About

I love the journey that has brought me to be a life and weight loss coach.

I know what it is like to want to go numb and find ways outside of myself to cope with life’s disappointments and hardships. As a child, one of my earliest memories is climbing up on the kitchen counter to get into the container of brown sugar because there wasn't any junk food left in house. This is a prime example of how, even as a child, I used sugar to feel better.

Eating when I wasn't hungry and feeling sad felt normal for a girl like me. I was raised in a single-parent household in the 70s/ 80s. We often used Food stamps - which offered lots of boxed and pre-packaged options. I was becoming more and more sugar addicted. In middle school, these unhealthy ways of coping spread deeper into alcohol & drug use, television, work, and procrastination. At eighteen, after high school, I ventured out on my own and found myself enrolled in the Air Force.

My eighteen-year-old brain and unhealthy coping skills paved the way for my next twenty years. Within my first 18 months out on my own, I was married to a man who told me how wonderful I was until he didn’t. It wasn’t long until I was the recipient of his insane jealousy and abuse - both verbal and physical. The pregnancies gave me plenty of excuses to over-eat during that time. The year-long separation provided enough stress to help me lose the baby weight, though not in a healthy way. I was on my own – still eating crap and now I was drinking wine and beer at night after the girls were asleep.

This was what I thought I needed to decompress from a full-time job, dealing with divorce drama, and being a single mom. It was at this time I developed patches of peeling skin around my ears, on my face, hands, elbows, and knees from psoriasis. I was stressed, I was sick, and I was continuing to put band-aids on these issues. I calmed my emotions by eating. I overate in a way that caused weight gain, compromised my immune system, and left me exhausted by 2 pm every single day. I ate a Standard American Diet (SAD). Lots of boxed and frozen meals and fast foods. I even foolishly considered Chinese foods like beef and broccoli a healthy choice. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. But I know now – and you can, too.

My Story

I am a twenty-year Veteran of the United States Air Force (USAF). I served as a Materiel Management Specialist (2SO), was a non-volunteer to be a Military Training Instructor (MTI) and volunteered to take on an additional role as a Physical Readiness Trainer to prepare members to pass their annual fitness exams. In addition, I certified to be a Victim’s Advocate with the USAF’s Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC). While in the USAF I would consider myself fit and healthy, but once I became an MTI, I knew I was far from it. I worked 12–14-hour days, 7 days a week, for 6-8 weeks straight when I was with my flight going from week 0 to graduation from Basic Military Training.

"This took a toll on me physically and mentally. Food and alcohol were how I coped with the stress and the exhaustion."

I had the opportunity to work less hours and have a decent schedule at the 319th Training Squadron where trainees were sent for medical hold or being discharged from the USAF. With Medical personal working in the building, I learned how food impacts the body’s ability to prevent and heal from injuries along with how the body reacts to and doesn’t heal with elevated stress. When we are stressed, we want food high in flour, sugar, and fat. Excited from all these new realizations, I couldn’t wait to learn more!

Once I left BMT and was stationed in NC I found my passion for wellness grew! I volunteered as a Physical Readiness Trainer to help my co-workers train for and pass their annual fitness tests. These tests included sit-ups, push-ups, and a 1.5-mile run. I led PT sessions two times a week and often went for runs after work and on weekends alongside anyone who needed extra training or who was feeling unsure that they would pass. My way of doing this was to train them to run further than what was required. The test requires 6 laps on the inside lane of the track. During training we ran 8 laps on the outside lane. On the day of the test each lap was done faster, and they would have less laps than they were used to. This slight mental shift gave them a boost in confidence that allowed each to enjoy the test rather than dread it. This is the same confidence I can help you find and use for your own health and wellness!

In my church I met women who talked all about food. They talked about how nutrition heals the body both physically AND mentally. I was fascinated and interested in learning more! Excitedly, I completed my first 30-day detox! I eliminated flour, sugar, dairy, alcohol, and caffeine while eating only plant-based, whole foods. My body screamed as I literally detoxed from sugar. I experienced body aches and nausea and a rash developed on my arms and legs. The toxins from years of eating processed foods, drinking soda and Starbucks, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol seeped out of my skin and out of my gut, as well. As difficult as it was for the first two weeks, I committed and soon after my body began healing.

All my uncomfortable bloating went away. I discovered I had so much more energy and I no longer felt like I needed a 2pm pick me up of sugar and caffeine. My skin was clear. I fell asleep easily and slept through the night, every night. The biggest reward was when the unbearable inflammation causing pain in my joints finally subsided. It was through this success and relief that I became a firm believer in the healing properties of food.

That initial detox lit a fire in me, and I was excited and dedicated to learn more about food, where it comes from, and what our individual bodies need. This was a journey, slow and steady, because after my initial detox I ultimately went back to my old eating habits. I found that with each detox and as I learned more about food and gut health that the cravings to put those toxic foods back in my body became less and less intense.

I soon become a leader in working one on one with people, teaching them and seeing them through their own detox. I added to my new-found passion by developing a grocery store tour that allowed me to train others to understand food labels and to find healthy alternatives, in any store.

After I retired from the Air Force, I pursued a bachelor’s degree with the intention to become a certified nutritionist. While in school, I was blessed with the opportunity to share wellness at my church through recipe parties, plant-based food samplings, and teaching during our Wednesday night service. This challenged me to dive deeper, learn more, and to present the information I’d learned in a way that others could easily understand and implement! This is when I studied more about sugar, acidity and alkaline in the body, digital wellness, financial wellness, and core strength. You can imagine my excitement at all this new, implementable information!

While working with these wonderful people I cared so much about, I learned how difficult it is for people to be aware of what they need to do to improve their health but still struggle with poor eating and exercise habits. Often, I heard them express that they truly wanted to eat better, but they also had feelings of being out of control when they resumed their old habits. They were dealing with feelings of defeat and sadness that made them believe they were destined to stay unwell.

It was for them that I made the decision to become a life coach. I realized that as much as I was enjoying learning more about food’s nutrition, I equally wanted to help others to regain their health and control over their lives. I didn’t want to just TELL people what to eat, I wanted to SHOW people how they can change. I wanted people to know this is possible with any plan from any doctor or even a plan they’ve made for themselves. People can discover everything it takes to be healthy and free of extra weight with the right partner, the right tools and utilizing the power they have inside of them. You have that power inside of you, too.

Today I’ve coached hundreds of people. I continue learning for my own health and for yours, so I can pass the most up-to-date tools and knowledge along. My journey to learn more about food, where it comes from and what our bodies need has been amazing. I’ve been able to help so many learn what their bodies want and need to become healthy and WELL-thy.

PS <3 - Thank you to my vegetarian sister Jamie, who made a huge impact on what I eat and where I buy my food from. Search “Factory Farming” to learn more.

What if...

-You could say no to food without debating it with yourself

-Not finishing food when you are full became normal

- There were no restrictions you didn’t enjoy

-Bad days didn’t end in a craving

Did you know? People who follow restrictive diets or have a history of dieting are more likely to eat to feel better.

Call To Action