Teresa Schmitz, Body Acceptance Coach
My Journey
Not too long ago, I was running on the hamster wheel of life, accumulating stuff along the way – a bigger title, a bigger house, a bigger income, a bigger vacation – all to prove my worth. If success was defined by a title, salary, accountability or team size, then by all means I had “made it” and was successful. Yet I felt empty. I didn’t feel good enough, no matter how much “bigger” things got. There was an internal struggle happening along with all the accumulated success. If only I could lose weight, I’d be “good enough” for the next promotion, the next project, an even bigger salary, an even bigger team and scope of responsibility. As I chased more, I chased after my value, never feeling good enough. This pattern continued for 20 years. I was burned out. I was physically ill. The signs were there, yet I kept chasing.
It wasn’t until my world started to unravel in 2015 and finally crashed in late 2017, that I would realize I was chasing after someone else’s definition of beauty and success. It was at this point, in October 2017, that I was diagnosed with an eating disorder, just 21 days shy of my 46th birthday . I’d spend the next two years focusing on myself – my physical, emotional and mental health – as if my life depended on it. Because it did.
After working with a mental health treatment team exclusively for some time to become recovered from my eating disorder (listen to my recovery story here), I hired a wonderful coach who asked powerful questions that allowed me to get to know what made me, ME and what I really wanted in life. I learned to let go, to radically accept, and to set healthy boundaries, all of which were missing in the ivory tower of my accumulated success. I truly found myself and my authentic voice. The joy that I found in life was the greatest gift I gave myself in the investment I spent.
Now, I help other middle-aged women find their voices and become one with their bodies through coaching. Coaching found me, or maybe it’s that we both found each other, in the middle of the muck – the muck that is so important to sit with so that progress can be made, because it’s progress we are after, not perfection.
If you’re someone who wants to stop chasing after someone else’s dream and start living yours by becoming your best self yet, then let’s connect.
My Professional Bio (aka my resume)
- Bachelor of Science in Family Social Science/Human Relationships – University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- Associate Certified Coach – ICF
- ICF Member
- Published Author of “It Was Never About the Cake” – sold exclusively on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats
- Certified Positive Intelligence (PQ) Coach
- Co-founded and coached for In It Together Group Coaching program
- Offering Individual 1:1 Coaching since July 2018 and Group Coaching since April 2020
Other Professional “Nice to Knows”
- Appeared on 4 different podcasts to share my recovery and healing journey (invited back to one show after first appearance)
- Member of Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce
- Project and People Leader for 20+ years at various Fortune 500 companies with home offices in the Twin Cities Metro
- Certified Change Practitioner credential obtained from Prosci
- Senior Communications Mgr – focused on change leadership, communications and training at the organization level – for Fortune 250 company
- Project Mgmt Professional (PMP) thru the Project Mgmt Institute (PMI)
Let’s make something together.
My Best Self Yet 