For most of my adult life I can remember never really being happy with my body. I was bombarded with ads, magazines, social media, TV and billboards portraying images of models and celebrities which made me feel (and I’m sure many girls, young teens and women) that being skinny or thin was the ideal.

Media inundated us with so many diets, cleanses, and extreme measures, implying that emulating the images of magazine and TV women was the only "acceptable" appearance.

Diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure, and cancer run in my family, yet I lacked the knowledge about leading a healthy lifestyle beyond avoiding sugar and carbs and limiting intake.  I was never truly informed about the "why" and "how" of food's impact on my body, its disease prevention potential, or the specific dietary choices I needed.

I experienced gestational diabetes during my pregnancy with my son, followed by pre-diabetes two years later. The specialists' advice boiled down to exercising more, reducing sugar and carb intake, and the possibility of medication if my blood sugar levels weren't controlled.

Not until my mid 40s did I meet a nutritional chef and health coach whose presentation on health and nutrition unexpectedly transformed my life. The information she shared interested me to dig deeper into health and nutrition. While I understood the importance of eating well, I was previously unaware of what foods to consume or the impact they could have on disease prevention and management. I always thought to be healthy was to eat boring salads and cutting calories. Boy was I wrong!  I attended many of her talks and each time I not only gained knowledge but this started my journery of research and self-education which became the catalyst behind achieving optimal health.  This was the information I had unknowlingly longed for throughout my adult years, a missing piece I didn't even realize I lacked. Understanding nutrition and nourishing my body with the right foods energized me, reduced bloating, boosted my body confidence, and disease prevention without starvation.  Surprisingly, it was much easier than I once thought.

Going through life without accurate information from all the media avenues is very overwhelming and discouraging. Going from diet to diet isn’t sustainable and always hating my body was no way to live.

Based on both my personal health journey and my role as a proactive parent for my son, who struggled with attention issues impacting school, home life, personality, behavior, and relationships, we were able to help him turn that around through a holistic approach.  I feel compelled to work with families and individuals in understanding the profound impact of nutrition and daily health practices across all stages of life from conception and childhood to adulthood and the senior years.  This is why I decided to become a health coach because I recognize there are so many people out there that are facing the same challenges that my son and I did.  It's now my calling to create a positive change in their lives providing inspiration and motivation.