Meet Carolyn Kaufman of Without The Weight

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Kaufman.

Carolyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My journey started with a blog. I needed to lose weight but I was a serial yo-yo dieter. Things with my health were getting serious and, with a diagnosis like Multiple Sclerosis, I was getting desperate. So, I turned to the internet. My blog became a place of healing. A place to record every trip, stumble, and fall as I navigated the complicated mess of living as a morbidly obese woman with a chronic illness. I struggled with severe symptoms, unmanageable pain, and was needing a cane more often than I wanted to admit. At 24 years old, I thought my life was over before it ever got a chance to begin. In 2014, I lost the ability to use my entire right side. I could barely walk, use my right hand, or feel sensation on my skin. I knew I needed to take responsibility for my health and I needed to do it fast. Over the next four months, while on disability, I studied everything I could about healing the body naturally. I discovered what triggers inflammation and then started practicing on myself and I was amazed by the results. I started feeling better, stronger, and happier and I wanted more of it.

My mindset shifted from seeing self-care as a chore to an opportunity for a better life. An opportunity I couldn’t stand to miss out on. So, I made it my personal mission to feel better and heal my body. By slowly adopting an anti-inflammatory wellness plan, I lost over 145 lbs and regained all my abilities. It’s been three years now since I last used my cane and since then, I’ve ridden in a bike marathon, visited Machu Picchu, and I’ve climbed multiple mountains. I get to go symptom-free almost every single day and now that I feel so much better, I want to share my mission with anyone else who’s struggling. I became a certified Health Coach in 2016 and began coaching people across the US to shift their perspective of self-care through a lens of self-love. You’d never work that hard for someone you don’t love and instead of seeing the journey as a struggle, I help people change their mindset to see self-care as a gift, something fun, and a vehicle to living the happy and healthy life they desire.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Besides my health, learning how to set up boundaries with my family and friends as I shifted habits was my biggest challenge. It was more difficult to go out to eat and hitting the gym became my priority over anything social. I had to learn how to communicate what I needed, which was difficult for people that already had certain expectations of me, and I needed to learn how to be patient when they would get frustrated. Learning how to talk to restaurants about food allergies, meal prepping, and finding new restaurants that served food that fit my plan were difficult challenges as well.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Without The Weight – what should we know?
Too often, we see self-care as a chore and we dread the idea of “working” on our health. Who wants to start over AGAIN? That’s why I made it my personal mission to help people find ways to ENJOY the healing process and make it something to look forward to! I coach people through healing by learning how to manage stress, develop a sense of self-love, and integrating happiness into their current life (instead of waiting for it as a result of hitting the goal). In my company, I am most proud of my clients. Seeing them find relief and healing is extremely exciting for me and every success they have is a success of mine as well. What sets me apart from others is that I’ve been through the journey. I’ve suffered from severe symptoms of a major chronic illness, I’ve done the yo-yo dieting, I know what it’s like to stand on the scale and beat myself up time and time again. I know what it’s like to be miserable in the journey but, more importantly, I know what it’s like to finally find the path to success. I’ve already been down that path to healing and, now that I know the way, I feel confident that I can help guide others down the path to better health and happiness.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
To me, success comes from growth. Most clients that come to me are stuck in a cycle. They’ve tried and failed repeatedly to hit their health goals and by the time they get to me, they feel miserable and lost. They hate the journey, the process, the rollercoaster and they just want it all to stop. But they can’t, because they know they need to feel better. Through coaching, we work to develop happiness, joy, fulfillment, love, and confidence in the process to better health and healing (instead of seeing it as a result of hitting the goal). Every step towards growth is it’s own success because, without it, we would never be able to get over the blocks to live the happy, healthy life we desire. That sounds like success to me!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.withouttheweight.com
• Email: Carolyn@Withouttheweight.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/withouttheweight
• Facebook: facebook.com/withouttheweight

Carolyn Kaufman is a Holistic Stress Management Coach and shares her story of losing over 145 lbs and eliminating the daily symptoms of her Multiple Sclerosis. Since her last major flare, she has hiked mountains, traveled internationally, and it has been over three years since she last used her cane. Connect with her on instagram @WithoutTheWeight or visit her website at www.WithoutTheWeight.com.

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