about me

      My journey to becoming a certified holistic nutritionist has been a long, winding road of backward decisions and trying to get to know myself.

      As a child, I loved everything about nature and spent most of my time outside. However, I very quickly became a victim of the SAD (standard American diet), the stress of being a millennial teenager in modern America, and the torment that came with feeling like my body was not at the optimal level it could be.

      In March of 2015, as a senior in college, I saw the scale hit the number 200. I am 4’11.5″ tall, so I knew that I had to change something. I was never one to care about scale numbers – and I’m still not – but they are an indication of health and can be used as a tool for us to take into consideration. Regardless of the scale number, I was feeling really bad about myself. Defeated, unworthy, and feeling a lot of self-hatred toward my body. And not even because of the way I looked, but because of the way I felt. That month I had taken a trip to explore the deserts of the United States with a class, and I was the only one who didn’t participate in the hikes because I couldn’t keep up with everyone else and I didn’t want to feel like a burden. In January earlier that same year, I tried to hike Mount Pemigewassett in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and had to sit down multiple times on the trail because I was so exhausted. Feeling like my body couldn’t support what my mind and soul wanted is a devastating feeling I will never forget.

      Now, remember, I love nature. And I especially love hiking. So, realizing that my body couldn’t achieve the things my mind and soul wanted to achieve, I decided it was time for a change. I began going to the gym four or five days a week, doing cardio and strength training on the machines. I also tried to ‘diet’ at this time; counting calories and buying “100 calorie snack pack” items, essentially starving myself trying to lose weight. And here’s the kicker: it didn’t work.

      Jump forward to December 8, 2015, sometime between lunch and dinner. That is when I decided to go vegan. Looking back now it’s hard to remember exactly where my headspace was at, but I know I had been researching diets and “healthy recipes” for quite some time, and recipes labeled as vegan kept popping up. I decided then and there I would try it. I had the mentality of, “Well, if I don’t like it, I can always stop.” I lost about 70 pounds in four months. Without starving, without feeling deprived. I did miss cheese (because it’s a literal opiate) and I had to eat it again and then get sick to my stomach before my body stopped craving it.

      It’s been a long time since then, and my health and fitness journey has been a path of rolling hills, with peaks and dips, but in an overall constant forward motion. And here I am almost 7 years later, still vegan, and still loving it.

      I am not here to advertise veganism. I am not here to force-feed it down your throat. But I am here as an example of someone who has taken plant foods and transformed their life. And now I am here to help you do the same. Don’t panic! That doesn’t inherently mean giving up all animal products; it just means adding in more plants. We will take it at your pace, and I am here to answer any questions you may have.

      Skip forward in the journey of my life to last year – 2021. I was insanely unhappy at my job, and I knew I needed a career that was going to fulfill me for the rest of my life. Insert: Holistic Nutrition.

      I wanted to pick a career where I can help as many people as possible learn about the power of plants. I knew I didn’t want to be labeled as a “vegan nutritionist” because I want to work with people from all walks of life; some who might be interested in veganism, and others who will never consider going vegan. My goal here is to teach as many people as possible how and why to eat more plants.