Terri Erler — Bio & Personal History
A Journey of Faith, Family & Whole-Person Wellness
Terri Erler is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), licensed minister, chaplain, wellness educator, and founder of Great Food Great Life Wellness™ (GFGL Wellness).
Her story is rooted in faith, family, personal transformation, and a desire to help others move from feeling overwhelmed or stuck toward greater clarity and sustainable whole-person wellness.
Faith & Family
Terri and her husband, John, have been married for more than 34 years. Together they have raised three children and are now grandparents to five grandchildren.
Faith has been foundational throughout Terri's life and work. She and John are both licensed ministers and were ordained in 2020 and became licensed Chaplains in 2026
Over the years, Terri has served in a variety of ministry and community roles, including:
Terri also completed a Child Evangelism Fellowship diploma in 2017 and became a RockFish Church chaplain in 2026.
Family, Education & Life Experience
Before entering professional health and wellness coaching, Terri spent many years focused on raising and educating her family, including approximately 12 years as a homeschool mom.
Her broader life and professional experience has included substitute teaching, real estate and investing, ministry leadership, community service, and wellness education.
She has completed more than 50 college credits, including coursework in areas such as psychology, English, mathematics, and anatomy.
These varied experiences have shaped her practical approach to coaching: meeting people where they are, listening well, helping them identify what matters most, and supporting realistic steps forward.
Her Personal Wellness Journey
Terri's wellness journey began approximately 20 years ago.
At the beginning, she had:
Little nutrition knowledge
Very limited cooking skills
No formal exercise routine
Limited finances
Very little motivation to exercise
What began as a desire to make healthier choices gradually became a much deeper transformation.
Over time, Terri learned to move beyond unhealthy patterns, emotional dependence on food, frequent cravings, and reliance on highly processed foods.
Through the power of God working in her life, she began developing a more peaceful and balanced relationship with food while discovering that nourishing foods could also be satisfying and enjoyable.
She learned how to build sustainable habits that didn't depend on constant motivation or willpower.
Physical movement became part of that journey as well. Terri doesn't consider herself someone who naturally loves exercise. Instead, she learned to recognize movement as an important part of caring for herself and supporting her overall well-being.
Her own experience taught her that a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to look perfect, extreme, complicated, or identical for everyone.
It can be realistic, sustainable, enjoyable, and adapted to different seasons of life.
From Personal Transformation to Professional Coaching
Terri's personal journey eventually led her to pursue professional training in health and wellness coaching.
She became a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), combining evidence-informed coaching principles with the practical lessons she had gained through decades of real-life experience.
Rather than prescribing a particular lifestyle or telling clients exactly what they should do, Terri's coaching approach emphasizes partnership.
She helps clients explore what matters to them, identify their own priorities, build confidence, and develop realistic actions that support their desired wellness goals.
For faith-driven clients who desire it, faith and biblical principles can also be incorporated into the coaching process.
Great Food Great Life Wellness™
Terri founded Great Food Great Life Wellness™ to provide practical pathways for people seeking greater clarity and whole-person wellness.
The larger vision is:
Empowering Whole-Person Wellness → Restoring Families → Impacting Communities
GFGL Wellness is built around the understanding that people enter seasons of change with different needs, challenges, resources, and levels of readiness.
Rather than offering one single approach, Terri developed Signature Pathways™ that address different areas and seasons of life, with opportunities ranging from free educational resources and community programs to group and one-on-one coaching.
Programs and initiatives have included areas such as:
Nutrition and physical movement
Emotional wellness
Goal and wellness clarity
Women's wellness
Healthy family habits
Marriage enrichment
Financial wellness education
Faith, purpose, and life transitions
Community connection and physical activity
Terri also facilitates workshops, wellness gatherings, walking groups, book discussions, and coaching programs.
Her Coaching Philosophy
Terri believes meaningful change doesn't have to begin with having everything figured out.
Sometimes it begins with clarity.
Her approach centers on helping people slow down enough to recognize what matters most, identify where they want to go, and determine realistic steps that fit their actual lives.
Her work reflects several principles:
Faith. Clarity. Partnership. Realistic Action. Sustainable Change.
Terri's personal journey—from having little nutrition knowledge, no established exercise routine, and limited resources to developing sustainable wellness practices—continues to shape the way she serves others.
She understands what it feels like to start without having all the answers.
And that is ultimately at the heart of her work:
Helping people discover that they were made to thrive.
