My Personal Story

My personal experience very much shaped the perspective I have today. You can read more about my coaching philosophy here.

I first remember becoming aware of my body, and trying to change it through dieting, at age 9. I spent the next two decades succumbing to the pressure of modern diet culture. My relationship to food was fraught, and the “not good enough” feelings were a constant source of stress.

This is incredibly common, and it’s a huge problem. I don’t know if I ever would have escaped it had two things not happened:

First was discovering the Primal Blueprint and getting started on the path of learning how humans are supposed to eat, move, and live. For me, it was the first time I learned about food beyond the government food pyramid and dieting for weight loss.

It feels silly in retrospect, but at the time, I really didn’t connect food to health all that much. I was either eating for pleasure, or I was restricting for weight loss. I never ate to take care of my body. It just never occurred to me. Then I started to learn about metabolic hormones, inflammation, gut health, sun, sleep, stress—all things that, unbeknownst to me, I would be talking about on a daily basis ten years later.

Second, I signed up for my first triathlon (a very hare-brained idea) in 2012 and found a local training group to join. In order to keep hanging out with the dear friends I made in that group, I kept signing up for races—road running, trail running, and triathlons.

A funny thing happened: I started to think of myself as an athlete. More the tortoise than the hare, but an athlete nonetheless.

At this point, I had been slowly improving my health habits for years. (Yes, it was a long journey for me, too!) However, if I’m being honest, I still hoped that all my healthy behaviors would make me thin and confident in my own skin.

Becoming an athlete flipped the switch from caring mostly about what I looked like on the outside to wanting to take care of my body from the inside. I learned a lot about perseverance and gained a whole new respect for my body.

Don’t worry, I don’t think that everyone who wants to make peace with their body needs to run a marathon! This set me on the path of self-acceptance and body positivity I’m on today. I strongly believe everyone can make that shift when they find their own motivation.

The Big 4-0

The last big life shake-up for me was turning 39. I decided that I flat out refused to take any vestiges of old body issues into my 40s. I intentionally learned more about Health at Every Size (HAES), intuitive eating, and body acceptance. These have expanded how I think about myself and how I can best serve my clients.

I’m still a work in progress—who isn’t??—but I can honestly say that I feel at peace with my body (most days!) I act based on how I want to feel and live, no longer motivated by self-criticism. I approach every day with a mindset of honoring my current and future self. Frankly, it’s about time.

Fun Facts About Me

• I grew up in Michigan and now live in northern California.
• I love my minivan. #SorryNotSorry (I also love hashtags.)
• Even though I once swore I’d never run a marathon, I’ve now run many marathons, including one on the Great Wall of China! In 2016, I completed an Ironman triathlon. That’s a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, plus a marathon at the end.
• Did I mention I have a really high pain tolerance?
• I love kale.
• My happy places are the farmer’s market and the mountains.