This is My Story
I've got to tell you, the only reason I am here today, helping people eat healthier and live stronger lives, is because I made major mistakes with my diet when I was younger. I was really messed up with how I ate and what I thought of my body.
When I was 26, never in a million years did I think I'd be fitter and healthier as a 46-year-old mom with three kids than I was then.
I really thought I was doing everything right, but it turns out I was doing a lot of things wrong. My mistakes cost me my health. I had a stroke by the time I was 28. A few months after having a stroke, I contracted a disease called necrotizing fasciitis (aka the flesh-eating bacteria). I got it through a paper cut of all things!
My body was literally saying - "that's enough!"
After multiple surgeries, weeks in the hospital and a new perspective on life, I decided to listen to my body. I changed.
The changes I made were centered around the habitual mistakes I was making. The last thing I want is for anyone else to repeat the same mistakes, but when I work with clients, I see them all the time.
Think about your life and how you eat. If you recognize any of these habits, I want you to ask yourself - "Is this really helping me?"
This is who I was
- I avoided fat almost entirely. I distinctly remember driving to Starbuck's most mornings before work to order a venti Skinny Latte with some sort of sugar-free syrup. This was breakfast! I'm not saying a super sugary latte would have been any better, but this is how I elected to start my morning...with zero fat and artificial sweeteners. Ha! The rest of the day looked a lot like that. If it said "diet" or "no fat" I was all over it.
- I counted calories like it was my job. Fewer calories were better, I used to think. If I could keep my caloric count around 1000 a day (essentially what my five-year-old eats today), I was 100% happy. It didn't matter too much where the calories came from as long as they were counted. Oh, and the calories couldn't come from fat, remember? Needless to say, ingredients in what I was eating didn't matter. Yikes!
- I binged on food. I'm not proud to say it, but knowing what I know now about nutrition it's not a surprise. All the crap I was eating was throwing my body onto a blood sugar roller coaster. I had INSANE cravings that I was able to resist most of the time, but when I succumbed to them, the flood gates opened. Some nights it was a sleeve of cookies. I'd tell myself no more, then I'd do it again the following week polishing off a nearly a half-gallon of ice cream. I was often bloated and depressed. Not shocking.
- I weighed myself too often. Every time I went to the gym, I jumped on the scale. Of course, it was before I drank water with and made sure I was in just a towel because every article of clothing would add weight. I felt defeated if the scale went up at all. My gut reaction was to cut more calories.
- I was a cardio queen! I used to throw on a pair of headphones and stride away on an elliptical for at least an hour, six days a week. I was surprised and saddened that the scale never seemed to move. I mean, I was burning all those calories, right?
The list doesn't really end there, but you get the point. Diet matters. I was 15 to 20 pounds more than I am today.
This is who I am
- I'm a professional mom and coach. Today I am the mother of three amazing kids. I went back to school to get a master's degree in Health and Nutrition Education. I've worked with clients since 2004, helping people get their health, fitness, and bodies back.
- I'm an author. I wrote a nationally-best selling book called The Belly Burn Plan. The book is not a diet, but a plan that centers around fat loss through hormonal balancing. It works...and you never have to count a single calorie.
- I love food. Today I eat what I want - when I want. Of course, I'm eating all the right foods. My relationship with food has completely changed. Sure, I have times when I really want chocolate or French fries...and I eat them. I'm human, after all. But it's not often and when I do snack on those types of food, I feel satisfied faster.
- I still love working out, but those workouts are 100% purposeful. I don't freak out if I can't exercise for a few days. In fact, I enjoy the break.
- I'm really fit. I'm not much of a bragger, but I'm so happy that my body can move the way it does. This is less out of vanity and more out of being a mom. My youngest is five-years-old. I don't want to be the mom who throws out her back playing with her kid. The +20 pounds I had on my body slithered off the day I shifted gears are realized counting calories and dieting don't matter.
If you recognize any of these habits in yourself, be patient, but be aware. Most people can't just snap their fingers and change their mindset. It takes time.
I'm here to help. How can I support you? Read more about my services here.
