The family wellness makeover: Part 2

Life
Challenges: While the family was excited about the makeover, they were also a little apprehensive. That's where life coach Cassandra Gierden helped. They identified the area that each person needed to improve: George had trouble motivating himself to change his lifestyle; Despina felt time-starved; Ria procrastinated on homework; and Stefi needed to know how to deal with feelings of frustration because of being so busy.

Strategies: The Morfidises met as a family twice with Gierden: first, to do communication exercises; and second, so each person could identify a personal, meaningful theme. Despina's was active passion, George's was accomplishments, Ria's was independence and Stefi's was adventure.

Successes: George realized he was slow to get motivated. "I was the heaviest I'd ever been and I wasn't feeling confident about myself," he says. He worried about how he was going to get healthier, lose weight and still be a good father and role model. Gierden helped him see that he really wanted to set a good example for the girls. Helpful exercises included an affirmation about self-confidence. They also discussed the benefits -- and empowerment -- of having a nutrition plan. "Now I set goals about eating, tell people about them -- and then do it," says George.

Gierden and Despina looked at how to create small reserves of time in Despina's life so she wouldn't feel so depleted. Despina made a list of 10 Daily Habits for Energy and Fun, which included cuddling with the girls and treating herself to a bath. They also realized that to fit exercise into her day, Despina had to go to bed earlier so she could get up earlier to work out. She's still stressed and short of time, but she feels better physically and continues to work on strategies to help her fit everything into her schedule.

For Ria's procrastinating, Gierden introduced a tracking system for each assignment that would help Ria control her time better; she writes down information such as the due date, amount of time to do the assignment, and if it didn't get done, why not. Her daily habits list included keeping in touch with her parents about school.

To help Stefi deal with her frustration, Gierden provided coping suggestions, such as taking a break.

The family members have all been supportive of one another, encouraging fitness and better food choices, says Despina. They discuss meal plans, the girls keep watch over their parents' eating and activity habits, and they're all becoming more aware of the role they play in the household.