About

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Education from Tufts University, and a Holistic Nutrition and Wellness Certification from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I am also a certified personal trainer through ISSA, a member of the Academy of Drugless Practitioners, and CPR and AED certified through The American Heart Association.

Paleolithic Solution Seminar taught by Robb Wolf, August, 2011

My interest and passion for nutrition, fitness, health and wellness goes back to my childhood. When I was a little girl, my mom would try out new, healthy recipes she was learning in the cooking classes she was taking. She was health conscious and didn’t allow us to drink soda with meals and we always had to eat a green vegetable with dinner. We had little, if any, junk food in the house. I didn’t appreciate it so much then, but I now know that this laid the groundwork for my interest in health and nutrition.

I didn’t think about weight much as a child, as I was average weight and so were most people around me. I was healthy, active, and played sports growing up. I became more aware of my weight in high school, being bombarded with popular media images. Weight and size became a topic of discussion among friends. I went to college at an average weight, but I was always striving to be thinner, prettier, better in some way. I started teaching aerobics in college for fun, and as a way to stay in shape. After graduate school I began my teaching career with elementary school children. I continued teaching aerobics and soon began working with a personal trainer, hoping to get stronger and more fit. I always enjoyed exploring different ways to exercise. This was a time when I restricted my caloric intake, and ate lots of chemical laden foods.

After teaching for 10 years, I married my best friend in 1994 and had my first child in 1996. I gained 60 pounds with my first pregnancy, 70 with my second and almost 80 with my third! When I delivered my third child I was well over 200 pounds – way too much for my 5’7” frame. I had lost the weight after the first and second pregnancies but this time wasn’t able to, even though I tried almost every program out there – Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, LA Weight Loss. You name it, I tried it. I put Splenda in my coffee and ate neon orange, low calorie “cheese” snacks and frozen low calorie meals from a box. The weight came off, but not permanently. I was always dieting, never eating what I truly desired. I was tired, got sick often, and had crazy blood sugar swings. When I was hungry I had to eat, otherwise I was pretty grumpy and, a few times, I actually passed out from low blood sugar. I thought this was all pretty normal.

After the birth of my third child, I had to work harder to lose weight. After all, I was older and I had been unknowingly wreaking havoc on my metabolism through many years of “yo-yo” dieting. I began exploring what else was out there. I tried going back to Jenny Craig, but I knew those packaged, chemical laden foods were not right. I had taken a nutrition course in college, and had read many books since then, so I just couldn’t bring myself to eat that non-food. Something, maybe my intuition, was telling me that there had to be another way. I hired a trainer, later began Pilates, yoga and then CrossFit. Along the way I also worked with my own health coach. I was reading and learning so much, launching my journey into eating whole, real and mostly organic foods.

I later decided to attend IIN to learn more for myself and my family, and ultimately knew I wanted to share my knowledge with others. After years of exploring and trying different theories, and often being hungry and in a hypoglycemic state, I have personally landed on a “paleo” style of eating. I have learned to eat what I enjoy, balance my meals and keep my energy up and I don’t have to count, weigh or measure my food. I no longer have cravings, don’t have blood sugar swings and I feel amazing! I can honestly say that a 47 year old mom of three, I have never felt better. I have more confidence and feel comfortable in my own skin.

My coaching and training practice provides a natural way for my award winning teaching skills to shine. I enjoy helping my clients find their comfortable path to wellness, taking into account their unique needs, tastes and lifestyle.

It’s a journey, let’s begin now.