I am on vacation this week and have a testimonial in place of a blog entry. It’s from a former client Sera. She’s wicked smart, focused and fearless, although she didn’t always know that until life tested her with a Desmoid tumor. She took the challenge, is recovering spectacularly and is now running to help others who have Desmoid tumors in the upcoming Philadelphia Distance Run (PDR).

Her story is below. I know marketing gurus tell you testimonials are only supposed to be a formuliac paragraph, but if you’ve ever struggled with your weight, body or food, you can learn so much from Sera’s story. She’s a fiesty young woman who makes you believe people are kind, honest and trying to be their best. I didn’t edit a thing. It’s all straight from the heart, and a very big and courageous one at that.

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” ~ Benamin Disraeli

There are many people who’ve come in and out of my life in the 27 years, but  very few have touched me like Ali. I still am not sure how Ali came into my life or how I was so fortunate to gain such a valuable friend, but I know one thing for sure – I will forever live a better, stronger, happier life because of her influence.

When I first met Ali I had no idea that she would become such an influence on me. I would venture to guess that many would not know what kind of caring, knowledgeable and charismatic person lives inside that 5’4”, petite frame.

After our first consultation I knew I had met someone that understood me – finally! Someone could speak to my innermost fears and help me answer questions that I had spent 27 years hiding from. I remember leaving our first meeting so light and free with so much hope, something I had not had in a long time when it came to my body.

I reached out to Ali because I had a tormented relationship with food and my body and I was so tired from it. I had spent 27 years starving myself, binging, purging, over-exercising, winning and losing my every day battle with food and my body. I knew I had to stop this battle, but I had no idea where to start.

I was skeptical when I first met Ali. It’s true she was a jolt of light and inspiration that I needed in my life, but she asked me to do things I had been utterly opposed to for years of my life: drink whole milk (no way: skim = slim), get off artificial sweeteners (and just how am I supposed to drink my coffee??), try new vegetables (hello, I eat so many fruits and veggies – how could you possibly show me anything new)? I did not follow  every idea she gave me right away and it took weeks (and months) for some things to sit well with me.

But that’s the special thing about Ali – I have never met a more patient, yet politely persistent, ‘I know what I am talking about and can give you more info if you want it’ individual then Ali. During the process of working through some very difficult patterns in my life, that I learned were the foundation of these eating problems, Ali unwearyingly sat on the sidelines and was my coach, interjecting just the right cheers when I needed a push, but letting me blaze my own path to set myself free. With Ali’s encouragement, wisdom and patience I have set myself free.

I have become a new, courageous individual that not only has a positive relationship with food, but I have become a woman with a little more hope, a little more faith and a lot more patience. Ali came into my life to help me transform my relationship with food, but she did so much more than that. Sure, she got me drinking whole milk, preaching to others when they use artificial sweeteners (you would really put that in your body?!), picking up kale and bok choy every time I go to Whole Foods (yes – there are many, many greens and veggies I knew nothing about), but more importantly Ali showed me how to trust myself, be patient with my body instead of torturing myself, be aware and accepting of life and the “mistakes” I make or challenges I face and learn from them.

I never anticipated how important the lessons she taught me would impact my life and how quickly I would reap the benefits. Several months after I started working with Ali and began to break down the walls I had so meticulously built around food and my body image a routine doctors appointment turned my world upside down when I found out that I had a tumor in my abdominal wall.

For a girl that lived and breathed, nutrition and exercise and how I looked, the news of this tumor and the accompanying surgery that I would need to go through to have it removed was the biggest, darkest nightmare I had faced in my life. Thank my lucky stars that I had Ali as a part of my support system during this process.

Her faith, hope, support, nutritional and meditative advice through the diagnosis, surgery, and recovery were nothing short of amazing. From pre-surgery meditations, to post surgery healing recipes and to recovery chats of confidence (not to mention a heroic realization during this whole process that I had a horrible gluten intolerance) Ali was a friend, mentor, health coach and ray of light. I may never figure out how she came in my life and how she joined me on my journey at just the right time, but I will forever be changed because she was a part of it.

Thank you Ali, for being you, for always having hope, for sticking by me when I wanted to give up and for believing I had a beautiful, promising future waiting for me – you were right and I am forever grateful. ~Sera S. Philadelphia, PA

To donate for the research on Desmoid tumors and help support Sera during the PDR, click here: www.active.com/donate/sera_dtrf