I am passionate about helping women (specifically moms) regain their life, confidence and beautiful glow by finally getting rid of excess weight, reducing inflammation in the body, and by reducing or eliminating some disorders all together. My goal is to help my clients look and feel the best they have in years. I have seen the beautiful transformations before my own eyes. Women, moms especially, can be so selfless when it comes to their families. Often times we forget about ourselves in the process of being fabulously strong wives and mothers. Years later we look into the mirror and wonder "where did I go?" It does not have to be that way!
MY STORY
My wellness journey began about 5 years ago after reading a book called Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. At the time, my oldest son was 2 and I was on a yo-yo dieting phase (which started around age 19). I did work out on a regular bases during my first pregnancy, and was able to bounce back within 6 months of his birth. But food was still a struggle for me. After I got to my ideal weight I would stop working out and then binge. Even worse, when I gained weight it all went to my belly, butt and thighs…depressing!
So when I saw the title, Skinny Bitch it caught my eye because I will admit, I wanted to be skinny - not a bitch though! After reading the book back-to-back and finishing it in 2 days I did not learn the easy way to be thin… the book didn’t even talk about how to lose weight or how to be skinny! The book was educational, exposing the ugly truth about the food industry. I was so inspired to live a better life the moment I finished reading and became a vegetarian. My mom and I went off the deep end together and tried all sorts of vegetarian meals. As well as meat and dairy substitutes. At the time, my culinary skills were not up to par and we found ourselves struggling to make meals that kept us full, delicious, and exciting to eat. I also started to get canker sores. I researched “vegetarians and canker sores” and found a lot of information stating canker sores were common among vegetarians. Even with the painful sores and unsatisfying meals I continued to live a vegetarian lifestyle for a year before I gave into my cravings for meat. One day I sampled some meat I was cooking and it was down hill from that point on.
Back on the yo-yo dieting, diet pill popping roller coaster I went. There were times I would let my weight get to an uncomfortable place then I would work out vigorously for days or months, reduce my calorie intake to unhealthy numbers, cut food groups, binge and then do it all over again. The cycle of weight gain, weight loss, dieting, scale check ins, diet pills was emotionally draining. All I wanted was to eat what I wanted and be thin. I also did not want to do much work to maintain a thin body. This cycle went on for years.
Fast forward to the birth of my youngest son in 2010. I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy and gained about 30lbs…same as my first pregnancy. Unlike my first pregnancy I was not able to work out at all after month 5 due to the way my son was positioned inside of me. Even cleaning the house for too long caused sharp pain in my back. I’m not sure if it was the lack of physical activity during my 2nd pregnancy but after giving birth and starting to work towards losing the weight my body went on strike. I had the same drive to lose the weight, if not more drive because I was not open to loving my post birth body. I had more stretch marks, more sagging skin, and extra lbs. on my behind…once again, depressing! After busing my butt running up and down the block during the summer with the son in the stroller for months and the scale not budging I broke down. Unlike years before, I was no longer starving myself to get to my ideal weight. I learned over the years through trail, error, and researching that yo-yo dieting is not the answer to sustainable weight loss and good health. So here I am “doing the right thing” and nothing is happening. It even got so bad that my mom had to come and take my scale from me. She also came baring a wonderful fitness gift in the form of a book called 30-Day Method by Tracy Anderson. This fitness guru completely changed the way I looked at my body through fitness. Once I started on the TAM things started happening. My body began to release the weight and in about 9 months I was a healthy 134, my goal weight. I would like to mention that I did not follow her nutrition suggestions, as I felt light headed and sick. Though I followed my own nutrition plan, the weight came off and has never returned.
Present day, I am very connected to my body. I still do Tracy Anderson Method – because it works. Although I love TAM I also incorporate activities like jogging, walking, kick boxing, and yoga into my fitness routine. I have a wonderful relationship with food. Although my diet is mostly plant based, I do consume meat because it is what works best for my body. I am constantly coming up with new fabulous ways to support my natural glow, beauty, and my health.
Now that I’ve studied nutrition at Montgomery College and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition I have become even more passionate about nutrition and wellness. I am dedicated to helping women reclaim their glow by learning how to balance family, beauty, and health. Discovering the beauty you already posses is an incredibly beautiful process that every woman deserves.