-yo-ing in about a 20 pound range, so from the outside I often just looked a little overweight, but inside I felt tremendous shame and spent a large percent of my mental energy focused on my eating and weight. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41, and the chemo put me into immediate menopause. My doctors told me that the two things I could do to maximize my odds of survival were to exercise every day and keep my weight down. I decided to focus first on building a daily exercise habit, since I had been unsuccessful for so long focusing on weight. I learned pretty quickly to exercise daily, but I struggled for several more years addressing the weight. Then I found MyBodyTutor. Going into MBT, I was really nervous that I was not going to be able to be honest about what I had eaten and why, and it was hard to imagine telling another human being my weight. I had so much shame. But my tutor met with me daily and showed so much patience and so much KINDNESS. He never made me feel badly, and he taught me many new skills and mindsets. What he said made so much sense, and it slowly dismantled my destructive mental chatter. The daily accountability was super helpful to me, and sometimes I would find myself asking “what would my coach say to me in this moment?” and that would often help me make a different choice. I think of my coach as having rewired a large percent of my brain. I wish I could say that I lost all 20 pounds and am now at the bottom end of my weight range. For a while I did reach the bottom of my weight range with a lot of guidance from my tutor, but I found that what’s required for me to maintain that weight was not worth it emotionally after so many years of spending so much brain space on my weight and eating. I decided that what was most important to me was to find a healthy weight I could comfortably maintain with my new habits. I stabilized my weight in a place I have been able to maintain for 5+ years now, and now I understand why I weigh what I do and I don’t argue with it or waste much brain space any more. I understand that I eat what I eat, and then my body decides how that translates to what I weigh. My overlays of shame and hate and obsession are largely gone, and I feel so much more peace in my life. If I indulge more than I had planned, or if I make a few choices that are not my “best self” choices, I have the confidence and knowledge to get right back on track. I could never have gotten here without the accountability, consistency, guidance, deep knowledge, and kindness I found with my tutor. I truly believe that Adam founded MyBodyTutor because he saw how many of us “out here” struggle with our weight, and you can feel that desire to help as soon as you sign up. If you’re struggling with fear and shame surrounding your weight, I hope you give MBT a try. It’s not a gimmick, and it’s not a short term band aid. It’s a long term fix, and one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself. I hope you do the same for yourself!