MY STORY

I know what it feels like to feel your best, but to also not. To nourish your body, but to also totally betray it. To feel hopeless and out of answers, but to also have an inner knowing and spark that you will find your way. I’ve been down almost every road and back to help people like you.

Up until I got sick, I was so unaware of my thoughts, the way I was operating. Getting sick, losing my health, and hitting rock bottom (several times!) awakened me to the way I was living my life so that I could choose to change and create what was meant for me. I hope we can wake up to the power within us and commit to taking care of ourselves.

After college, where the last few months were spent going out every night, self harming, binging and restricting.

For much of my life, I felt disconnected from my body, constantly searching for what was missing to feel whole. As a “perfect” kid I buried emotions and ran from my thoughts, distracting myself with school, sports, and achievements. My first coping mechanism became food—binging and purging to numb feelings of inadequacy. I obsessively consumed diet and fitness magazines, searching for answers for a way to find what was making me feel so empty.

College was the first time I noticed a shift in my health and body – weight gain, tired, hard time focusing, needing to have my tonsils and adenoids removed, food allergies, bouts of depression. I didn’t think anything of it and chalked it up to my unhealthy college habits. Though these symptoms seemed isolated, I now realize they were connected to deeper imbalances coupled with likely a moldy dorm room and resurfacing Lyme from a tick bite I had in high school. I also didn’t know how to handle the changes in my body I saw while not playing a sport 24/7 and a loneliness of not feeling like I didn’t fit in in while still surrounded by so many friends throughout college. I spent my weekdays restricting with diet foods so that I could binge eat at night and on the weekends, drinking to numb feelings and self-harm.

A few years into my health journey, over exercising, fat burners and eating “healthy” low nutrient foods

After college, with the consistency of post college life, I began making small changes like working out and cooking at home more. Fueled by a breakup and friendships breaking apart, I found weight lifting and clean eating (I cringe at the thought of what that meant to me at the time - quest bars anyone?). I started following strict workout routines with 5 am workouts and sometimes cardio at night, egg whites, protein powders and weird eating habits that promised me the body I dreamed for. Eat less, move more was my way to achieve it all. I saw the changes in my physical appearance, mentally I was feeling better and it was like I had found the missing piece in my life. I found a new self confidence for the praise I was receiving and for the first time understood that food and exercise, and what at the time felt like taking care of myself, had a direct impact on how I could look and feel. Little did I know I was stealing from all my reserves. At the same time, I was starting to experience symptoms like constipation and irregular periods and ignored any warning signs from my body not knowing I could be driving the symptoms. Somewhere along the way I started to understand more about how our health could be supported by food and lifestyle, and I tried to solve some of my symptoms by experimenting with with removing foods, new habits and surface level supplements I learned on health websites. I started to be known as the healthy one. I was doing everything right and I was so “healthy” but I was unknowingly driving my body into the ground in so many ways. But I was never happy or content – I was always searching for more and something outside of me. My body could never be enough and I started to notice minor weight fluctuations – workout harder, eat less, change my diet was always the answer. I must have not been doing things hard enough. When symptoms like thyroid and gut issues were identified, I sought quick fixes from doctors instead of asking why the alarm bells were going off and didn’t understand that these were largely a result of my habits, paired with other health issues brewing throughout my life.

Numbing my emotions and exploring functional medicine. I wasn’t even 100 pounds. I seemed like the healthiest person and so dedicated to my health, but I was so addicted to controlling food and my body to feel a sense of joy as I dealt with various health issues.

With more research, I slowly I started to find alternative medicine and uncovered a whole new world of healing. I used my orthorexia to control the spiraling I was starting to feel with my health problems continuing and an unhappiness I had never felt as my life started to revolve around my body. My life and self worth revolved around how good I ate and how hard I worked out. When I moved from Baltimore to Charlotte, I found my first functional medicine doctor and finally felt validated. We uncovered hormone issues, thyroid struggles, gut issues, and food sensitivities – giving me answers to my fatigue hair falling out, brain fog, low mood and missing cycle. I became obsessed with healing these symptoms, doing everything I could to get better and spending all my time finding new ideas to improve my health. I became obsessed with following protocols and diets, yet no one asked why these symptoms were happening and I continued putting band aids on a broken system. Simultaneously, I struggled to adjust to life in a new city and ran from my emotions in every capacity. I started to swap my weights for Pilates (I didn’t have much energy to do my high intensity workouts anymore) and my food intake became less and less – my body was getting smaller and it was my only sense of comfort as my health got worse. Everyone around me noticed and convinced me to step away from the out of the box thinking from alternative medicine.

I worked on gaining weight, reducing exercise ( I found the concept of “all in” for period health with a hormonal coach) and planning my wedding, but I still lacked foundational habits and failed to address the root causes of my struggles. Although my cycle returned, my symptoms persisted. I started to dig a little a deeper. I requested my doctor run Lyme tests and she refused. I saw an endocrinologist and she insisted my labs were fine and I could go on an antidepressant for low moods and see a dermatologist for my hair falling out. With my wedding approaching, I reverted to old habits to quickly lose weight, convincing myself it wouldn’t affect my health. It only added more to stress to my already struggling health.

I knew something was deeply off in my body and was still determined to find someone to help me. After my wedding, I soon found a practitioner who started to help me understand for the first time that nourishing my body was the first step in true health and that we would be chasing symptoms my whole life if the basics (which I had such a warped perception of ) weren’t in place to address the imbalances in my body. I wish it had fully clicked at that time, but I wasn’t ready to fully hear it, but it remained a whisper and now, a very loud voice in my approach to health. I believed my superfood smoothies, giant salads and lean proteins were still going to carry me to a body I loved and true health. Yet, my health was getting worse – a fatigue I had never felt, brain fog, loss of words, rashes and so much more and after lots of testing, we found mold toxicity. Mold was just the tip of the iceberg. A cumulation from my entire life of unhealthy habits, stress, over exercising and under nourishing my body, numbing my feelings and trauma tipped my body over the edge. Toxins and illness now could thrive in my body instead of defend. My bucket was overflowing. and the past year pushed it to it’s limit. It was done. I started to work with some of the best practitioners to address the problems. I FINALLY had my answer.. We started uncovering things like Lyme and coinfections, mold toxicity (I came to find out that my new home was a source along with multiple exposures throughout my life), Epstein barre, heavy metal toxicity, parasites. All my time, money, and energy went towards healing and learning about root cause medicine. I spent every second reading, listening to podcasts, researching - I had to learn so much on my own because my doctors couldn’t dedicate every minute teaching me how to heal. It’s all I focused on and the practices to heal. Illness became my identity. It gave me purpose. And it served me. I dove in and started to learn about drainage, sweating, coffee enemas, supporting my liver, paired with intense protocols that slowly started to bring me out of the dark shell and allowed me to start functioning again.

It started to lay the groundwork to healing.

In the midst of deep physical healing and getting to the root causes. My skin was at its worst as I pushed toxins out faster than my body could handle. I tried on so many protocols and therapies to address every diagnosis.

I uncovered a world of health I never knew existed, but at the same time, I became so obsessed with detoxing and chasing protocols to heal me that I was often missing the foundations of health, which not only exasperated my issues but became one of the reasons the issues overtook my body in the first place. I continued to ignore the deep deep WHY. My body wasn’t necessarily always ready for the protocols I was chasing and it was often one step forward and 100 steps back. While these issues were 100% occurring in my body and needed to be supported, I also needed to address the chronic stress in everyone corner of my life that was weakening my body and allowing these issues to continue and not heal. Everything from my horrible relationship with myself, the pace I continued to push myself, under eating and a lack of truly nourishing foods for my body and the healing process, constant fight or flight, and lack of purpose. I was walking over $100 bills to pick up pennies. While my life seemed to be getting better and I was happier than I had been in a long time, I hit multiple rock bottoms throughout this time. My body was still running on empty after being unknowingly sick my entire life and needed to be restored from a foundational and cellular level before going through more parasite protocols, heavy metal chelation, mold detoxes. But no doctors was peeling back the layer far enough to revisit that. No amount of advanced protocols could replace the foundational health I had neglected—balanced rhythms, proper nourishment, and mental well-being. My journey taught me that healing isn’t just about fighting illness but about rebuilding from within.

After one of several month long flares, I told myself there was another way. I couldn’t feel like this any longer. I couldn’t live this life that felt so dull. Enough was enough. It was one of many rock bottoms, but I was starting to have too many and I was ready to get out of my own way. I couldn’t go on any longer like this. I stared at my computer screen with no thoughts, no words – I was a shell again. At that point I knew it wasn’t about more protocols, more supplements, but I had to heal myself on another level. Something had to change. I had to understand how to fully support my body in every capacity. To understand how I was holding myself back. And that’s when I started to get to know myself and my thoughts and how they were shaping my life. And decided at that moment I would change them so that I could change my life. I found the Nutritional Therapy Program and decided to take the step and enroll. I had so much knowledge about complicated health issues and was helping people close to me, but still needed to learn the basics that most of my practitioners were skipping and I continued to ignore and instead chase the sexy protocols. Slowing down? Balancing my blood sugar? I spent my whole life dysregulated that I didn’t want to believe that simple things could improve my health. I ignored a lot of basics thinking that these weren’t part of the bigger picture, but in fact, they were birthing some of my major health issues and could not heal with these foundations being so weak.

I wish I could say everything got better while I was in school, but trying to navigate my health issues, school, a full time job and so dysregulated in trying to attend to my emotional health I was still drowning. But I knew I was on the right road. After I graduated I knew things weren’t sustainable. I burnt myself out and had to be still with myself for many months before I could pick myself up again before I could rebuild and start thinking about becoming the practitioner I wanted to be and wished I had when my health issues began. When I was looking for guidance on how to elevate my life instead of chasing protocols. It was here that I had to start surrendering, being honest with myself and others, giving myself permission to do less, and properly take care of me so my body had the space and time to do more. Did I know this prior? Yes, but was so hopeless I didn’t believe these things could help me. Through trial and error, I made little changes throughout my journey, but at this point, I had tried too many things and was so ready to get out of my own way. I had to commit to a different way of healing that included acknowledging and accepting where I was and getting support in areas that were bringing me down. I couldn’t continue to live the way I was and expect a different result. This is why I am so passionate about the habits and foundations that I teach. No amount of detoxes, supplements and elimination diets will heal you if your body does not feel safe enough with itself.

Nothing will derail you like an unrealistic approach to health.

I felt I now had all the pieces. I was honest and surrendered. I started to take what I learned in school and apply it to myself and my bio individual needs. With my persistence and resiliency, I found a practitioner who helped me uncover more reasons why I was experiencing the health problems that I was, regardless of the changes I was making. I fully trusted her and no longer had to uncover things on my own. This allowed me to free up space to put better rhythms and habits in place. It freed up more energy to heal. I found a practitioner to help me untangle every belief and thought that blocked me from the things I knew were meant for me, move through traumas, rewire thoughts and see how some of my health issues were rooted in my beliefs.

My health journey has seen many different faces, but I hope to share with others the one thing that I have come to understand. In the end, a strong body and mind is the foundation to health and resiliency and if we aren’t asking why, why, why symptoms and signs are happening – we’ll continue to put a band aid on a broken system. I’ve come back to the idea of foundational health so that others can be educated on what it truly means to take care of yourself. My mission is to show you how to reach your highest potential in your health and also your life. You don't need to exhaust your body with unrealistic protocols or follow restrictive diets to get results. You most likely need to slow down, tune into what is going on inside and use an approach that addresses every component of your life. I’ve become the practitioner I wish I had during my darkest times — someone who understands that true wellness isn’t found in quick fixes or extreme measures but in a balanced, sustainable approach to life. My journey has taught me that no protocol or supplement can replace the power of foundational health and self-worth.