Lisa's Own Health & Wellness Journey

I became bulimic at 16—a private battle I faced until age 25.

I didn’t realize the uneasiness I’d often felt as a child was “anxiety” until years later.

At age 25, I found myself too young to feel this crappy:

❌ Being ~35 lbs overweight

❌ High cholesterol

❌ Brain fog

❌ Bloated everywhere - especially in my face

❌ Low energy

❌ Arthritis in my knees and feet

❌ GI issues galore (Irritable Bowel Syndrome/D)

Physical activity wasn’t an issue - I regularly exercised 3-5 days a week through moderate hiking, jogging, playing softball, or hitting the gym. So why was my health having all these problems?

Not only was my physical state taking a hit, but my interpersonal life at the time was reflecting back to me that I needed to love myself more. With nursing school graduation around the corner - and basically the beginning of my “real” adult life - I made a bold, intuitive decision to reevaluate the way I was living and being and commit to healthier changes.

Things had felt off for some time. The life I was living didn’t feel right - I knew I could do, have, and be better.

As a perpetual personal development junkie, even at 25, I knew that only I could change my life.

And as a full-time nursing student waiting tables 25-30 hours a week to support myself, I didn’t have much money to work with, but I knew I needed to figure some stuff out for myself.

I decided that I was going to experiment and just see what my life might feel like if I changed a few things.

I started with some very simple dietary changes and being more conscious about how/with whom I chose to spend my time.

This was just the beginning of a lifelong journey of healing by altering the building blocks of my physical health as well as my emotional and mental energy, and understanding the interconnectedness and alchemy of it all.

A year later, at age 26:

✔️ My cholesterol dropped by over 60 points

✔️ I had no more arthritis

✔️ My mental clarity and physical energy were higher than ever, and

✔️ I lost 35 pounds in the process! (without any changes to my physical activity!)

It was a year of transformation, self-actualization, and spiritual awakening, and the end of this year ended with me meeting the love of my life, Jason.

THEN...

Starting my nursing career at 26, working swing shifts, I couldn’t maintain the routine of playing sports that had been my outlets.

The trauma I witnessed in the Spinal Cord Injury unit and later as a charge nurse on the med/surg floor weighed heavily on me. I developed pain, worsening GI issues, and phobias that led to debilitating anxiety attacks.

After becoming a mother, I feared the world for my baby, and OCD crept into my life, affecting my relationships. OCD made me an excellent nurse, but the pressure of carrying the weight of the world was too much to bear. I felt disconnected from joy, struggled to let my guard down—let alone enjoy myself—and after social gatherings, I couldn’t even recall conversations with friends.

Drinking alcohol became my only relief.

In Nov 2020, after my husband got COVID, I hit rock bottom again at 36 (the first was in college at the peak of my eating disorder). I didn’t want to be alive. Despite a decade of therapy and clean eating/living, I needed more. My primary doc offered antidepressants—I took them out of desperation. But I knew there had to be more to address the root cause.

That’s when I found functional medicine and finally got the answers I needed.

A complex web of dysfunction between my hormones, nervous system, and gut-brain axis led me to natural and behavioral approaches to correct my issues at the root. It took time, persistence, faith, and support, but I began to feel like myself again.

I knew I had to learn more about this way of healing and share it with others. With my husband’s support, I got certified as a Functional Medicine Health Coach.

After pivoting from a successful 12-year nursing career, I’ve spent the last 2+ years being the coach I wish I'd had in my own times of need.

At 40 now, my inner healing journey continues still today, as layer by layer peels away with each year of growth and transformation - a process I welcome and honor - as this, to me, is what life is about!

If you’re looking for real, lasting change and healing in your life, I would be honored to support you.