My Journey

Why am I now a Holistic Health Coach?  In 2018, I found an Integrative Nurse Practitioner that changed my life. After years of not feeling well, dealing with excess weight gain, being unable to lose weight despite dieting nonstop, extreme fatigue, and hormones all over the place, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease. I was given a synthetic hormone replacement and told I should be fine. 

But I was not. I continued to feel horrible. After seeing doctor after doctor and being told “This is normal for a working mom, “you have a chemical imbalance”, or that I was just “depressed and anxious”, I was fed up. Then, I found the book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Labs Were Normal? written by Datis Kharrazian, I was ecstatic - this was me! I realized that I needed a doctor willing to think outside the traditional Western medicine protocol and started looking for an integrative doctor. My Integrative Nurse Practitioner led me on a journey to clean up my diet by removing all gluten and dairy, which causes inflammation for me. She also ordered blood labs which revealed deficiencies in multiple areas. Not the best news but it didn’t matter - I had answers and I had a plan. Since then she has supported me on my journey.   

The biggest challenge impacting my health and autoimmune flares is stress. At the closing of most academic years, I found myself in an autoimmune flare and feeling poorly. I began to look for answers again. I knew I needed to make changes beyond diet and supplementing my body. In the summer of 2021, I successfully healed myself from Candida overgrowth. This protocol was one of the most restrictive diets that I had ever been on but it was life-changing! I was required to remove all sugars from my diet as well as increase anti-fungal supplements and teas. This is where my curiosity about holistic healing peaked. Over 120 days, I watched my body heal from the inside out as I removed all chemicals, harmful ingredients, and synthetic sugars. I added yoga and daily long walks––which reduced stress––and my body reaped the benefits from increased physical activity. I removed all wine (my favorite) and Diet Dr. Pepper (my other favorite) which helped to remove additional inflammation and harmful chemicals. I added healing teas like Red Clover (cleansed my kidneys), Milk Thistle (cleansed my liver), and Par d’Arco (an anti-fungal). I was removing the harmful chemicals and adding highly nutrient foods. Slowly, I began to transition from a Candida protocol to the Autoimmune Protocol to Paleo.  

While on this healing journey, I began to explore additional educational opportunities to learn more, and this is where I found the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN). Their mission and purpose aligned with my newfound beliefs of healing the body by flooding it with highly nutritious foods and looking at health holistically. This includes spirituality, physical activity, health, relationships, career, education, home/work environments, and finances. As a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I have experienced amazing educational opportunities, impactful health coaching, and best of all connected with like-minded people around the world.  

Established in 2022, Winter Wellness For You has been dedicated to collaborating with clients, working to restore balance in their lives, and assisting them in reaching their long-term wellness objectives.