“I’m an only child, and my parents live 2,000 miles away. My dad was my rock, so when I learned he’d been diagnosed with lung cancer, I was devastated, especially when he opted not to do chemo. Immediately left my job and flew to my parents’ house to be with him.
“After he died, my deep pain and anger led me to emotional eating. I would eat non-stop while at home, often gorging myself on an entire pizza, followed by bowls and bowls of ice cream. To make matters worse, I stopped riding horses during this time. I ignored all my own needs.
“Then, when I came back home after the funeral, I was alone for the first time since he was diagnosed. I started having nightmares and turned to food for comfort. This went on for almost a year and a half.
“I tried off and on to lose weight, but wasn’t successful until I found out about the Code Red Lifestyle.
“Even on Code Red I struggled with emotional eating. The holidays, especially, triggered the pain. But I still lost 45 pounds.
“I was only 10 pounds from my goal weight when another life-changing event happened: I lost my job.”