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I first met Ricki around 2006. We were both visiting friends at Michigan State University. The first thing I noticed about Ricki was that she was beautiful. In my mind, it seemed as though Ricki had her shit together. She had this sexy raspy voice. She was opinionated and unapologetically herself. She gave off an air like she didn't give a shit about what others thought of her. To me, that was the kind of freedom I could only dream of.
I saw her again around 2014. We were at a house party and started talking about eating issues. I was battling with my own and she was a survivor. She spoke to me about how she found a way to love herself. At that moment, she felt like the only person in the world who understood me. But I wasn't ready to hear her. That's how things work with these things. You're never ready for Recovery, until you're ready for Recovery.
Ricki was the first person I emailed once I launched this platform. I had followed her through social media, secretly admiring her bravery to speak about the traumas which have shaped her. She wrote about losing her Mother to cancer at a very young age. She wrote about her struggle with anxiety and depression. She wrote about her body and her negative relationship with food.
She felt heavy - emotionally - so she decided to Break The Weight. And that's what she's all about. That's how her business started. Yes, she will help you lose weight. Yes, she will get you back on track - feeling great about your body and loving yourself, but Ricki is more than that. She digs deeper. As she puts it
She's there to change the way we feel about food, by changing how we feel about ourselves.
I can't stress enough how important this conversation was to me, and how important it will be to you. It's so much more than our physical weight that weighs us down. I tease her at the end for making our time together feel like a therapy session, but it's true. It was as if a weight was lifted off of me after speaking with Ricki. I think you will feel this too.
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Courtesy of Ricki Friedman