My

Story

“

In 2017, I earned my Life Coach Diploma from Rhodes Wellness College and focused my efforts on becoming a Food Habit Awareness and Recovery Coach. I chose a Coaching Niche that is intricately diverse and needs to be openly talked about because this topic has always been at the forefront of my mind and carries such great, heartfelt meaning to me. I dive into this sensitive topic as far as I can, and guide and support my clients with personal passion, drive, and all that exists within my coaching ability, knowledge and experience.

As a child, I grew up watching my mother go through many hardships with too many low times to count. As a single mother of five, it was rightfully so. Although my mother didn't drink alcohol (she had apparently quit when I was a toddler), I watched her struggle with food consumption for years & it saddened me. I never knew my mom to be of "normal" size, whatever that is, but I continuously witnessed her slowly lose sight of herself through her addiction to food.

Year after year, I watched as she self sabotaged; not fully understanding but also knowing that something wasn't quite right. Eating healthy wasn't a thing as it is in this day and age but even if it had been, would she have abided by it? Probably not. She would mention diets here and there, and maybe "try" to eat better but it was never done as a serious action.

One year, she had bought herself a sturdy bike that could carry her weight and give her some freedom. I can still see the joy in her face that riding the bike had given her. It warmed my heart to see such happiness within her. The exhilaration that exercise gives, with the healthy endorphins kicking in!

As she rode the bike daily, the weight started coming off, again...there wasn't much information about the connection between weight, exercise and health, but she started dropping the pounds. She was biking at least 5km per day and part of that was uphill to boot and I was so proud of her! When I look back, I wish I would've told her so but then I wasn't raised with compliments or recognition, so I didn't know how to address it.

Somewhere along the way she lost interest, the bike got parked and eventually sold, and I was so saddened by this. As I've always been active walking and biking, I knew the exact feeling that she was giving up on. As they say, a person will only change when they finally have the awareness and willing to do so. The weight slowly came back and it was at this point that I saw the dramatic decline in her and how her personality changed, going from a happy, cheerful woman to a lost, bitter soul. It was hard to understand and even harder to watch but Mom was set in her ways, and that later became apparent with her insecurities as well.

In late November 2022, my mom passed away. She succumbed to her life-time battle with weight. While it isn't a medical diagnosis, it is very much a heartfelt diagnosis for me and my perspective of her lifestyle. The lack of mobility that her obesity created was much more than her body could handle. I often wonder what her life would've been like had she never given up on her daily biking trek but to this day, it will always be a question with no answer.

I speculate that her weight kept people away as it is well known factor for some. My mom was a beauty but she never knew it. She struggled in so many ways because of the weight, and I think so many of us can relate. This is one of the reasons the mindset work I do with my clients is so powerful.

Through living this experience, I have always had a very strong desire not to lose myself as I witnessed her do, but as life would have it, of course, … it has happened time and time again.

I know the feelings of unworthiness. I've been down the rabbit hole of self destructive behaviour more times than I like to count, but I also know the feeling of getting back up and brushing myself off.

About Me, Sharlene

Self-discovery of my own emotional eating to fill the void happened in 2010. I had just finished binge eating a shit ton of bakery goods...savoring every morsel and although I hadn't yet put two and two together, I was self medicating the ugly feelings that were so deep within myself about so many aspects in my life. I had started substituting food for my previous drugs and alcohol, which I later learned is quite a normal thing to do in addiction recovery.

I set out on a quest to find help, anything to help me understand and get through what I felt and thought I couldn't do on my own. Reaching out to various counsellors in our local area was a bust. Food addiction was a thing …that wasn't a thing yet, and nobody knew how to address it. I sat it sadness and frustration, and probably ate my way through that too.

When push came to shove and I was at my all time high of being at my all time lowest, with the support of my husband and kids, I quit the security of a job that I use to love so much and dedicated myself to acquiring my Life Coaching Diploma. That focus, that purpose, and that drive was just what I needed.

I have my sights set on creating exactly what I had been searching for but couldn't find –a safe space for support, acknowledgement and the awareness that individuals are not isolated, rare, or alone in the battle of unhealthy food habits and emotional eating. There are so many of us out there! Through my work, I want to build connections and relationships, and bring together people who understand the impulses with food, recognize the needs, and who want to work on the behaviors that occur - with no judgement, no blame, and no shame. Food Habit Awareness and Recovery is a healthy, empowering choice for a more balanced life.

My intentions are to move forward and always keep learning as much as I can, for myself as well as my clients, because you can never stop growing. Guiding others to help create their own awareness of where they are amid the chaotic, diet driven world is so important to me. Learning about ourselves, our self worth, our well being, and most of all self love will take us further than we ever thought possible. It all starts with the desire for change and the acknowledgment that we are worth the effort.

By offering group workshops, I create mini communities, and a safe space I couldn’t find where people can access the support, acknowledgement and the awareness that they are not alone in their struggle with unhealthy food habits and emotional eating.

Through my work, I want to build connections and relationships, and bring together people who understand the impulses with food, recognize needs, and who want to work on the behaviors that occur - with no judgement, no blame, and no shame. Food Habit Awareness and Recovery is a healthy, empowering choice for a more balanced life.

Terrace is a small town in Northern British Columbia with a population of 11,866, and approximately another 5,000 people in Thornhill, BC. Including surrounding area, the population is just over 18,000 people, so I didn’t have a large target market, especially since I want to work with specifically with women over age 40. I am a go-getter, a networker, and a communicator. I ran my business from my home for a time. With a program I was running called Weight a Minute, I shared a space with another business downtown, and then I proudly opened my own space, but out of necessity, I closed everything down due to COVID in 2020.

I began Red Key Coaching in February 2018, but I have been slowly moving forward after COVID. It is past time though, I am ready, and I am realigning the direction I am taking with my business.

Although I reside in Terrace, BC, Red Key Coaching will offer in-person Group Coaching Workshops in the Lower Mainland for 1 week out of each month.

I will pre-book and offer incentives to people who “refer a friend.”
For each workshop, minimum participants is 6 people, maximum participants is 12.

Current Workshops

I am very much an “in the room” interactive person, and I like the ability to move freely, communicate, and interact directly with my clients. I find it creates a much fuller, more honest, welcoming, and safer environment to unpack and share, to learn, and to grow.

That said, I am investigating ways to create a powerful interactive online Program for the future. I firmly believe in-person is best, but I want to be able to offer value-added services to my clients and to stay connected to them in a productive, beneficial way.

Just the Basics - 2 hours