About Me
The Work
I am a trauma-informed, registered holistic nutritionist and transformational life coach helping women in mid life address the root causes of their weight, gut, sleep, fatigue and mood issues so they can finally feel more connected, fully alive and balanced inside and out of their bodies.
I provide individualized and in depth nutritional counseling, not only through listening to my client’s story, but by using personalized assessments and lab analysis combining various modalities such as:
Building self-awareness, innate wisdom, intuitive and mindful eating, culinary nutrition, growing a personal somatic practice; lab testing (comprehensive gut, immune and hormone testing), micronutrient and neurotransmitter testing). My programs are designed for those who want to find true and lasting solutions and live a longer, better quality life now & prevent health issues down the road as they age.
The Epiphany
As an only child in a home with an alcoholic parent, I lived in a constant state of fear. My disordered eating patterns were born out of this highly chaotic childhood. I controlled food when I could control nothing else. My school days were traumatizing, and I was threatened, bullied, teased, and ignored throughout middle and high school. I developed ways to keep myself busy, my mind occupied, and my feelings of body insecurity hidden away in a dark corner of my being.
Fast forward to my college years, where I was studying nutrition and dietetics at SFSU. Yet here I was, underfed, bloated, itchy from chronic eczema, and constantly getting sick! I was filling up on chalky pastel-colored TUMS, slathering myself in topical steroids, not knowing (yet) that the only person truly committed to finding the root causes of my maladies would be ME.
With one degree completed, I stepped right into a master’s program in nutrition. But something felt wrong, and I knew that the unbending old-school methods being taught were not what I needed. I changed gears and began pursuing a new and better-calibrated dream. It wasn’t until I decided to separate myself from the conventional and non-individualistic nutritional science model that things began to click.
So I went to culinary school to become a chef.
I explored all of the sensual and artistic aspects of eating. I learned about classical French cooking, breads, and pastries (which was amazing), but at the same time, began to let go of the idea that food’s beauty and importance was only found in foie gras and mille-feuilles. I leaned in to celebrating food, pouring all of my passion into meals with a wide array of colors and nutrients. And just like that, I began slowly letting go of my obsessive behaviors.
The Journey
Like myself, many health and behavioral practitioners have experienced some sort of wellness issue of their own. My journey began pretty early in life, and it started with food and fitness. At age 8 I started cooking, teaching my mom how to use healthier ingredients that I heard about on public television. At age 13 I found the gym – Pam’s Figure-tique! (Laughable now!!). At age 15 Dance became my best escape!. At age 17 I became a fitness instructor and started my own business. I had dreams of becoming a food scientist, and it was all so wonderful. Until it became obsessive. It was the Jane Fonda era. “Slender” was IN! Fat was BAD. I became obsessed with macrobiotic dieting and limiting my fat intake. I counted my calories on a yellow sticky pad.
The Growth
My 25 years in the culinary industry was rewarding and successful, but brutal. The sleepless nights and crazy work hours were so out of alignment with the balance and wellness I was always looking for. My desire for something different landed me in Vancouver, at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. While there, I added a beautiful array of holistic education to my tool kit, which broadened my scope AND provided me with even more insights into how I could heal my own gut and skin issues.
The philosophy of holistic nutrition is that our health is an expression of the complex interplay between the physical/chemical, mental/emotional, and spiritual/environmental aspects of one’s life and being. Holistic nutritionists approach health and healing from a whole-person perspective.
I went on to receive my advanced Registered Holistic Nutritionist designation, and later my certifications as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, Transformational Life Coach, and Food and Spirit Practitioner. I finally felt a higher level of confidence when addressing all aspects of my clients’ (and my own) personal health and wellness issues.
Not only did I begin seeing results in my clients’ body measurements and lab results, but in their self-awareness, confidence, balance, creativity, productivity, and life satisfaction as a whole.
One thing always leads to another, right? I didn’t stop there.
I became fascinated with the energetics of food, breathwork, and meditation. With the neuroscience of mindfulness, and stress reduction for health, creativity, and production. As a trauma-informed holistic nutritionist, I am deeply sympathetic to (and keenly aware of) the nervous system’s role in our health. My own struggles enabled me to ask about, and investigate, the connections between adverse childhood experiences and wellness struggles, and I place a deep importance on this aspect of whole-person wellness as a result.
The Support
My life today is so full, vibrant, and satisfying. I get to wake up each day and use my hard-earned superpowers to help others create a solutions roadmap for their gut, mood, and weight issues…and I do it by looking at all dimensions of their person. The food component of my work is where I truly stand out from the “healing crowd”. I am here to equip others with the ability to know and understand the ingredients they use, how food makes them feel, and how to feel in control. It’s amazing how much better people feel when they know how to shop and what to stock. There is so much food/wellness pressure and tension for folks at every stage of health. It’s my mission to take the struggle away from “trying to live more healthfully” by working together with my clients to rebalance their internal and external environments. If any part of you feels ready to begin your journey, I offer a free discovery call to determine if my programs and services are well-matched to your current needs. Here we will discuss your symptoms and goals, and assess your best course of action. I am always thrilled to connect, and look forward to hearing from you.
Certifications
- BA Nutrition, San Francisco State University
- RHN, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Canadian School of Natural Nutrition
- FDN-P, Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist
- Certified Food & Spirit Practitioner
- Certified Transformational Coach, Health Coach Institute
- CMTA, Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor
- Certified FirstLine Therapist, Metagenics
- Graduate, Pierre Dubrulle French Culinary Institute
- Graduate, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts
- Energy, Overwhelm & Freeze, Biology of Trauma Certificate
- Brain Health in Trauma, Biology of Trauma Certificate
- An Immune System Caught In A Biology of Trauma Module, Biology of Trauma Certificate
- Attachment & Neurodevelopment, Biology of Trauma Certificate
- Stress, Heart Shocks and Hormones in Trauma, Biology of Trauma Certificate
- Gut Health and Emotions in Trauma, Biology of Trauma Certificate