Diabetic Living USA – July 2019

(Ron) #1
Carrie Boe can pinpoint the moment she
took control of her life. It was nearly two
decades after her type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
“I was coming up on my 44th birthday, so
the next year would be a milestone,” she
says. She didn’t want another year to pass
without doing something to improve her
health. So when a friend suggested she tag
along to a session with her personal trainer,
Boe agreed.
It was an eye-opening experience. “For
the first time, someone listened to me and
believed in me,” Boe says of Kevin Chase,
the Life Time Fitness certified personal
trainer she’s been working with ever since.
Shortly afterward, an inheritance al-
lowed her to leave a successful career in
corporate performance improvement to
focus on herself. Over the next eight years,
working with Chase and a registered dieti-
tian, she lost 130 pounds and went off insu-
lin—after 25 years of requiring injections.
Halfway through her transformation,
she was ready to get back to work—but not
behind a desk. “My experience was so in-
spiring, so life-changing, I wanted to help
other folks in a similar situation,” she says.
“My dietitian encouraged me to pursue
health coaching. She knew I could inspire
and connect with those struggling in ways
many clinicians may not be able to.”
Boe spent two years studying to become
both a certified health coach and an Amer-
ican Association of Diabetes Educators
paraprofessional. In 2014, she established
her own practice, SuperStrongChick Health
Coaching. Two years later, she launched Su-
perStrongDiabetics, a coaching program for
clients with diabetes.
She helps her clients look at all aspects
of their lives to see what changes could en-
hance their quality of life and their health.
“It’s more than just nutrition and exercise,”
she says. “We work to get to the underlying
reasons why healthier habits are such a chal-
lenge, and focus on small, realistic improve-
ments. It truly comes down to mindset.”
Boe’s philosophy is simple: “You’ve got
to meet folks where they’re at,” she says.
“We’re not going for perfection, just prog-
ress.” She offers her services virtually and
in-person out of a wellness center in Min-
neapolis, where she also hosts a wellness-
oriented book club and a free support group
for people with diabetes. “I’m a big believer
in community,” she says.

CARRIE BOE /


OWNER & CEO,


SUPERSTRONGCHICK


HEALTH COACHING


“We’re not going

for perfection,

just progress.”

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