Who Is This "Laura Moss, Fitness Coach" Anyway?

I thought it was time to share a little bit more about myself and my life. So here goes...

I was born in Fremont, California, but only lived there for a few months. Most of my childhood was spent moving around to various parts of Orange County, right in the vicinity of Disneyland. Yes, I got to go there several times as a child. In fact, we went at least once every summer when I was growing up. I have always been a Disneyoholic and would have LOVED to go much more often than that, but money was more of a hindrance than location. At least we could enjoy the nightly fireworks. One apartment we lived in was so close to the Happiest Place on Earth, that we could watch the fireworks every night from our patio.

My parents divorced when I was around 8, leaving my mom to raise me and my two younger brothers. She remarried a few years later and she and my step-dad went on to have 4 more boys! Yes, you are counting correctly... I have 6 (count 'em, SIX!) brothers. They are all crazy, but I wouldn't trade any of them. Not long after brother number 3 was born, my dad's employment took us north where we relocated to the Great Northwest. We lived for 5 years in the Seattle area and then eventually settled in Portland, Oregon.

Now I consider myself a transplanted Oregonian, webbed feet and all. I don't love the rain, but I love all of the green and I'm willing to put up with the wetness in order to have all of the beauty. If you've never visited the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I welcome you to come here and visit sometime. We have mountains, trees, beaches, rivers, waterfalls, and more. It's where I hope to live out the remainder of my life. I love to travel and visit other places but there's no place like home.

One of my favorite places is the Oregon Coast. Rain or shine, it's always beautiful. Especially during a sunset. It's my happy place. I also love all of the rivers and hiking trails we have in our area. Some of my other favorite things to do are: yoga, kickboxing, hiking, running, reading, writing, watching movies, baking, crocheting, singing, and traveling. I just recently returned to school, now that my youngest is a teen. I'm studying Creative Writing and have a dream of becoming an author.

I met my husband here in Portland. The ironic thing is that he was also born in California. His parents moved up to Portland when he was a baby. It took me a little longer to get here, but God made sure we both got here eventually and found each other. We've been married almost 25 years now (crazy!). God sent us two biological children and then two adopted children. Girl, boy, girl, boy. It wasn't easy getting any of them into our family and we love all of them very much.

Going through everything we had to go through to build our family has made my husband and I extremely close. We are best friends and love to spend time together. We are both sci-fi nerds and Trekkies. We share a love for Marvel movies, traveling, hiking, and good food.

When I was growing up, my mom sold Tupperware. I helped her with her business, so it was a natural fit for me to be a Tupperware Lady when I got older. I've also had other home based businesses over the years including: candles, scrapbooking supplies, handbags, and most recently I was a Pampered Chef Lady. I've always loved working with people, but I kept moving from business to business because I just couldn't find one that I was truly passionate about. Then I found Beachbody.

I LOVE being a Beachbody Coach because I can combine my love of helping people with my passion for fitness and health. I am currently working on getting myself back in shape and Coaching gives me the accountability to stick with it. I have spent many years yo-yo dieting and struggling to find a weight loss program that I could stick with. I'm loving 21 Day Fix because it is finally teaching me portion control. And with my daily Shakeology, I no longer fight the cravings that used to make it impossible for me to be consistent with healthy eating for life. 

I finally feel like I've found the road to health and wellness that's going to take me through the rest of my life. No more yo-yo-ing! This is it, baby! Finally getting my life back and taking control of the wheel. No more letting life control me, weight control me, food control me.

This is why I Coach. I want you to know what I know and find the passion in life that I have found.

I deserve it.

And So Do You!

Farewell Oh Captain, My Captain!

Ever since learning of the passing of Robin Williams a few day ago, I knew that I wanted to write a blog post about it. I've been thinking about it, crying, thinking about it some more, following the news, etc. The world continues to be stunned and saddened by his sudden departure from this world. I mean, who hasn't seen at least one Robin Williams movie at some point in their life? Who hasn't been affected in some way by this brilliant and talented man? He made us laugh. He made us cry. He made us think.

The news about his suicide has hit me particularly hard. Harder than a celebrity's death generally does. Mostly it's because of how he died and my own personal experiences with depression and suicide. Everybody dies. It's part of life. Even knowing that, it's always still a shock when someone is just suddenly gone. We're sad because we miss them. But it's so much more sad when they choose to end their own life. I can't help but wonder how much pain he was in to make that decision and follow through on it.

I am a deeply religious person. My personal belief is that only God can decide when it's your time to go. It's not for us to play God and end our own lives. But even though I don't condone suicide, I understand it. I spent many years dealing with clinical depression. I had suicidal thoughts. I understand the feelings of hopelessness that can drive a person to end it all. What saved me from going through with it was a knowledge of a life beyond this world. I knew that I wouldn't just cease to exist. That my spirit would continue on and I would have to observe the pain I caused those I left behind. I have been the recipient of that pain. I know how that feels, as well.

Both my uncle and my grandfather took their own lives. The aftermath was horrific. Both physically and emotionally. It's a horrible thing to go through, having someone you love leave this life that way. But you don't think about anyone else when you are feeling that desperate. You just want the pain to end. That's all you can think about. The pain and making it stop. Just thinking back to where I was at that time in my life, when I felt so deep in the dark black abyss, makes me feel like crying. I felt so alone, even with people all around me who loved me. I just couldn't get out from under the heavy fog that was constantly hovering over my head, everywhere I went. I forgot how to be happy. I'd look around at other people who were laughing and smiling and I couldn't figure out how to be like that. 

How ironic that Robin Williams was so good at making everybody else happy and yet he struggled to be happy himself. I think that's why everyone was so shocked. He seemed happy so how could he be so unhappy? He was an amazing actor. Some are better at masking it than others. It's quite common for loved ones to not have any clue that someone is fighting depression. Thankfully my mother recognized it and encouraged me to get help. I'm so thankful that I'm here today and that I'm mentally a lot healthier. I think back on all of the things I have experienced in my life since that time that I would have missed out on had I followed through on my suicidal thoughts. So many experiences. So many memories. So much happiness.

If you are experiencing feelings of hopelessness, intense grief, suicidal thoughts, or mental anguish -- please, I beg of you, talk to someone. Anyone who will listen and take you seriously. And don't stop talking until someone does take you seriously. There is help. There is hope. I am proof that things can get better, that life is worth living. You still have so much life ahead and I promise, the rest of it doesn't all have to be spent in the dark. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep moving toward it. Find something or someone to focus on and keep moving toward it. Whether that's a friend, family member, spouse, children, God, Jesus, your pet, whatever. 

Robin Williams is obviously not the only person to successfully commit suicide. People take their own lives everyday. His just happens to be high profile. But if one good thing can come out of it, maybe it's that we can start talking more about depression, mental health, suicide, etc. My blog mostly deals with physical health, but we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. It's all connected. 

I plan to write a follow up post to this one where we can dive in more on how intrinsically connected our spiritual and mental health is to our physical health. 

Stay tuned to this Bat channel...

What Is Your Why?

Why? It's a simple question, really. Why are you doing what you're doing? Are you really thinking about your 'Why'? Or are you just going through the motions?

If you don't focus on WHY you are doing what you are doing, then you are eventually going to lose interest, momentum, and enthusiasm for it. Even people with the best of intentions, when they first start out on something, often end up losing focus because they don't have a clearly defined 'Why'.

It's important to define your 'Why' for many different aspects of your life. Career. Hobbies. Relaxation. Sports and Recreation. Physical Fitness. Social Life. Community and Volunteer Work. And So On.


Ask yourself:

-Why is this important to me?
-Why am I doing it? Is it something I'm passionate about?
-Why did I start this in the first place?
-Why am I still doing it now? Is it still working for me?


After asking yourself this series of questions, you may decide you need to make a change in your life. Never be afraid of change. So many people are and they stunt their own growth because of a fear of the unknown and a fear of failure. Don't be afraid to try something new. And don't be afraid to fail. Failure makes us human. It makes us who we are. It makes us better. 

I am who I am today because of failure. A LOT of failure! Who hasn't failed? Some of the most brilliant, famous, successful people in history were and are some of the BIGGEST failures of all time. You wanna know why? Because they weren't afraid to try. They weren't afraid to fail. And they NEVER gave up!

You may need to ask yourself another 'Why?' question: Why am I so hesitant to try? Are you limiting yourself because you believe you are not worth it? Maybe you think you are too old. Too overweight. Too poor. Too busy. And so on.

These are all just excuses that you are using to hold yourself back. And, as I said before, they are all based on fear. The only way you are going to overcome that fear is (as Nike made famous): JUST DO IT!

Yep! Just dive in and do it! Try! Be adventurous! Be brave! You'll never know until you try. Do you really want to get to the end of your life and have regrets? Wonder 'what if?'. Nah! That's no fun!

So, let's say you muster up your courage and try something new. Let's say you decided to start a new career. A home based business. Something in the fitness genre. Hey! We're talking about me! Yep! That's what I did. I decided to become a Fitness Coach!

Why? You may ask.

(Go ahead. Ask.)

I have always wanted to help people. I have always had a dream of doing something in healthcare or fitness. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse. My mom has pictures of me dressed up as a nurse when I was young. Then I grew up and found out that I don't like dealing with blood and needles. 

So that was out.

I thought about teaching fitness classes. Thought about being a trainer. Thought about being a Life Coach. But I knew my own weight struggles were holding me back.

Then a friend told me about being a Beachbody Coach and I knew I had found the answer to my literal prayers. I could help other people reach their own fitness goals AND I could get the help and accountability to reach mine.

Was I scared out of my mind to jump into this new career? ABSOLUTELY!!

But I did it anyway! And I am still on this journey and excited to help people on theirs.

But I know WHY I'm doing it.

Because I want to have the best quality of life that I can and I want to help others do the same. 


What is your 'Why'?



(Tune in next time for a follow-up post about Vision Boards)

Back To The Beginning Again

A little history about me.

And my struggle with weight and weight loss.

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Once upon a time there was a shy little girl. She was skinny and wore glasses. She had crooked teeth. She was extremely unsure of herself. She was a late bloomer. She never felt like she fit in.

As she was finishing up high school, she finally finished the maturation process and was blossoming into womanhood. Unfortunately, someone very close to her... someone who's opinion of her was extremely important to her... said some mean things to her about her blossoming womanhood.

This person called her fat.

And she believed it.

It didn't matter that she actually wasn't fat. She was just filling out. Getting some womanly curves.

But when she looked in the mirror... she saw a fat girl.

Once that message took hold, it was almost impossible to get it out of her head. In fact, it took about 20 years. 

She could have developed anorexia. But she liked food too much. She could have developed bulimia. But she couldn't stand the thought of making herself throw-up. However, she did develop an eating disorder. But one that is not recognized nearly as often as the two previously mentioned ones.

She became a food addict.

Food was her solace. Her Savior. Food never let her down. It was always there when she needed it. It made her feel satisfied. It calmed her. It helped her forget problems at home. It took away the pain that the abuser inflicted upon her with words.

She started to gain weight. And lose more self esteem. Which made her eat more. It was a vicious cycle.

She tried diets, workout programs, etc. She'd lose some weight. Then gain it back. The yo-yo cycle was exhausting.

Sometimes she was so tired of the weight loss game, she would just give up and eat whatever she wanted. She'd put on pounds, out-grow her clothes, hate what she saw in the mirror, and try again to find the answers.

Fast forward to the present day. She finds a company called Beachbody. They invite her to become a coach. She's excited about the opportunity to help people who have struggled, just like herself. She has always wanted to work in the fitness field, but figured it was impossible unless she had already conquered her own demons and had her own fitness secured.

But Beachbody said, "No. You can join us right now. Use the programs. Be an example to others through your own journey. Be your own best advertisement of how great the products are."

So she took a chance. She signed up in the hopes that being a coach would not only give her the opportunity to help others who struggle with weight issues, but would give her the accountability to stay fit, active, and healthy for life.

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So here I am. I am here to help you and coach you... if you'll let me. I've been there. I am there. Let's take this journey to health and wellness together.

You have found a friend here.