Women's Health Interest

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I also have a very special interest in women's health. I was diagnosed with PCOS, suffered irregular and missing periods, and was once told I would need fertility medication if I ever wanted to have children. Starting from the onset of puberty until my mid-20s, I also experienced severe acne, a sign of elevated androgens. 

 

In my journey, I was never provided with any information about how lifestyle and nutrition as well as stress management could benefit my hormone imbalance or androgen excess. I was only offered birth control, which can have deleterious side effects (weight gain, increased blood clot risk, hair loss, anxiety and depression due to no progesterone production).

 

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Once I began studying nutrition and changing my self-care habits, I was able to see a remission in my acne and a normalization of my periods. I am now expecting my third child in early 2023 with no fertility treatments, and I no longer consider myself to be struggling with PCOS. I did, however, experience early pregnancy loss before my 3rd pregnancy- something that is never a women's fault. I understand the pain associated with this trauma. I love providing supportive, warm, evidence-based nutrition care to help optimize fertility, manage gestational diabetes, and for the pre, peri- and post-natal period. 

 

I provide women with the education and guidance that is severely lacking in our Western, pharmaceutical-based healthcare system- the guidance I wish I had been given. We really can affect significant positive change through our food relationship, lifestyle, stress management and eating habits. 

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Food Relationship and Disordered Eating Interest

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My interest in the food relationship and Intuitive Eating grew from my early career work with chronic diseases. I am also a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and I really appreciate the connection between hormonal and overall health and our metabolic function. Initially, I counseled the way that I was taught in my training- eat this, not that. Obviously, it wasn't very helpful for my clients! I truly struggled with how best to support them. I also noticed the damage that dieting can have on our food relationship and life in general- fatigue, irritability, increased risk of eating disorders and disordered eating... so I decided to stop thinking in the weight loss-oriented, BMI-centric paradigm. 

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I began learning about Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size, mindful eating, and I studied psychological therapeutic modalities such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) so that I could better guide my clients toward wellness-centered behavioral change and a greater quality of life. I also worked to learn about and become skilled in treating eating disorders and disordered eating (ED/DE) (which can also greatly impact our hormone levels!). I can treat and manage all adult ED/DE- from restriction to binge or night eating syndrome. In my work, I like to connect the food relationship with the physical symptoms that my clients are experiencing in a truly holistic approach.

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My non-diet, self-compassionate-focused nutrition therapy is grounded in the belief that health cannot be so simply quantified. Our weight, our labs, our pants' size- they are only small pieces of a large puzzle- albeit they can be very informative, we must look at our thoughts, concerns, goals, and emotions as well. The impact of stress is so powerful, for example! 

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I love helping my clients discover all those the other pieces- and get to a place of food and body joy while focusing on health-related goals in a gentle and effective way. I'd love to chat with you about it!