Real food. Real conversations. Real connection. Real honesty. Real chocolate (NO carob!) Real compassion. Real expression. Real joy.

Real CARE.

We yearn for a life of genuine care and we’ve been socialized to keep it at arm’s length.

We’ve been trained to reject our real bodies. Deny our real thoughts and feelings. Ignore our real cravings. Suppress our real voices. Push aside our real desires and dreams.

We were taught to deny ourselves these powerful forms of CARE and wonder why we feel depleted, stressed, stuck, broken, torn, resentful and freaked out in so many areas of our life.

I know all about denying myself real care.

Growing up in a weight-focused family, caring for myself really meant making sure I stayed thin.

By the time I was 16, I was a full blown anorexic. Three years after recovering from my eating disorder, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and spent the next decade trying every diet imaginable to naturally cure my disease.

Every time a new diet failed and my symptoms returned, I blamed myself.

And while I thought I was taking care of myself by eating “perfectly” and exercising daily, I was obsessed with my body and my health.

Without realizing it, I’d swapped out old anorexic behaviors for new orthorexic ones. (Orthorexia is the clinical terms for an obsession with healthy eating.)

To makes things even more complicated, I was in a deeply unhappy marriage, which I refused to acknowledge. “Everything’s FINE!” I told myself and spent 6 years trying to contort and change myself into someone my husband liked.

It wasn’t until one evening when he said, “I don’t want to be married to you anymore”, that I realized I was facing the biggest choice of my life.

I could either choose to believe I was a broken, sick, unlovable person who couldn’t keep her man happy OR I could be a woman who chose herself.

From that day forward, I decided to choose the body I had, just as she was.

I chose self-compassion over self-criticism.

I chose to have tough conversations instead of staying in “good standing” with people in my life.

I chose to move my body for fun rather than to stay slim.

I chose joy over judgement and connection over comparison.

I chose to experience eating as a pleasure rather than a terrifying chore.

What I’ve learned from this wild ride of life is that mistakes are inevitable, life is messy, forgiveness is key, we are allowed to change our minds, and when we belong to and CARE for ourselves, we are truly unstoppable. 

As for credentials, I have 12 years experience working one-on-one and in groups with clients all over the world. I have a certification as a Holistic Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I am a coach for the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Maker’s Program and for the past 5 years have been a Power Circle & Women’s Leadership Facilitator for Emerging Women, an organization dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs, executives and creatives make a positive impact in the world.

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A few facts about me…

• 5 years ago I fell madly in love with my partner Adam and quickly gave birth to 2 crazy kids, just 21 months apart.

• Both my daughters were born at home.

• I’m BONUS-mom to a far-too-mature 12 year old girl who triggers and teaches me daily.

• I’m an INFJ, a Scorpio and Type Nine (The PeaceMaker) on the Enneagram. 

• I believe a good sweat, salty tears and the sea are sweet medicine.

• My favorite past times are laughing until it hurts, Cuban salsa dancing and watching old Broadway musicals.

• Appreciation — giving and receiving — is a lost art. I’m bringing it back.