Goran’s Story

My name is Goran and I’m a Copare Health Coach. My journey began almost 5 years when I walked into Copare (formerly EMP180) with my father. I was 28 years old and was approaching 400 pounds. My family was both exasperated and worried and encouraged me to get help. They could no longer watch their son struggle to walk, sleep, breathe – accomplishing the simplest tasks like tying my shoes was difficult. At the time I was skeptical, scared, and disinterested.

After meeting with the Copare consultant, I decided to give the program a try – not for me but for my family. The first week, I lost 10 pounds albeit mostly water. The 2nd week, I lost 8 more pounds and by the third week I had lost just over 20 pounds and I was already feeling more energy, greater mental clarity and my aches and pains were starting to subside. Things started to click for me. My mindset had changed, and my goals became personal. I was getting healthy for me and not just for my family. I wasn’t perfect every week and I still enjoyed having an occasional beer with my friends, but I continued to make progress. My coaches kept me motivated, gave me tips, and taught me about proper nutrition. I started to look forward to my coaching sessions each week. I never thought about when my journey was going to end; I took every week in stride.

In just over 1 year I had lost 198 pounds and felt better than I had in years. What seemed impossible had become a reality. Friends that I hadn’t seen in a while didn’t recognize me. My nickname, “Gordo” no longer applied. Even though it took me just over a year to reach my goals, the time flew by, and it was time to figure out a new plan, one that would help me maintain my considerable weight loss. My coaches talked with me about the importance of working out and building muscle, telling me that my body would naturally want to put weight back on. They encouraged me to start a workout program. I quickly became a regular at the gym and noticed not only the physical benefits of working out but also the mental ones. They also reminded me that since I reached my goals, I would get a “coach for life” and stressed that regular check-ins and support were included with my program and were critical to my sustained success. At the time I was also busy studying to take my CPA exam but was looking for a part time job to earn additional income until I passed my exam and began my career as an accountant. Copare hired me as a part time employee 4 years ago – I was hooked. I wanted to do for others what Copare had done for me – they gave me back my life.

Health coaching has become my passion and my job. In addition to the training that I’ve received at Copare, I recently enrolled in a nutrition health coaching program that will prepare me to take the national exam and be a board-certified health coach. Instead of analyzing numbers and spreadsheets, I am a consumer of all things health and wellness. I seek out information that will help my clients stay motivated and reach their health goals. I enjoy sharing my personal story with new clients. I get them because I am them and I want them to believe that losing weight and being healthy is possible. I encourage them to focus on small wins. Being healthy is a process, and a lifelong journey that requires a commitment and consistency.

It’s been 4 years since I lost 198 pounds. I’m not perfect and I still experience setbacks every now and then, but I’m committed to living my best “healthy” life forever.