Woman Crush Wednesday.

We love to celebrate female movers and shakers who are successful locally, nationally, internationally, and most importantly, personally.

This week, we asked Health and Wellness Coach, Peggy Galdamez, to share with us about her own personal health and wellness journey.

“I sat at my dining room table, head down, feeling frustrated both personally and professionally. I was so dissatisfied with where I was in life, despite having a beautiful, loving family and a good job. I was finally ready to ask myself the question “what are you ready and willing to do about it?” Fast forward to the present and my life has taken a total 180. I am living each day full of gratitude, with energy, self-love and, most exciting for me, the ability to put my passion towards serving others. How did I get to this point? By deciding to take action in my life and by understanding that my purpose is to serve others. I am doing this as a Health and Wellness Coach.

When I tell people what I am, one of their first responses is to ask what kind of a fitness training program I offer. I smile and explain that I help people create and master new habits and that those habits relate to weight loss, stress reduction, and increased energy to live their best life. This kind of an explanation touches on all areas of our life, and of course, I recognize that not everyone is looking for change in their life or wanting change. I didn’t want change until I was ready for it.

When I reflect on the choices I made as a young adult, I think that many of them were really poor ones. Hindsight is truly 20/20. I realized much later that many of those choices had to do with my looking for self-acceptance from without rather than from within. I didn’t fully comprehend until much later that I had everything I needed all along to love myself, see my inner beauty, and fully accept who I am.

As an Asian American adoptee growing up and attending a wide variety of schools where I was one of the few “Asian” kids, I found it challenging to figure out where I belonged. I chose to believe I needed to be someone else and act like someone else instead of just loving and accepting me. I developed some very unhealthy habits, but thankfully, I’ve always had a small inner voice that I would listen to every now and then. Deep down, I knew that there was a better way, a healthier way, and more loving way of treating myself.

I am so glad I chose to listen to that voice the day I decided to make some changes and take action in my life. We can find things that make us feel good temporarily, but these aren’t lasting solutions. Every day can’t be amazing and beautiful; however, it is possible to feel good on the inside and let that reflect in your actions and choices. I am so grateful for the work I now get to do, serving others and helping them experience more of what they want and ultimately love, transform and become their best self.”

— Peggy Galdamez

Peggy Galdamez is a Health and Wellness Coach, busy mom and entrepreneur. Her health and wellness business, Wellness with Peggy, was created in 2016. Born in Seoul, Korea, she was raised in the Midwest and currently lives in San Jose, California with her two daughters and husband. Hoping to inspire other women, she follows and lives her own philosophy that wellness comes from within, and that your health is the best gift you can give yourself and to the ones you love. When not wearing many hats, she is enjoys doing crossfit, losing herself in a good book, and spending time with family and friends. You can find her on www.WellnessWithPeggy.com (coming in October), or on Instagram @Peggyg17.