My Journey to health

When I was young, I was one of the heaviest kids in school.  I suffered from terrible self esteem, asthma and allergies. The teasing was relentless and painful and since it happened everywhere, (the bus, school and in my neighborhood), I couldn't escape it. I desperately wanted to look like everyone else but more than anything, I wanted to be healthy and strong.  

By the time I was eight, I attempted my first diet.  I passed up the chocolate treat at my Girl Scout meeting hoping that would do the trick!  Unfortunately, giving up a couple of treats only made me more frustrated and sad, as food was a very big comfort for me. 

Fast forward to eighth grade...my brother began running nightly at a nearby track.  I started tagging along and before long we were running 5K's together.  After years of trying and failing at sports, running was finally a way I could feel strong!   My new found love of exercise motivated me to start eating differently.  I started packing my school lunch and swapped my soda habit for water.  I removed the sugar from my morning bowl of cheerios and worked with my parents to cook healthier dinners. In no time, the weight started falling off of me and the people in my life showered me with compliments.  As a young teen, these well intended comments did a wonder on me.  This brought upon years of restricting and yo yo dieting as I was always chasing that low number and more compliments.  I was stuck in an unhealthy habit loop of binging and restricting and since food was my major source of comfort, I couldn't escape it. 

Finally, in 2006 after my husband I got married, I just couldn't do it anymore.  I couldn't weigh, track or count any longer.  I knew I needed to learn how to be healthy in a new way.  This revelation  brought years of self discovery.  I read many amazing books, worked with a mindful eating therapist, learned to meditate, hired a life coach, and invested a lot of time working on my mindset. It was a lot of work but it was worth all the time and money I invested in myself. 

Today, I still keep my self care list very long.  I make sure every day I meditate, move my body, drink 100 ounces of water, eat mostly real food and let go of guilt when I don't :) 

This is what I offer to my clients. We work on creating a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable and free of self judgement.  We get to the root of the problem and find new ways to cope.  It is possible to create the life you want without being obsessive or overly restrictive, and I can show you how!