ABOUT MY STORY…

My healing journey has been just that — a journey. It hasn’t been linear and it has taken me years to get to where I am now, but it has made me the strong and health conscious woman I am today.

It all started when I was twenty-years-old and I was experiencing terrible, painful breakouts on my face. It felt so embarrassing and I was baffled by how my acne now could be worse than when I was in my teenage years. Moreover, I also started to notice that I was struggling to lose weight, specifically around my middle section.

Now, it’s important to note that I am not the type to go to the doctor for everything, but I immediately felt that something was ‘off’ so I made an appointment at an OBGYN.

After they ran blood work, they diagnosed me with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and told me the only way to manage symptoms was to get on birth control. I trusted that the doctor knew what they were talking about, so I got my prescription filled and went on with my life.

My whole life, I have always been an active individual and ate fairly healthy throughout my upbringing. My downfall you may ask? Well, I had a major sweet tooth, so I would binge eat all the sweets I could get my hands on after dinner. I felt out of control — like I couldn’t contain my cravings and my urge to binge eat.

I started working out twice a day and extreme dieting as a way to balance out my sweet tooth and my desire to continue to binge eat treats every night. At one point, I was eating only 850 calories a day- which is extremely low and incredibly dangerous.

But what was I supposed to do? I was told women with PCOS have an extremely hard time losing weight, so I was determined to do whatever I could to not be one of those women.

During this time, I became increasingly interested in learning more about the ingredients in our foods and, more specifically, how much excess crap is in our food. I mean, seriously, have you ever stopped to think about what we are putting in our bodies?!

I also started researching the various toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis. It was frightening to say the least. I knew I had to make a change, so I started by cleaning up my beauty products and home products. 

This helped with my inflammation a bit, but deep down inside, I knew I still felt worn down, and that it wasn’t normal to be feeling this way. 

But I heard that it was ‘just a part of having PCOS’ or ‘just a part of being a woman,’ so I went through several more years, not feeling my best and not doing anything to help it.  I felt extremely inflamed, bloated, and had limited energy - if any. I was also constantly craving sugar, which as I mentioned, was my kryptonite. 

Something had to change. 

I decided I needed to go back to the doctor, and this time I was going to advocate for myself - and my health. I told my doctor how I’ve been feeling and that I was really trying but could not lose the weight. I told her that I felt defeated and wanted to do something about it. 

Unfortunately, my doctor just looked me in the eyes and told me that my weight was fine and it was normal to feel tired all the time because ‘I was a flight attendant and a busy young woman.’ She went on to prescribe me yet another prescription and sent me on my way.

After another year passed by, I was just about at my breaking point. Simply put, I was tired of feeling like absolute crap all the time. 

I had a passion for working out and ate extremely clean, so I knew it was not normal to feel the way I felt all the time. I had had enough. I decided that if I really wanted to feel better, I needed to take matters into my own hands. 

Now I will say that I am lucky enough to have a cousin that is a Naturopathic Doctor, so I started working with her. Under her guidance,I underwent a variety of changes in my life including: getting off all my medication, detoxing my liver, working on my gut health, and figuring out how to regulate my blood sugar. I only consumed foods and supplements that would support my PCOS and exercised to support my hormones, not work against them. 

And since emotional and mental health is just as important as physical health, I took the time to truly focus on my overall wellbeing. 

When I first started to heal, I called my mom crying and told her “I did not realize how bad I felt until I healed and realized how I am SUPPOSED to feel.” Learning how to heal myself has quite literally changed my life.

I am so thankful I took matters into my own hands and figured out what is best for me — and now I encourage others to do the same. 

It is my passion to share my personal experience with people. I want people to understand that it is not normal to feel horrible all the time — and it’s not something you just have to deal with. 

After healing myself, I felt called to help people educate themselves on what works best for their well-being. I wanted to help people feel as good as I do. I wanted this to be my long term career and to continue to share my passion with others. 

After extensive research, I found the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and enrolled. From my first class, it was clear to me that it was exactly where I was meant to be. I felt like I belonged and motivated to make a change in the world. I felt like myself again.

As one of my favorite Functional Medicine doctors, Dr. Will Cole says “avoiding foods that make you feel like crap isn’t restrictive, it’s self-respect.” 

With that in mind, I felt ready to take the plunge and launch my business. I decided to take Dr. Will Cole’s saying a step further and go by the mantra of “avoiding anything in life that does not support your body and makes you feel like crap is a way of showing you self-respect.” 

This is how Respect Your Health was formed. I believe in the power of educating yourself and that learning how to support your body is the greatest sign of self-respect, and if we show our bodies a little respect, they can flourish.