My goal is to make healthy living simple.

My Story

As a child, I never gave much thought to where my food came from, why I wanted to eat it, or what affect it might have on my body, my mood, or my future.  All I knew was that food was my enemy. Thanks to the 90’s raging diet culture, so many confusing messages lead me to believe that if you couldn’t control yourself around food, you would get fat, and you shouldn’t want to eat “bad” food even though they taste delicious, and if you get fat, you are bad and must have no self control.  

So, I’ve been there.  Wanting so badly to just stop dieting, but also constantly hoping I was thinner.  Even trying unhealthy ways to try to shrink my body believing that if I could control my eating and my body size, I would feel like I had control over something in my life. I assumed I would be happier, and that life would be easier if I were thinner. It was time consuming, frustrating, defeating, confusing, and draining. All I ended up with was negative thoughts about myself which lead to a continuous cycle of negative choices.  When I had my daughter and it was time for me to start feeding her, I totally reconsidered everything.  

When my daughter was born, I became responsible for feeding someone who is completely dependent on me making all of her food decisions for her, and teaching her how to eventually nourish her body; and I wanted to make the right choices.  The problem was, that I didn’t know anything about the foods I consumed everyday, including throughout my pregnancy.  I really didn’t know how to nourish my body because I had spent so much time hating it and fighting it.  And I realized that I did not want that for her.

When I did some digging about the Standard American Diet (actually referred to as SAD), what I found out was alarming.  The worst part was that I was under the impression that if food is made available by manufacturers to consume, then someone must have checked its safety - well, no, that’s not really the case at all.  Business is business, and most companies have their pockets in mind, even at the expense of the health of their customers.  I realized that if I didn’t know what I was consuming and feeding my baby, then there were probably a lot of other parents that weren’t aware either.  

So how do you navigate?  How do you figure out how to get, cook, and eat safe and nourishing foods, while exercising, protecting your mental health, having a social life, maintaining a household, raising children, working a job (or two+!), managing stress, and lose weight to conform my body to societies elite standards???  But we have to find a balance. And I want to help people find what works for them.

Many of todays life-threatening chronic illnesses are products of our lifestyles.  They are brought on by, and can be avoided by our daily choices.  My hope is to bring this awareness to people so that they can live happy, healthy lives free from the burden of chronic disease, and diet culture.

I have a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Caldwell University, and a Master Health Coaching Certification from Dr. Sears’ Wellness Institute. I have two littles that supplement my formal education daily, and make this work so much more than a career.