Why I decided to develop a workbook system and write Oxygen Mask.

When I was 14-years-old, my best friend was diagnosed with diabetes. Being a compassionate, caring friend, I tried to support her. She only pushed me away, and along with other teen challenges, our very close friendship became distant and strained. My best friend took one path in life and I chose another. Even though I had my own issues and struggles, my best friend chose a path that seemed more difficult than mine. She chose to find help elsewhere. Even after I lost touch with her, I was influenced to help people like my friend by entering the health field. Unfortunately, I don’t see my friend very much anymore, but I am grateful for the influence that she had on my life. When I meet with new clients, I am reminded of my former best friend’s sadness—and that reminds me about why I try to help.

I graduated in 1986 as a Dietary Technician. In the ensuing years I worked with a local health region and Alberta Agriculture, helping people with food issues. Since 1993, I’ve coached hundreds of people—helping them eat right, lose or manage their weight, and generally feel better about themselves. I’ve successfully coached strangers as well as people personally close to me.

Whenever my clients told me, “You know what is working the best for me…?” I would encourage them to get a journal and write down all of those things that they noticed about themselves and their relationship with food. In the long run, writing down the things that they perceived as contributing to their success would be the very ideas that would ensure their success for the future.

Great idea or what! I told my clients that if they would write down their ideas about what worked for them in controlling their relationship with food, it would be like their own little weight management bible, written by them, just for them, and exclusively about them. It would help them understand how they tick—almost like an owner’s manual that each person would write for himself or herself.