Why I do what I do (and how I got here)

I’m re-writing my story as to how I got here. This is where I was about a year ago. I put so much work into this article, I wanted to save it. Here’s a little bit of my journey:

I’m a mama, writer, artist (in the works)…lover of yoga, wine, tea, the ocean, and my fam bam.

Born and raised outside Chicago, I’m now a proud Southern California resident by the beach, refusing to give up on my dream to teach others how to confidently live a healthier lifestyle without judgment, deprivation, and ridiculous diets.

As a kid, I had the usual American kiddo stuff:

Allergies, asthma anxiety, depression, constipation, and I was on antibiotics pretty regularly until my 20s.

I took birth control pills starting as a young teen to “regulate my cycle” and never once had a normal cycle until I HAD MY SON at the age of 30.

I was on and off antidepressants, OTC allergy meds, cold meds, antacids, whatever I needed whenever I needed it. My mom was an RN and my dad was all about “science,” so they were big fans of the all-American diet with lots of cheese and dairy and gluten and all the good stuff. I made sure to add in allergy shots as well for like 10 years. We were all about Western Medicine.

When I was in high school, I was introduced to both beer and puberty, so I went from a skinny little 115 on my driver’s permit to a plump 145 on graduation day. I started working at a gym when I was 17. (I also started doing Jane Fonda on VHS when I was in 8th grade, so note the image issues I held at a young age).

My interest in health and fitness started when a friend of mine introduced me to a book called “The Abs Diet,” and I started learning everything I could about high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. I always knew that cheeseburgers and french fries could make you gain weight, but I had no idea how bad processed and packaged foods were as well. Not only did I become very passionate about what I put into my body, I felt like I had to tell the world.

I became completely awestruck by the natural health movement. I learned about whole foods, tried a few different ways of eating (one included increasing my “fiber” intake, stress eating, and eating 5-6x a day, which kept me puffy, bloated, and constantly “wanting to lose about 10 lbs,” for years.)

My aunt told me she was seeing a health coach who had attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and I signed up for a consultation with her. Of course, I couldn’t afford her, but I learned all about how I could maybe start doing what she did too. Maybe this was it.

I decided to drop the fabulous life of dating-in-the-suburbs of Chicago and moved across the country to sunny Californ-I-A to start a new life with my ex-boyfriend (I was just as confused as you are). I was hoping that the health and wellness world that LA offered was my ticket to success, inside and out.

Organic restaurants, weekend hikes, green juices, and working at high-end fitness studios were my new jam, and I never looked back on my old lifestyle. I was ready to take my health coaching certification seriously and started seeing clients at a local fitness studio (which I later managed), started blogging, and seeing clients on the side.

Well, as life would have it, I found myself all in love and pregnant with my son in 2015, and we decided to get married.

I re-launched my health coaching business (again) after my son was born under the name “Balanced Mamas.” It was the first time I ever had a “real” website and I planned to lead an online wellness collective with other female entrepreneurs.

I wanted to be like all the other work from home mamas I saw on Instagram - complete with lots of pictures of my laptop and pink coffee mug, while my baby just slept and nursed all day.

And, that didn’t work.

I figured out there was a lot more to working from home than taking photos of your “lifestyle” and Instagramming that you had the “best job in the world: working for myself and being a mom.” Hashtag-mom-boss. #Hashtag-load-of-crap.

After a year of sleep deprivation, postpartum, and feeling like I would never be able to make any money ever as a stay at home mom, I decided that I wasn’t as much of a “balanced” mama as I thought.

I wanted to work with ALL women, not just moms. I loved talking and sharing and supporting other moms, but I needed more of it. And I needed to make some freaking money. I also decided I could only actually work with clients who were ready and willing to invest the time and energy into changing their health, for life, and I didn’t want to limit that to new mothers.

I learned to make physical activity a part of my daily life instead of something on my to-do list. I discovered acupuncture, tried colonics (seriously), chanting yoga, and eventually figured out how to meditate (still working on that one). I balanced my hormones with supplements and Chinese medicine and - poof - made a baby in no time!

I became certified as a Medicinal Aromatherapist, started selling non-toxic beauty products on the side (don’t worry, you can keep reading), and even became a fitness instructor for moms (for like a month).

I experimented with Ayurveda, becoming a vegan (6 months I’ll never get back), and successfully completed the Whole 30 (30 days I’ll also never get back). I renamed my website, again. Now I was just going to be me, because this coaching thing was getting confusing, and starting to feel less balanced.

I now knew why so many Americans had wrong, dated, and conflicting information about what they should be doing and eating to “get healthy.”

That’s when I decided it was my job to help simplify the process rather than perfect it.

Combining traditional theories, modern research, and real-life expectations, I share an integrative wellness approach that helps women (and some men) actually change the way they look at food, how they eat, and how they feel for life.

I am not perfect. I’m healthy, strong, and I prioritize my self-care. I believe in balance and that our small, consistent efforts do pay off. We can do hard things, and you can too. When the why becomes bigger than the why not, then you’re ready.

I have done a lot of things. I’ve started and stopped and started over again. I used to live to make other people happy and have learned to live my life while loving others where they’re at.

I’m as “hard on you” as you need me to be, and make sure that we take your history, body type, and lifestyle into consideration when we work together. I’m also really easy to talk to and make this a lot easier than you think it is. Contact me to work together.