What’s the Scoop on Sherree Ross?
03 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Healthy eating, Nutrition, Organic foods, Weight loss
Well, here I am dear people-sitting on my couch writing my blog. On my television, I am playing, “Too Fat For Fifteen” (via DVR). It is heart breaking! I was obese by the time I was around three years old, so I really identify with those kids and my prayers and healing energy go out to them. It really helps me to keep things in perspective. Before we get down to business, let’s take a moment to celebrate. Since starting this crazy, wonderful, amazing adventure, I’ve lost 16 pounds!!! Sixteen globby, yucky, unhealthy, energy sucking pounds! Yeeeeeesssssssssssss!
You know, it occurred to me the other day that I’ve mentioned my holistic health coach, Sherree Ross, on a number of occasions in my blog but I’ve never really told you about her-her education, background, all that good stuff.
Sherree and I are like sisters from different parents. I liked her right away, but we really bonded when discussing our past relationship with food. I have struggled since early childhood with being an emotional eater. If I were hurt or sad, my mom’s response was, “Have a Twinkie” or “Here’s a cupcake”. Most shocking perhaps, was that I used to drink watered down Pepsi cola in my bottle. *Cringe* Keep in mind folks-far different times. I was born in 1973. *Cringe again* The result-when I get stressed out now, I want a soda. It’s a comfort mechanism. One thing I want to make abundantly clear is this-I absolutely adore my parents. They have always loved me and supported me and they are amazing parents. I am blessed in that respect. What we have to keep in mind is that even the best parents aren’t perfect. I watch myself like a hawk to ensure that I don’t offer my son food when he is upset. I do not want to install that program, so to speak, in him because it will affect the rest of his life. At any rate, as someone who struggled (and still struggles) with emotional eating, it was really important to me to find someone who understood my dysfunctional (toxic, really) relationship with food. In our first meeting, Sherree told me that she was an emotional eater and struggled with weight gain for most of her life. Like me, she had tried numerous diets, exercise and other forms of healing. Like me, she worked out six days a week to stay thin but struggled to maintain the weight loss.
Sherree is passionate about health and healing. She came to realize that food is only one part of the equation. One must look at the whole person-mental, physical, etc. to determine where the glitch is in that individual’s ability to function. Sherree learned her body did not process certain foods and that her inability to process those foods affected her body as a whole. Once she understood what she could and could not eat, she found that she had more energy, more time to exercise, and, most importantly, more time to pursue her interests and spend more time with family and friends. As a result of eating whole, healthy foods in as close to their natural state as possible, Sherree lost forty pounds with dieting or depriving herself.
Sherree received her health coach training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is the only nutrition school integrating all the different dietary theories—combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts like the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. One of Sherre’s teachers was none other than Deepak Chopra. Totally blew me away! What an honor to learn from him! In July 2009, she received her certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) and Board Certification from AADP (American Association of Drugless Practioners). In June 2010, she received her graduate counseling certificate from the Immersion program.
In addition to being a certified Health Coach, she is also a Reiki Seichim Master/Teacher, an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner (holding Certificates of Completion for EFT-CC and EFT-ADV) and a trained herbalist. The beauty of it is that with Sherree, you receive SOOOO much more than just health coaching. She truly treats the whole person. She wants to know how you are doing emotionally as well. During my last session with her, I expressed that I was feeling a considerable amount of anxiety, being recently divorced (my session with her was right after my final divorce hearing), a mom, self-supporting, and self-employed. In short, I was freaking out about money. We had an EFT session and what an amazing difference it made! I started out with my anxiety level at about a 10. I was literally tight in the chest and completely flipped out. When went through the first EFT sequence and my anxiety level was a 6. We went through a second sequence and my level dropped to a 3. We then went through a final sequence and my anxiety was non-existent. EFT involves gently tapping certain points in the body (for example, your temples, the center of your forehead, under your nose, etc.) While you are going through the sequence, you say things such as, “Although I am self-employed and have no idea when I will get paid again, I still truly and deeply love and respect myself.” At the end of a sequence, Sherree asks what you are feeling at that moment. Inevitably something else comes up. For me, it was a control issue. I like to control everything (it’s my nature) and I was freaked out by the uncertainty. Then it went to a food issue. Whenever I felt powerless in my life, I could always control what I ate. Yikes! At any rate, it was tremendously helpful and I left there feeling so relaxed and refreshed.
I am rapidly starting to get incoherently sleepy so I will be signing off soon, but I am excited for the next blog-coming this weekend. I am going to talk about some rough spots I’ve had this week. I was diagnosed with a pretty lengthy list of food allergies last week and made my first trip to the grocery store since then. I left the grocery store, hungry, grumpy, and angry. Instead of focusing on all of the wonderful food I could eat, I was focusing on the things that I couldn’t eat. At any rate, I called Sherree and she talked me down off of the ledge. The title of the next blog-“It Isn’t Always Sunshine and Lollipops.” All is well folks-don’t fret-but I want to make sure I am completely honest with what’s going on because to do otherwise would be a huge disservice. Everyone has their off days, off weeks (PMS + hungry, grumpy woman=meltdown) and that’s okay. You have to learn how to roll with it.
Alrighty then, beautiful people, until next time peace, happiness, and blissful eating,
Shelley
