3. RICKI FRIEDMAN | Founder of Break The Weight + Motivational Health Coach
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Here's what you need to know.
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I first met Ricki around 2006. We were both visiting friends at Michigan State University. The first thing I noticed about Ricki was that she was beautiful. In my mind, it seemed as though Ricki had her shit together. She had this sexy raspy voice. She was opinionated and unapologetically herself. She gave off an air like she didn't give a shit about what others thought of her. To me, that was the kind of freedom I could only dream of.
I saw her again around 2014. We were at a house party and started talking about eating issues. I was battling with my own and she was a survivor. She spoke to me about how she found a way to love herself. At that moment, she felt like the only person in the world who understood me. But I wasn't ready to hear her. That's how things work with these things. You're never ready for Recovery, until you're ready for Recovery.
Ricki was the first person I emailed once I launched this platform. I had followed her through social media, secretly admiring her bravery to speak about the traumas which have shaped her. She wrote about losing her Mother to cancer at a very young age. She wrote about her struggle with anxiety and depression. She wrote about her body and her negative relationship with food.
"I struggled with my body for about 12 years. I went on every single diet, I didn’t go out anymore. I really hated who I was. I would count every calorie. I would work out hours upon the day. My whole entire day was revolved around food and my weight."
She felt heavy - emotionally - so she decided to Break The Weight. And that's what she's all about. That's how her business started. Yes, she will help you lose weight. Yes, she will get you back on track - feeling great about your body and loving yourself, but Ricki is more than that. She digs deeper. As she puts it
"You know, a lot of clients that I work with have tried everything. I’m their last resort."
She's there to change the way we feel about food, by changing how we feel about ourselves.
"There’s a reason for why I do what I do. I didn’t just make this up because I’m perfect and life is great. I do what I do because I understand that motivation ebb and flows. I know what it’s like to have eating issues. I understand what it’s like to lose someone."
I can't stress enough how important this conversation was to me, and how important it will be to you. It's so much more than our physical weight that weighs us down. I tease her at the end for making our time together feel like a therapy session, but it's true. It was as if a weight was lifted off of me after speaking with Ricki. I think you will feel this too.
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IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE SHARE THIS CONVERSATION WITH THOSE WHO WOULD APPRECIATE AND BENEFIT FROM IT.
Courtesy of Ricki Friedman
I don't like cheaters but here's a quick cheat-sheet for you.
YOUR SUGGESTED TAKEAWAYS + LESSONS:
How she coped with losing her childhood
How to find yourself as a woman
especially one who has suffered tremendous loss at a young age
How grief manifests in our brains
How grief manifests in our bodies
Skills for overcoming unbearable grief
How Ricki found herself by being alone in the wilderness
The fear of letting anyone in
The patterns of going for the Emotionally Unavailable Man
The tools she used to finally achieve SELF-LOVE
How to hit rock bottom again, and again, and to pick yourself up quicker
How Break The Weight started | The Lulu story
Loosing 100 pounds of physical + emotional weight
How she found her purpose
Why 10,000 steps can change your life
Why her weight loss program is successful
and why it's different than others
Why it's taboo to "want to look good" and how to break that
The importance of learning to LISTEN to your body
and more...
