Hey there, I’m Angela (but my friends call me Angie)!
After becoming a mother, I quickly realized that children do what you do, not what you say. If I wanted my kids to live a life of health and wellness, it would have to start with me.
But how?
As any mother can tell you, your life is no longer your own once you have children. Your days are consumed with making sure the children are fed, clothed, entertained, educated, bathed and cared for in a home that has to be kept in some semblance of order and cleanliness.
How is there possibly time to incorporate:
– healthy foods (I was lucky if I remembered to feed myself),
– enough exercise (lets be honest – ANY exercise),
– enough water (the constant struggle),
– adequate sleep (babies and sleep often don’t go together),
– the list goes on.
And then one day it hit me. Rather than struggling alone (did I mention how isolating motherhood can be?) in silence, exhaustion and frustration… as our waistlines expanded and our undereye bags darkened… what if there was a way Parents and Children could get healthy together?
What if our mini-me’s became our accountability buddies and we had a unified family mission of heath and wellness?
Based on this idea, Parents for Wellness evolved through a series of realizations:
_________________________________________________
Realization #1: We are living in a time with more health information and medical technology than ever before, yet we are the most unhealthy we have ever been as a society, with:
-75% of Americans living in a state of chronic dehydration.
-50% of Americans reporting sleep issues and resulting fatigue.
-Rates of Depression sitting at an all-time high.
-Just over 1 in 10 Americans now suffering from Diabetes.
-Nearly 1 in 3 people now suffering with High Blood Pressure.
-1 in 2 Men and 1 in 3 Women now being diagnosed with Cancer in their lifetimes.
-Worldwide, an estimated 19.3 MILLION new cases of Cancer being reported in 2020 alone.
Question: What is the reason for this?
_________________________________________________
Realization #2: I believe the reason is that awareness and knowledge of a problem, without practical application of a solution, is just information.
It comes down to having a system of daily health habits and practices in place to begin seeing positive changes in those statistics.
I was personally doing my best to teach my kids how to “be healthy,” but if it were to all end tomorrow (from say, a global pandemic) I had definitely not equipped my children with the necessary knowledge, tools and health habits that would lead them down a path of wellness and vitality in their future.
Question: So as Parents, where do we start?
_________________________________________________
Realization #3: I believe it begins with us taking ownership of our role as Parents.
Children are sponges/parrots/mirrors of what we do, not what we say. We are their “everything” for this tiny window in their lives (a window that somehow seems to go by exponentially faster with each passing year, am I right?!)
What we choose to share with them and how we choose to show up during that window will no doubt impact/influence/shape the trajectory of their future.
Which brings me to the toughest question of all:
Question: Was I showing up as the person I wanted them to See? Was I showing up as the person I ultimately wanted them to Be?
For me, that answer was a resounding No.
_________________________________________________
The day I honestly answered that question is the day that changed the trajectory of MY life.
After over a decade in Corporate America, I chose to forge a new path, becoming a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach. For the first time in my life, I am now living with purpose and passion — equipped with the skills to empower other Parents (and their children) to live their best lives.