I just came in from placing my first ever vote in the USA. While I have been living in this beautiful country for over 20 years, it was only two years ago that I became a United States citizen. I have to admit I was motivated by two reasons. The first, and main reason was to be able to vote in the next election. At the time I was sworn in I had no idea of who the potential candidates would be and how this election would be changing the landscape of America in many incredible and inspiring ways. My second and more shallow reason was to be eligible to compete on The Amazing Race. Walking to the polls today something struck me. For amazing things to happen we need to step out of the ego and the “I ” and replace it with the global perspective of we. On our own it is always incredibly difficult to make change happen of any kind. Whether it is electing the next President, changing a job that you have been miserable in over the past 10 years,  stepping away from a relationship that no longer serves your highest self or whether it is shedding that weight that is holding you back from living your best life. Change is easier when done in the we versus the I.

Within the macro and micro levels of change it helps to work with others. With that said I am here to help you to make the changes you may need to make to elevate your quality of life and living. I want you to live a life you love, in a body that you adore and appreciate. Together we can make great strides for change. Our journey begins one step at a time. Are you ready?

I am compelled to write down my thoughts as to what I have been seeing and hearing recently in the media. As you know I am a huge fan of Dancing With The Stars and I am so excited to share with you that I am going this Monday to a live taping courtesy of the fantastic Tom Bergeron. A BIG shout out to Tom. What has become so disturbing to me is the resurgence by the media of defining a woman by her weight. Does the size of someone’s dress equal the size of her spirit? When did the number on the scale define how a woman values her own self worth as she steps out into her day? As a fitness professional and someone who has had her own battles with weight on both sides of the spectrum (high 170 and low 110) I know how dangerous this negative feedback can be, not only to the psyche but also within the world. Nothing weighs or hurts more than negative commentary on how someone looks. A casual comment to me over 25 years ago from a choreographer sent me into a downward spiral of eating disorders that lasted over 5 years. Along with the many pounds I lost I also lost five of the most valuable years of my life. I am sure that the stars of DWTS have a much stronger sense of self than I did at 20. However the fact that the media is even discussing how many pounds a star has put on over the summer, versus the incredible talent and inspiration she/they share with millions of viewers every week is a pure mystery to me. It came to a head today when I picked up a copy of “People”. I do admit to peeking into the lives of celebrityville every so often. Although I have managed to whittle my bad habit down to one magazine a month. January 1st it is cold turkey baby. So inside there is a story about Tara Ried, who now has to live with a disfigured body due to bad plastic surgery. This is someone who weighs just over 100lbs and has been called fat by the media. WHAT ARE WE DOING! The one great and amazing thing that has come from this is my renewed sense of purpose of how I should be living my life. You will be seeing a shift in the updates page. I want us to rise up together and once and for all celebrate the gift of our health and incredible bodies. I am not saying do not lose weight. However I do want you to question the motivation behind this goal. If it is to improve your health and quality of life than you must make this a priority. However if it is to fit into what the media is telling us we should look like, let’s think again and again and again if need be. I am not perfect by any means. I have weeks when I am eating to fuel my body and nourish my spirit. Then there are the lapses in between when I eat in response to an emotion. I invite all of us this Halloween to pick up a piece of chocolate, unwrap the shiny cover, place it on the tip our tongue and savor each and every delightful moment WITHOUT guilt. If we cannot begin with Halloween, then girls we have a long way to go. Wherever you are on your journey, just remember you are not alone. Never forget that you are so much bigger and magnificent than the size of your jeans.

I guess in some way it is good that I have been so busy. The not so good thing is that I have been a little behind on updating my lifestyle page and so I hope in advance you will accept my apologies for my random and sporadic updates. The end of summer has been busy and exciting for me. Firstly I celebrated my 45th birthday. Yes, I am truly middle aged and so happy to be here. Any of you who have read “About Petra” know that the other option was not a good one. So I celebrate every second of my 45 years with appreciation and gratitude. My birthday fell during one of my favorite conventions – DCAC in Washington. What a treat to have 100 people sing “Happy Birthday” and of course my dear friend and fellow presenter Lisa Wheeler made sure I had my birthday cake and candles to blow out. Right after this I did a photo shoot for a new magazine that launched last month. I found out a week prior that the amazing Nigel Barker from Americas Next Top Model was to be the photographer !!!!!! I have to say I was a little star struck, however Nigel was so warm and genuine that he made sure to put me right at ease. As soon as I can figure how to upload pictures I will post a couple from that glorious day. The magazine is called Spry and it is an insert to local papers around the country. I am honored to be featured on the cover and profiled in the October issue. I just received my copies and I must admit it is pretty overwhelming to see myself on the cover of a magazine that is going to be distributed to millions of households throughout America. If you receive a local paper keep your eyes peeled as there is a strong chance you will be receiving Spry.  My goal for the rest of this year is to be more consistent with updating my lifestyle page. I am also going to figure out how to upload pictures so I can share some of my fondest memories with you, both from my work and also behind the scenes. I thank you for your support and I truly value every single letter, e mail and vote of confidence in my work. With that said – remember to VOTE. See you sooner than later – I promise!

I am writing this a day or so before the new site goes live. I have been running through the pages and media to try and make sure I have not missed anything. It took us many hours of compressing, uploading, downloading and converting segments to bring a lot of my media clips into the new site. My favorite clip can be found in the Archive section. It is from 14 years ago when I filled in for the amazing Patricia Moreno who was hosting the warm up on the FX Breakfast Show. I stepped in for a week while she took a well needed vacation. Patricia is also a dear friend of mine and someone I look to for inspiration. Please visit her site at www.satilife.com I remember that week with such fond memories. I had to get up at 3.30 am every morning to be at the studio by 4.30 am. I think the show went live at 6 am but I can’t be exactly sure. It gave me my first taste of being in front of the camera and I have to say I found it very exciting, even at 6 am during winter. In addition, my best friend to this day Lisa Wheeler was one of the “Spandex Rangers” Without pay and without fail she showed up for me every morning to support me and be there as both a friend and cheer leader. Little did I know at the time that she would continue and still continues to this day to be there for me. Lisa is also another person I look to for inspiration and to keep me honest and clear. Pay her a visit at www.lisawheeler.com I think The FX Breakfast Show may have also been the launching pad for several up and coming celebrities. Aside from Tom Bergeron, who was already zooming up the ladder of success there were several other “newbies” who went on to do very well in television. You may even spot one or two of them in my short clip. (PS Phil if you ever read this – go back to the Ft. Lauderdale Amazing Race audition tape from 2007. Team number 23 is still waiting for the phone call to say they were picked – we nailed it)

The one thing I wanted to share with you is my recent run in with Tom Bergeron. I worked with him over 14 years ago. While we often saw each other at Equinox 19th Street NYC , where we both worked out I had not seen him in over 10 years. Recently I saw him at the Equinox in Santa Monica, CA. I have now been living on the West Coast for 8 years and Tom was out here filming Dancing With The Stars. ANYONE who knows me knows this is my favorite show. I think I dialed in 30 times during last years final. Being British by Birth (although now a dual citizen) I am not apt to go up to celebrities for any reason, but for some reason on this Tuesday morning I felt compelled to share my insane addiction to the show with the male host. Plus as a side note Samantha Harris has taken several of my classes and as an additional side note is an amazing athlete and can make a boot camp class look easy. She works hard for that beautiful body and is also a lovely person on the inside. So long story short after saying “Hi Tom I am sure you don’t remember me but…..” Tom proceeded to remember my name and recall the exact situation of when and where we worked together. It was truly like talking to a friend who I had just bumped into last week. We proceeded to have a fun and very “present” conversation – he was ignoring his phone, texts and messages and took 20 minute out of his morning to “catch up”. I just wanted to share that I guess nice guys can finish first. Plus I am on his list for tickets to DWTS next season and NO that is not why I said hello.

Hi and welcome to my first update. For some reason I am not attached to the word Blog so this will be the news and update page on my site. I do love that I can now access the world wide web and be able and connect with like minded individuals instantly. My main goal is to share motivational tips, stories and information that can help us live connected, conscious and inspired lives.

Please bear with me as I learn how to navigate around this new technology. My goal is to keep every contribution as short and as informative as possible. I welcome any topics that you would like to see me address. Please feel free to e mail me at Petra@petrakolber.com with your thoughts and ideas. If you also have news that you would like to share with others please let me know. We are all in this together, trying to find ways to be our best selves and live our lives to the fullest.

Thank you for bearing with me during this incredibly long process of the web site overhaul. What I thought would take 8 weeks took 8 months but we are finally up and running.

Let’s begin building a healthy lifestyle to support your dreams

Warmly,

Petra