Integrative & Functional Registered Dietitian Nutritionist 🙂
I’ve been in your shoes being confused by my own health. Feeling betrayed by my body. Overwhelmed with information from social media, TV, friends, family, and strangers about what we “should” be doing.
I’m going to keep it real with you and share why I got into this field in the first place and how I’ve been completely misled. I want to remind you that no matter what you’re dealing with– whether it is debilitating depression, severe PMS, or acne all over your face– that although I may look like the picture of health now, it hasn’t always been the case. I’m knee deep in the health and nutrition field because I love it, but also because I had to be my own advocate and learn the hard way how to take control of my health. Now, I’m here to do that for you.
I remember feeling exhausted minutes after waking up and sporting another zit on my face at business meetings. I remember measuring every molecule of food that went into my mouth and still feeling uncomfortable in my own body. I remember sneaking my son’s liquid multivitamin because it was just sweet enough to satisfy that sugar craving after white-knuckling my way through another “sugar detox”.
Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease was a slap in the face– an unfortunate wake up call that I needed to be my own MVP. I realized really quickly to get curious about my symptoms and not take “you’re just getting older” as an answer.
I was blindsided and shamed by my Hashimoto’s diagnosis. How did I (a Registered Dietitian, the supposed epitome of health, the “food police” to many) develop an autoimmune disease?
At the time of diagnosis, I was doing everything I thought to be “right” by industry standard.
- Vegan diet
- Low calorie diets
- Running marathons
- Waking up earlier and earlier to work out (and sometimes even working out twice a day)
- Masking my painful periods with birth control and Advil
- Trusting that my yearly physical and basic blood work would alert me soon enough that something was wrong
My intentions were good, but even the most well-intentioned plans get foiled.
“Eating well” used to mean spending my days feverishly counting calories, restricting my food to the point of obsession, depriving and depriving and depriving my way into an unrealistic physique. But…that’s what we’ve simplified nutrition to, right? Calories in v. calories out.
Wrong! For 30+ years I was fed surface level and scientifically inaccurate insight on how to feed my very own body… but no more!
An unexpected intervention from a forward thinking doctor opened my eyes to Functional Medicine years ago. It started first with changing my diet. How embarrassing for a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Nutritional Sciences to have someone school her on proper diet, right?
Nevertheless, through my own long and confusing health journey, I’ve scoured books, attended lectures, accumulated specialty certifications, and immersed myself in Integrative and Functional Medical Nutrition Therapy (on top of my Master’s of Science in Nutrition and licensure as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) to perfect how to create individualized and realistic plans which have helped upwards of 500 other women reclaim their inner goddess.
Step one: ditch the diet culture BS and keep it simple: eat real food when you’re hungry
Step two: balance your plate to meet your nutrient needs, cravings, lifestyle and relationship to food
Step three: personalize your plate (by eliminating foods that cause inflammation in your body)
Step four: add in nourishing and healing foods
Step five: replete vitamins and minerals as needed so your body runs like a well-oiled machine
Step six: build a community of like minded, bad-A women who no longer want to be spoon fed inaccurate dieting fads!
With simple structure mastered, over the years I’ve been able to:
- Eliminate stomach bloat
- Control my raging PMS (my husband is happier than ever about this)
- Stop wasting money on skin creams that promises to stop my acne
- Keep up with my wild Little Man as he adventures through life
- Not feel paralyzed with fear or guilt when eating out at a restaurant
- Be a living example to my daughter of the woman I pray she becomes… which is not one who survives on celery and water alone
Don’t just wait around until you’re bad off enough to need medication. Don’t settle for feeling “not sick”. Strive for feeling like a rockstar! You’re in control of your health. YOU.
AND you aren’t alone!
The journey ahead of you isn’t always easy, but having a clear direction, a map, and a guide will make it a heck of a lot smoother. Why wander aimlessly when you could have clarity and a plan?
Read more about my expertise and experience!
