So as I'm driving to Carla's office, I again start thinking about who I could interview. Duh! I would interview Carla! She is not only my boss, but she has been such a good friend to me over the years. We met when I was in graduate school. She just began working for the Little Rock School District, when my practicum supervisor (her boss) dumped me off onto her. So she had to learn a new job and have a clueless student bugging her all the time. I learned so much from her that year, and I can't imagine anyone else training me to do my job. We cried on each others' shoulders (a lot) that year, as we were both going through a lot of stressful things. I helped her with her testing load, and she was my advocate when an ugly professor at my university started attacking me. When I was applying for internships, she used her connections and landed me the perfect job, at a school I loved, which encouraged me to continue doing psychology in the schools. Then, she helped me get hired with the LRSD by writing me a glowing recommendation (after I applied to about 25 other jobs requiring her to send 25 recommendations out). And when Carla wanted to quit the LRSD, I encouraged her to stay. Of course she DID, and 3 years later was hired as Coordinator of School Psychology for the biggest school district in the state of Arkansas.
Carla has always been my go-to-girl, not just in my professional life, but in my personal life too. She is always so calm, as opposed to my anxious nature, and she keeps me in check. As psychology specialists, we are given a lot of stress, and she stays cool and collected with a smile on her face. So, you know, I think it was meant to be that my Zumba instructor did not respond back to me, or I wouldn't have realized what a great inspiration I had right in front of my eyes.
Aside from Carla's hard work ethic and pleasant demeanor, she has overcome many obstacles in her life. One of her biggest obstacles was her transformation into becoming active and healthy. When Carla was my practicum supervisor, she had always talked about being heavier, and one day at lunch, showed me her picture on her driver's license. I could not even recognize her from the picture, which was just two years before. She looked amazing! Carla worked hard and was persistent, losing a total of 60 lbs over a two-year period! We've talked about it before, but I wanted to ask her again today exactly how she did it.
The following is a paraphrased transcript of our interview:
Lori: So, tell me again how you lost the weight and what encouraged you to do so?
Carla: I had already made the decision to get healthy and lose weight, the day that my doctor prescribed my blood pressure medication. I ignored my mother's advice for years that I should lose weight, but it really sat in when I had to go on heart medicine. Looking back, it would have been wise to prevent that from happening because I still take blood pressure meds to this day. I started out really slowly, losing only 20 lbs in a year when I worked for the Pulaski County Special School District. Then I moved to Florida for a year, and maintained the 20 lb loss during that year. When I returned to Arkansas, I was hired as an Academic Coordinator for student athletes at ASU (Arkansas State University). As an advisor for athletes, we were given a one-hour break per day to work out at the gym. It was a little embarrassing working out in front of all those very in-shape healthy athletes, so I worked out at home a lot too.
Lori: How much weight did you lose that year at ASU?
Carla: I lost 40 lbs when I was at ASU, and had lost 20 lbs before moving to Florida. So 60 lbs total.
Lori: And how long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs?
Carla: I lost that over a period of about 6 months.
Lori: What kind of exercises did you do?
Carla: I started out really light, like doing the Wii fit, but once I built up some strength moved onto cardio and weight lifting every day.
Lori: Besides daily exercise, what else did you change about your lifestyle?
Carla: I began watching my calories in what I ate, and I cut out snacks between meals.
Lori: Any advice you have for me during my personal Kwest?
Carla: Give yourself an occasional break, or a cheat day to eat what you want. Try to look at the big picture of what you're doing, instead of just day-to-day.
Like I said, I love Carla! She is the best boss in the whole wide world, and she is one of the best people I have ever met. I'm so glad that she volunteered to take some of my testing load next week, or I may not have ever realized the great inspiration I had right in front of me. And then I made her take a selfie with me, and we were both wearing pink! Great minds think alike, you know!
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