Sometimes we can be so busy taking care of others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Listen as Consumers Energy's Andrea Hedlund discuss her journey to being her best self.
Sometimes we can be so busy taking care of others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Listen as Consumers Energy's Andrea Hedlund discuss her journey to being her best self.
Description
Me You Us, sponsored by Consumers Energy, dives deeper into the physical, financial, emotional, social, and professional pillars that make up our overall well-being and contribute to our mental health. Through the sharing of personal experiences and conversations with industry experts, we can collaboratively support one another and increase our consideration for the personal well-being of those around us.
Sometimes we can be so busy taking care of others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Listen as Consumers Energy's Andrea Hedlund discuss her journey to being her best self.
William Krieger
The views and opinions of the guests of the Me You Us podcast do not represent the views and opinions of Consumers Energy. Hello, everyone and welcome Me You Us, a wellbeing podcast. It's another wellbeing Wednesday here at Consumers Energy. And I'm your host Bill Krieger. Today, my guest is Andrea Hedlund. She's a senior tech analyst for operations performance here at Consumers Energy. So Andrea, if you'll introduce yourself, we'll get the conversation started.
Andrea
Yes, I'm Andrea Hedlund. And like Bill said, I am a senior tech analyst, I have worked for the company for a little over 38 years in various roles, mostly supporting operations in one way, shape, or form. And, yeah, I'm just excited to be here.
William Krieger
I'm excited to have you here. And, you know, as things change, we're doing more and more face to face. So Andrea and I are actually here, face to face a little, maybe unknown fact is that Andrea and I did a lot of work together during storms. And so we've had a lot of face-to-face time at all hours of the night, and during all sorts of different conditions. But Senior Technical Analyst is different from what you were doing before. And I know that we use your tech analysts for a lot of different roles. So what exactly do you do for the company?
Andrea
So our department and in particular, we work with IDEA tickets that are sent in by various people in regard to either enhancing or a new idea that would either be in Service Suite, some SAP, we do a lot of work with field employees in just all different way, shape, and form. So it's, it's nice, because it's a way to support them still, even though it's not what I used to do, but it still gets me in, you know, working with the field.
William Krieger
Well, excellent. And it really is sort of listening to the people out there doing the work, right? They come up with these suggestions, and then you look for ways to make them happen. So, you know, a few weeks ago, you and I were chatting, and I had read an email that you had sent to me. And one of the things that we talked about was, I know that my wife and I, this year, in January, stepped on the scales and realized that we both like we're really out of shape, I think I can honestly say we both weighed more than we've ever weighed in our lives. And so we have started out on this journey to get ourselves in shape. But through that conversation, I had learned that, you know, during COVID, slightly before, there had been some things going on in your personal life and that you weren't taking care of yourself, you were so busy worrying about other people. And I so often talk to leaders about that because we're so concerned about how others are doing that; we forget to be concerned about us. And then one day we wake up and wonder what in the world happened. So can you talk a little bit about that. And I, you know, for the audience this is kind of a sensitive topic. You know, Andrea, I know that you lost your husband recently. And that's really kind of where the story is at. So could you kind of talk through, you know, what happened, and then how you got to where you're at today?
Andrea
Sure. So my husband was diagnosed with cancer. And then eight months later, he passed away. And so during that time, and he wasn't feeling well prior to that, so a little bit before that, but during that time, of course, it was the starting of COVID, which was stressful, and then not being able to be with him while he was in and out of the hospital and such that, of course, played into it. And then being a caretaker really well, I was working thanks to the company for being so understanding that I could work and still have him at home and still help him but yet, you know, maintain doing my job. And of course, that's all consuming. So during that time, I really did completely forget about myself because my focus was where it needed to be. But at the same time, it also needed to be on me, and it wasn't. So that's kind of how that started. So when it was all said and done after he passed away you know, I looked at myself and not necessarily looked at myself just the way I felt. I mean, I didn't have to look in the mirror. I already knew what that was, but my knees were killing me. You know, just to walk anywhere was an effort. You know, I avoided going up and down stairs at my house, everything was just an effort and like at work we had I talked to Bill about this earlier. You know, thank God for a coworker of mine, I had a roller briefcase and rather than walk up the two flights of stairs to get to our area where we worked, I would always take the elevator and if I didn't and I thought I would try to get up the stairs. This person always carried my briefcase up and down the stairs for me and I mean Okay, I'm 58 years old, really, that shouldn't have to happen. So it was just one of those where I thought, okay, you need to really take a good stance and look at what's going on, because you're going down a bad path, and you need to fix that. So that's what I ended up doing was I started out with just food, because you know, exercise, it all goes together, but you got to start somewhere. So I didn't want to overwhelm myself. And I thought, I'm just going to start out with how I ate, and then I'll work on the exercising part, maybe after I get going for a while. So that's how I started,
William Krieger
I think it's a good point to make that you know, what we what we put in our bodies, is the fuel. So if it's good fuel or bad fuel, we will get things out of that. I want to go back a little bit when you say when you talk about walking up the stairs. At work, I'm familiar with that staircase. And it's, at least for me, it's not that hard to walk up those stairs. But I was in the service center this past winter, and I get what you're talking about. Because when you're not eating right, and you're putting on those extra pounds, maybe you're not sleeping, right, it impacts all of that. And the interesting thing is, in my time in the military, one of the questions on like the health questionnaire they would ask is, can you walk up a flight of stairs without, you know, being out of breath? And if you can't do that, then that's an indication that there's something else going on? Yeah. So not to minimize the staircase. But that is a great indication of being out of shape. And then so what's it like going up the staircase today?
Andrea
Well, it's funny that you asked because I just sent a text message through Teams to my coworker that I just talked about, because I was in the service center this week. And I said, Hey, I wanted to let you know, I had my backpack, my lunch bag, and my purse, and I just ran up the stairs, and I didn't use the handrails. So it has made a big difference. And my excuse back then was, of course I'm overweight, but I have really bad knees. And I have arthritis in one of my knees. But I'm sure that is come on because of the extra weight because it's not like, just because I had eight or nine months of really not paying any attention to myself. I mean, anyone who knows me in the company, I mean, I've been heavier, probably the majority of my career. So it's not like it's something new. But yeah, it's a world of difference. I mean, I used to kind of get scared walk up and down the stairs, I'd look down what I was doing it because I was afraid, I'd miscue. I don't do that anymore.
William Krieger
Well, and that's good. So let's go back a little bit, though and talk about this journey from not being able to go up those stairs easily. And taking the elevator to now I heard backpack running up the stairs. So that is, that's a complete change. But if we go back to, you know, when your husband was in the hospital, and you were worrying about that, and dealing with that, and working a full-time job, and thank goodness who worked for a company that understands when we have to take care of our family, because they do make a lot of accommodations and there, but we still have a job to do. And we still have to get stuff done. So you're concentrating on all of this. And I have to think it's kind of wearing you out a little bit. So what was it like to go through that part of it?
Andrea
Yeah. Yeah, it was very overwhelming. And like I said, to start out with, after everything was all said and done. I'm like, Okay, I ate fast food. And I am even afraid to admit it, but at least twice a day. Because I would be traveling for different stuff for work whenever I go through the drive thru in the morning, and then it would be oh, well, we might go out for lunch or whatever. So just eating food that I had at home was a huge start. Because fast food is just, I haven't had fast food in probably a year and a half if I do, it would be Culvers every once a while with me with my folks, but that's about it. So I mean, it's just a matter of setting priorities and getting started. So I would I still I still to this day. I mean I meal prep. That's just how it works. I try to do it on Sundays. But sometimes if I'm busy on the weekend, whatever, it'll be Monday morning, and I mean or Monday, any time on Monday, but I will at least get my vegetables cut up and get some meat grilled so that even though I work from home, like a lot of other folks do, and eventually we'll go back into the office. It's just a matter of having things ready. It's not a whole meal made. It's just the parts are ready to assemble, which helps immensely.
William Krieger
Well and thank you for that clarification because I think a lot of times when we talk about meal prep people getting there in some people do this, I guess it's a matter of what level but meal prep can be something as simple as getting all your vegetables cut out, making sure that you know what your meal plan is for the week and having those things available for that I know my wife and I, on Sunday we'll buy all of our vegetables and at least make sure those snacks are cut up and ready to go. And then we talk about what our menu looks like for the week depending on what our work looks like. So it sounds like you do that again. You have I have to ask a question though because I still travel a little bit. And sometimes I'm traveling in my car, I have my healthy food with me. But there's I don't know what it is about fast-food restaurants, but they call to me. Like, I don't necessarily feel good after I eat it. But my goodness, I feel so good when I am eating it. It's like an it's like a hug from a hamburger. Do you still experience that?
Andrea
No. I mean, it's amazing. I do not on occasion, like I said, when I will go out to eat with my folks. But no because I just see where it got me. And I'm not willing to go back that far. Because, you know, I mean, it's one of these things where and I hate to say it, because it's just human nature. But I think everybody is like, it's exciting when you get yourself in shape. But then as you continue, you know, year after year, I think people kind of like, ooh, look, her she's gained a little weight, you know, not that people want bad things to happen to people. But everyone is human, you know, and it's like, I am trying my hardest, because it's an effort every day. I mean, you go to the grocery store to checkout, and they've got everything and everything around the checkout that you want to eat like I would, you know, I want to eat cupcake, candy, you know everything else, but you have to just be able to have the right mindset, because it's just not worth it. You know, just go back. And I mean, I am far from perfect, trust me, it's not like I have this fantasy life where I only eat, you know, carrots and lettuce and grilled chicken. That's certainly not the case. But I've learned through this journey. Two things, one to give myself grace, because I am human. And two, it used to be where we had pizza at work on Friday. Well, I screwed up. And I'll just do it through the weekend. And then on Monday, I'll start over. No, if I have something that really there's nothing that I shouldn't have. But if I have something that's kind of out of what I normally have, I have it for that meal, and that I that I don't continue for the rest of the day. I'm like, I enjoy it while I'm having it. And then I'm done. And then I'm not like I said, extending it for the rest of the day or through the weekend and starting on Monday.
William Krieger
So some of its really getting out of this all or nothing thought process, right? I had two slices of pizza at lunch. That doesn't mean I can have four slices of pizza at dinner and then pizza tomorrow morning. Each not only is each day, a new day, but each moment is a new moment then.
Andrea
And I mean it with me, I mean, my personality, because I don't know what you want to call it. But I mean, I'm one of those people that like if I had two pieces of pizza, and then there were three left, in my mind, I'm like, Well, I managed to just eat it all now and just get it over with you know, because then I'm like, clean to start again. Well, you can't do that. I learned that from my personal trainer because I also work out because like I said, I started the journey with food. And then I thought, Okay, I'm 57 now 58 years old, and I've been going at this for a year and a half, I thought lose a bunch of weight at that age, you better be started doing some exercise. Because it can be a scary sight when it gets, you know, to the end. So I work out, I lift weights and workout with a personal trainer several times a week, and we had that conversation. Just as an you know, don't screw up if you want to call it which it's really not screwing up. I mean food is food, and we're here to enjoy it, but enjoy it in that moment. And don't continue that moment for, you know, extended period of time.
William Krieger
So kind of falls into the thought process of all things in moderation.
Andrea
It's hard. I think that's Oh, to me, I'm just like, I don't understand that because that just doesn't make sense in my head. But now that I am just myself, you know, putting yourself first I always use the thing, because I am like a lot of other people, I like to help people, that's a joy for me and putting myself first I always thought it was selfish, we're really putting myself first is what you need to do. Because you know, it's cliche, you know, if the cup is empty, or whatever that little saying was, you know, you can't pour from an empty cup or whatever. And it was, it took me a long time to get that concept that it's okay to put myself first because when I'm doing that, I'm making myself happy. But I'm also making myself healthy so that I can help somebody if I have to, because trust me, being in his better shape is that I was in it made it difficult to do some things, you know, that I needed to do that I was being that someone depended on me to be able to help and then you can't because you're in such bad shape.
William Krieger
Right. And, you know, maybe my listeners get tired of hearing this. But it's my favorite analogy. And I think a lot of our guests have used it really goes back to the whole I'm on the airplane and the first thing they tell you is if that mask pops down, put it on yourself first because if you're passed out in the aisle, you're not really going to be able to help anybody else. And so that really, you know, is not being selfish and he Kathy Henry and talked about that as well that self-care is not selfish. Because at the end of the day, it frees you up to do things for others.
Andrea
Right, right. I mean, I think that's really why we're all on this earth is to help each other you know, and you can't do it like you said, if you're not putting yourself first and it's also Getting your mind wrapped around, like, really asking yourself, what is your priority? I mean, it's all about getting into kind of what I say into a routine because I mean, I've had stuff just happened recently that screws up my routine because now I'm not necessarily at home all the time. Now I'm shifting from place to place, but you have to just look at that and make an adjustment, because now you're out of your norm, but it won't be that way forever. So, you know, it's just taking it, you know, one day at a time. That's what everybody says, and I don't really, I mean, I agree with it. But it really is just taking a step back and looking at yourself and going what is going to work for me, because just because someone so works out after work every day, well, you know, that doesn't work for me, me, personally, I get up at five. So I can work out between six and seven. Because that works for me. You know, and if you don't make it a priority, it's never going to happen. And that's why I like originally when I reached out to you, Vision boarding, you had talked about that on the podcast. And that really has helped me a lot through this journey. Because I needed to have something that I could stare at throughout the day while I was working, I took poster board like everybody else and just wrote some words and phrases on there for myself, just to reiterate why it's important for me to put myself first because it's difficult.
William Krieger
And so, you know, putting yourself first is definitely important and can be tough, especially if we're working and taking care of others. So when you started on this journey, was there someone that kind of helped motivate you or guide you? Because, you know, it's very easy. I find sometimes on Sunday to not food prep, it's so much easier to not food prep than it is to food prep, except now when I go to eat that healthy food, I've got to prepare it instead of having already prepared for me. Did you find that someone helped? Kind of push you a little bit sometimes when you were feeling like I don't really want to do this?
Andrea
Oh, yeah, I mean, in a couple of different spots, because my parents have always been my biggest cheerleaders, you know, and they always worried about me with my weight. And so they were always super supportive. But then like I said, I went to on a recommendation from actually my hairdresser. For some massage work because I was having back problems. And come to find out the massage therapist was also a personal trainer. So I went the first couple of times for massage work. And then as I got to talking to him, we started talking about food and stuff like that. And I'm like, You know what, go into the gym. That's kind of a scary thing for me because I'm so overweight and stuff like that. And this was one on one, you know, so I'm like, I'm going to try this because I deserve it. And I was at the point where I think like a lot of people I didn't I wasn't diagnosed with anything yet. But I was on the fence, I was going to have high blood pressure. And I probably was going to have other things that would go wrong, because I was at that tipping point. So I just decided to, and I mean, thanks to him and a lot of conversation and support. You know, as I started to work with him, I kind of peeled off a few more layers and understood, I always thought I understood food really well, because I had been a lifelong Dieter, you know, and my husband had been a diabetic. So I had to learn about food and stuff like that. But what I knew I wasn't applying,
William Krieger
I do want to go back just briefly, when you're talking about when you first kind of got met this personal trainer through the massage therapy, it reminded me that sometimes I want to wait till I'm good at something before I do it. So if I want to get in shape, I want to wait till I'm in shape to get in shape. And it never seems to work out because I don't get in shape because I'm not getting in shape because I'm not in shape. Hopefully everyone can follow what I just said. But I feel like sometimes we get caught in that loop where we don’t, we don't want to do that. And so I know that your trainer helped you in a couple of areas to kind of get past that. So how did you do that? How did you get past the thought of I don't want to go to the gym because I'm out of shape. Right?
Andrea
Right. And that's definitely the case. And when I first started, you know, I told him like, I can't look at myself in the mirror while I'm doing this. So it was a big thing for me, and I don't like my arms. I don't like my stomach, you know, whatever the case may be and then as time went on, you know, I got to feel a little bit better about that. And I mean, I oh my god, just I don't know if it's my age or what but having him show me like three different things to do. It's like okay, then I pick up the weight and I do want and I'm like okay, and what was I supposed to do again? You know, that whole nine yards is going on and then you know, it's like just trying to be having the open mind to try different things. I'm like there's no way I'm going to be able to do that because he got out a jump rope and I'm like, Are you kidding? I can't jump rope and I still am not great at it but it's the whole point of one being able to laugh at yourself because if you are just I you know if you get so frustrated That's not going to help you any, and just do it, it might not be perfect, but at least you're doing it and, you know, laughing along the way. And then everything that I thought I couldn't do, I haven't been able to do you know, and I think that's one of the things is, I have to pat myself on the back. I have been training now. It was a year in March. And I have only I've never once called and said, I couldn't make it. Only if it was not like, I don't feel good. I don't feel like getting up only because I either had to go out of town for something or whatever. But I mean, I've probably only missed two or three times. And it's because I'm making it a priority. Because it's super important for me, because I'm, you know, that age where Pretty soon I'll be retired. And I want to be able to go out and do stuff in my retirement, I don't want to sit around and just can't do anything or complain because my back hurts or my knees or whatever I want to be able to live. And that's the whole point. You know, I mean, there's never a good time to get in shape. It's always a good time. I mean, it's not like you could wait, like you said, for that perfect one, I need to get in shape before I try to get in shape. It just doesn't work that way.
William Krieger
Right. And we work our whole lives. So when we retire, we want to be able to enjoy that. And you know something else too when you talk about the jump rope. Because I've attempted that a few times myself in what I find whether it's the jump rope, or whether it's walking, bike riding any of those things. You know, we always hear the old adage, oh, practice makes perfect. And that's not true. I think practice makes progress. Because we're never going to be perfect at any of those things. But if we keep practicing them, we will make progress. Now, you talked about having a personal trainer, and there may be some people listening today going, I don't have that kind of money. I can't afford a personal trainer. What are some things that people can do? Because it sounds like your personal trainer really helps that keep you accountable to things. So what are some things that people could do? If they if they either don't want a personal trainer or just simply can't afford it their budget right now? Yeah,
Andrea
I mean, that's the thing is I also have a friend that kind of goes along in the same vein that I do, and we're on and off exercise, you know, we've always kind of been support. I mean, we used to take pictures of our food and send to each other, you know, and I mean, I do that with my personal trainer, you know, and just say hey, I mean, I just went to Costco the other day and had a whole entire belt full of just meat because I was trying to stock up so that I could just have it easily available. So I mean, it's just that sense of accountability. And that same friend that I'm talking about, I mean, we've said like if you really feel like you're going to have a bender on something, just call me and I'll you know, answer the phone, because I'm human like everybody else and I mean, I could sit down and eat a half a cake if I really wanted to, you know what I mean? Because I've done it before. And so it's not like it's, it doesn't ever go away, but it just gets better. Because the I have found, you know, the more I eat healthy, the more that's what my body wants, because all I wanted was fast food, trust me. I mean, McDonald's, I'm surprised I didn't go broke after, you know, I just stopped eating that, and my body doesn't really like it anymore. You know, and it's, yeah, I think just having a person, it doesn't have to be a personal trainer, it can be just someone that you can reach out to, or, you know, there's lots of online stuff. Some people like doing that that's not a favorite of mine, just because I seem to always be on the go. And I don't want to take the time to sit there and text, but I can shoot a picture or something or pick up the phone.
William Krieger
So it's building that, that system to help you maintain your accountability. For some people, it may be a personal trainer, it might be a friend who is doing the same thing. It might be some online. Like for me, I keep my accountability, I use an app to track what I eat all day. And it really helps me, you know, I have a certain number of points that are set for me for the day. And when I'm out of points, I'm done eating, I do want to talk a little bit about eating half a cake. And here's why. I did talk to someone who's a personal trainer, they were on the on a podcast probably about a year ago. And she said something that was very interesting because I love ice cream to a fault. Like I'm not ever going to give up ice cream. I love it. But she said you know what? That 25th bite of ice cream doesn't taste any better than the first one or two bites of ice cream. And if you can get yourself to that position where it's okay to have a piece of cake. It's not okay to eat half the cake, because it didn't taste any better when you got halfway through it. And I don't know if you're anything like me, but if I if I eat a lot of that I don't feel good about myself and I don't literally just don't feel good after eating that much. And so some of it was getting my mind to say, you know, a scoop of ice cream is great. 10 Scoops is not so great.
Andrea
Yep. And I have that kind of personality where I have found me personally. I'm just better if I just don't have it because I can't stop myself. I mean, that has always been something for me like it just so I just don't have it in the house, you know. And then the time that if I do miscue and do something like that, I will have to go out and buy it rather than just have it easily accessible. So that is it. A little bit of a, I don't know, like I, you know, I've tried before like doing like you said, Okay, I'm just going to have a bite. But that just leads me down that path. And so I guess you could say whether it's willpower, or for me, it's just a whole thought process change, because I just know where it gets me. And I just don't want to be in that same spot. Because, you know, I have lost close to 80 pounds. And it's, you know, and I, I gain a little, and I lose a little because working out, you know, it just depends on, you know, where I'm at, but it's like, I don't ever want to get to that point where I'm doing that again, because I just can't control myself. So just not having it in the house. You know, I eat a lot of sugar free Jello. That seems to work for me
William Krieger
Well there's always room, there's always room for Jello, right? It's always. So you know, accountability sometimes means exactly that don't have things that you're going to tempt yourself with sitting in your house, you know, because you know that an entire box of Girl Scout Cookies can go by very quickly. I've been down that road myself as well.
Andrea
So a sleeve is a serving?
William Krieger
Exactly. So you know, it's, it's interesting, you say that I was in the military with a guy, and I won't name names, but he'll know who he is. When he hears the story. When we were deployed to Iraq, his family would send him Oreo cookies. And he would take an entire sleeve of Oreo cookies and put them in a glass and then pour milk on him. And then drink it. Right. And I mean, he was he was a big guy, he was probably 6’3” or 6’4”. He's a big dude. So you know, he could do that. If I did that on a regular basis, I don't even want to know what I would look like, Absolutely, it's so easy to eat. That sounds like Oreos, or something that you might like, because I heard that.
Andrea
That and peanut butter cups, those would be the and I like I said, I just don't have it, because it's just not anything that I can control. And I always tell myself, I have eaten so much of that in the past, I've ate myself into years into the future. So I don't really need to have it because it's just not worth it, you know. And it's, I would rather just the thought of being able to walk in that be in pain or not huff and puff, as I'm going up, you know, the stairs or being able to dance, I used to love to dance. And then for years, I just didn't dance because it would just kill my knees and just be able to, you know, go on vacation, and not have to try my clothes on beforehand and go oh great, I've got to order new clothes, because they don't fit me. I mean, that's really where it's at, is to be able to just wear the same thing. I still have weight to lose. But it's one of those things where it's just going to come in time. But now that I am active, I guess I don't want to say don't really care, because I do. But just being active is just, that's awesome. You know, that's where it's at. For me.
William Krieger
Well sounds like some of this comes in the form of being accepting of yourself, as well, right? Because most of us are not going to achieve the body that we see on TV all the time. But we can be healthy and accepting of ourselves.
Andrea
Yes, that was a big conversation that I've had in the past. Once again, I bring up my personal trainer, it's like you need to decide, are you trying to be thin? Or are you going to look at your natural body shape and know that you are one of those people that I don't think this is what you are I think you are strong.
William Krieger
So I get what you're saying that we're not all the same. And when we talk about acceptance of ourselves, we have to think about things like body type. Right? And you were talking a little bit about that. Could you maybe expound on what you've learned about body type?
Andrea
Yeah, so I mean, I've always been probably like a lot of people really obsessed with the scale, you know, and, you know, BMI and not to say that that's not right. But I mean, I was so focused on I need to weigh this particular number. Were really what I found, and like I said, though, you know, a conversation that I have with my personal trainer, it's really taking a look at your body type. Like, if I don't think my body type, I don't think I'm meant to be thin. I think I'm meant to be strong. And so that's what I try to work on is, you know, as we get older, I work on, you know, flexibility, being able to be balanced, you know, because as you get older, I don't want rolled shoulders. And you know, as I get older, I want to be able to, you know, reach up in a cupboard and get something. So having strong shoulders is important for me having strong arms, you know what I mean? If you look at me, I mean, I'm not muscle bound by any stretch of the means, but I have strength and that's kind of what I said, going into this to myself was, I really just want to make sure that I'm strong because I need to be able to be that way just, you know, to carry your core just to be able to move. So that's, you know, having that no, you're not going to be skinny. It's okay now because I understand, you know, my body type isn't necessarily meant to be that way.
William Krieger
So it's more about being healthy rather than being thin and when you talk about the scale Oh, that's another kind of concept that I've heard is, it's really do my clothes fit me well, do I feel comfortable? It's things like that as well as the scale. But that weight on the scale does not tell the whole story about whether or not you're healthy, or whether or not you're actually gaining body mass or fat, or there's a lot of things that go into that equation.
Andrea
Right. And I used to use the scale is the end all be all, but it's like you said, I mean, measurements, you know, play a part into it. Being able to have my clothes, like I said, you can tell when things are off a little bit, your clothes fit differently. And I have to, I have to go back to you thinking about it as a just a tool that I use, not the absolute because I would weigh myself every day, I would be obsessed with it. And it's like, I don't do that anymore. It's not to say that I still don't think you know, if I get to a particular number on that scale, but that but that's an indicator for me. Okay, back down, but it's not. I'm not so obsessed by it. I guess that's what I want to say.
William Krieger
The scale is not who Andrea Yes, right. Well, we could look at that. Well, thank you for sharing all of that, you know, there's something else I want to bring up that really didn't have to do with necessarily, you know, health, maybe mental health a little bit. But we talked about you bought your house. And the address at your house had some significance? Would you share that story? Because it really touched me like I got chills when you told me that story. I immediately told my wife, could you just share that a little bit? Sure,
Andrea
sure. So I had decided that where I was living at the time that my husband passed away, was not where I wanted to stay just too much property just too much for me. So I decided to have a condo built. And so I had picked out the lot. And then I changed my mind. And I went to the lot across the street. And I just knew it was lot number 19 I had no idea what the house number is going to be. So several months into the project, they came through and gave me the house number in the house number was a is 8211. And it's a little bit ironic because my husband passed away on August 2 at 2:11 in the afternoon. So it just kind of set in with me that this was the right thing for me to do. And it's in a subdivision and I'm very social. And it's just nice that I'm around people versus, you know, we kind of lived off the road a little bit it was, it was good for when we were together. But now that I'm by myself, it's just kind of a little nudge to let me know that this is, this is good for me, you know, when I'm in a good spot, and I will have neighbors and people to walk with you know, that's kind of my mission is you know, to get with some of the neighborhood people and I see people out while I'm you know, working, I see people out walking and stuff like that. So I think it takes more than just yourself to get to where you want to go. It's really about community and having friends or whomever it might be, you know, go along the ride with you.
William Krieger
Oh, absolutely listening to the things that they've done that have been successful and sharing the things that you have done, that will also help make them successful. And it sounds like really, if we go back to how we look at personal wellbeing here, Consumers Energy, right, the whole five pillars approach is taking care of all of those different parts to be a completely healthy, whole person. And it sounds like you've really done that. And anyone that knows you, Andrea, that hasn't seen you in a while, we'll see the results of all of that hard work. You know, we are getting close to the end of the podcast now, however, but I did want to give you the opportunity to leave the audience with a message. So what would you like them to take away from our conversation today?
Andrea
Just take the time for yourself. I mean, we all say it, but it's what you really need to do because I am living testament that I worried too much about others and didn't worry enough about myself. And really, in the end, it's knowing that the work that you put in, will be worth it and you're worth it. That's the main thing is you are worth it. Just like I know myself, I'm worth it. And it's just, it's hard to get started. It almost seems impossible. But once you get going, you know, it's fun, you know, because things aren't as hard as they were in you get a little bit more daring. And you might try a few you know different things. And it's just, it's never going to be perfect. And that's I had to really come to grips with that. Because that's kind of how my personality is I want everything perfect, but just because it's not perfect doesn't mean it's not worth doing. So just start. Start and, you know, call me if you just start.
William Krieger
I think that's a great message to just get started and do what you can in Don't worry about the things that you can't do. I love your message about things aren't perfect because they probably never will be and something else that we talked about too was that for some of us it took us a while to get where we're at when it comes to being out of shape. So we have to accept, it's going to take a little time to get back to where possibly we would like to be. But, you know, thanks for coming here today and sharing your story with our audience. And taking time out to do that. I really appreciate it. And we would love to hear your further progress as you go along. All right. Thanks, Andrea.
Andrea
Thanks, Bill.
William Krieger
Thank you to the audience for listening in today. The Me You Us podcast is proudly sponsored by Consumers Energy leaving Michigan better than we found it. Remember, you can find the Me You Us podcast on all major podcasting platforms. So be sure to go out find us and subscribe. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. That's 1-800-273-8255 If you are a veteran or know a Veteran who is in crisis, you can call 1-800-273-8255 and press one for the Veterans Crisis Line. And remember to tune in every Wednesday as we talk about the things that impact your personal wellbeing.