Simply Inspired: Boomerang Girl | Lizzie Jacobson

It's hard not to fall in love with our dear friend Lizzie Jacobson as she takes you on her incredible journey through her experiences with how she got to where she is today! She is such a beautiful person inside and out and once you read her story, we know you will feel the same way. We are so excited to have her a part our blog, because we are "Simply Inspired!"

LIZZIE:

 
"You have permission to heal." Permission. Something I had not given myself the last 8 years of my life. Permission to let myself turn a new page. Permission to let myself think I am enough. Permission to let myself know that there is life beyond the pain- both mentally and physically. In order to overcome the eating disorder and all that came with it, I had to truly let go. That’s it. Just let go.

As I sit here thinking back to where it all began, I am overwhelmed by a rush of emotions. Where to begin? The beginning of it all seems a little fuzzy. I do not think I can pinpoint an exact starting point of when it began. Was it back in 5th grade when my dad started waking up early to make protein shakes? The sound of the blender in the morning would wake me up. The protein shake would be in the blender. I would wake up, run down and beg him for the leftover chocolate goodness that came out of that blender. Why you may ask? I think back then I thought it would make me look like the girls on the front of a Teen Magazine. 

At the ripe old age of 11 I had already began keeping a food journal thinking that this would make me skinny-like the girls on the cover of the magazines. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to fit in. How could I, at the age of 11, already have begun the process of being stripped of the innocence my youth brought? My climb of one of the steepest hills had begun. It was not until years later that I would admit to myself that I had a problem. I admitted this to myself not because I really wanted to but more because I had to. My life had started to become defined by my problem and it was time to make a change. A positive change. 

As the saying goes, things typically get worse before they get better… and they did. College was a major roller coaster. Two surgeries that took place the summer after my freshman year led me to drop about 20 pounds leading to me liking what I saw in the mirror. When the positive comments from people began to roll in, the pressure to continue my new weight got worse. My best friends all knew I was really struggling, but I was not willing to seek help. My life continued to revolve around my obsession yet fear of food. People no longer talked about how great I looked, rather the topic changed to their concern of if I was okay. 

Senior year of college I was eating about 600 calories a day and continued to not acknowledge anything. There was one day where I realized that I couldn’t do this alone anymore. It was 3pm. I was cruising in my Suburu and had eaten maybe a banana and a coffee all day. I had stopped by a gas station to buy trail mix because I had almost become too dizzy to drive as a result of not eating.  As I drove I attempted to get the trail mix open and after 30 failed attempts I finally ripped the bag open. As it went flying all over the car I pulled over to the side of the road and cried or actually bawled for about what seemed like hours. It was at that point I knew I had reached a point where I needed help but little did I know the dark days were just beginning.

My life became and continued to be a constant battle of counting calories, skipping meals, early mornings and late nights at the gym each day, negative self-talk, skewed body image, and extreme perfection. Simply thinking about all this leaves me exhausted. I graduated college and the battle still continued. 

It was not until one morning a year after college ended when I woke up with stabbing pains in my stomach would I realize that the hardest part of my journey was just about to begin. The next three years of my life would begin a journey through every health, wellness and medical mind from Mayo Clinic to Mexico. I bounced around from every doctor, hospital, acupuncturist, hypnotist, chiropractor, counselor, etc out there. I tried just about every diet and even at one point became suicidal in hopes that all the pain would disappear. The pains that were a result of what my eating disorder had done to body. 

Due to all the health issues-both physical and mental-I ended up quitting my new job at Target Corporate in 2015, leaving my friends and life here in Minneapolis to move home to Sheboygan, WI. To some it may seem like a sign of failure- quitting your job after 6 months- but to me it was a sign of my strength. I finally was giving myself permission to heal. It is hard to believe that this decision took place a little over 9 months ago. Coming home turned out to be more than a journey to healing my physical body. It was a journey to realizing your parents can truly become your best friends. A journey to realizing I am enough. A journey to building up one of the most important relationships I can ever have: a best friendship with the God one who created me. He truly showed and continues to show me His healing power. That time at home gave me the opportunity to chase my passions: I got certified in Yoga Nidra (relaxation yoga), began school at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to pursue my dream of becoming a health and wellness coach for young woman, and even began my own business- Boomerang Girl. 

Boomerang Girl has given me the opportunity to share what I have learned with others.  It is a community created for young women to empower each other to love themselves for all that they are, all that they were, and all they have yet to become.  Many times women hold themselves to an unrealistic standard of beauty. It is not fair the expectations that society has placed on us. So it is our turn to fight back. To fight back with love. To change the status quo.

A Boomerang Girl is a faith-filled woman who will stop at nothing to end the cycle of perfection and begin the path to self-acceptance. Boomerang Girl is the integrative health coach that helps you understand that you are immeasurably more than you believe, so you can feel free from the voices who are telling you that you’re not enough.

Boomerang Girl is a safe haven for women who:

• want to let go of perfection
• struggle with body image
• have the desire to grow in self love and self confidence
• refuse to give up hope, no matter how hard things get
• need guidance from someone who understands

From food to faith to fitness, I am here to help women find balance in all aspects of their life.

As I reflect back upon my journey I have learned that it is impossible to appreciate the sweet times in life if I have not encountered the bitter.

I am thankful for the fact that life is hard. Yep. Sounds messed up but from my perspective it's true. The last few years of my life have been anything but a cake walk. There have been many things I have seemingly lost but for all the things lost they continue to be a reminder of what I will soon gain. I love that life is bittersweet. I love that I am able to laugh through the pain and smile through the challenges. Learning to be grateful has been my motto this last year and I have to say it's become one of the best habits I could have ever acquired. I firmly believe that we all become better people when we learn to appreciate what we have. God is good. 

Anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder knows it is not healed overnight. It is definitely a journey. I have been forever changed in a positive way. Never would I wish this upon anyone for it has caused me much pain and heartache BUT there are a variety of avenues in which a person can heal. This happens to be mine. By God's grace I am here. I am alive. I am loved. I am well. 

As Shauna Niequist said, “Nothing good gets built when life is easy.” When good things always happen there is no growth. My journey continues to teach me that change and hard times are one of God’s greatest gifts. He is pushing us to be the extraordinary person He knows we were created to be.  He reminds us to trust in the process for transition and change are signs of sweeter times ahead.  God’s plan for us is far greater than the one we have ever planned for ourselves. Change is God’s grace.

My hope is that someone reading this today will gain courage to keep moving when the odds seem to be against them and as always give themselves permission to heal.

~Lizzie Jacobson, Boomerang Girl
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