Intro

People that know me know that I’m into health and fitness, and that I’m crazy about clean eating. Most people don’t know how it started.

I grew up being fat. Not like “those few chubby years” No, Fat. Always. But luckily, I was born a warrior and despite being a fat red head who was obviously teased relentlessly…I don’t remember ever crying myself to sleep at night. I was never too broken up about it. It just was what it was. Of course I WANTED to be skinny and to be able to go to the mall and shop in normal stores with my friends, but no matter how many new diets I tried and no matter how long I was able to starve myself for, I never lost more than 20 pounds (at the most!) and nobody ever noticed any of it. I would live off of fat free everything. Nothing really worked... until I became a bit older and the internet became a thing. I was able to do a little research on my own and discovered that my problem wasn’t too many calories… it was the inflammatory response in my body from those “healthy foods” and well-rounded meals that I had been fed my whole life! It was a simple fix once I figured out the culprit. I eliminated the foods that were attacking my body, and I lost 50 pounds! It’s been almost 20 years and I’ve kept the weight off!

Almost 10 years ago I started teaching fitness classes. I really wanted to become a personal trainer, but I was reluctant. Not because I didn’t know if it was what I wanted to do, but because I “still had that 10 pounds to lose before I was perfect”. I mean, who would want to hire a personal trainer who still had some flab on their arms?! Well, I started learning and focusing more and more each day on loving myself and being confident in “me right now” and I went for it! It was the beginning of Welcoming Wellness!

I'm grateful for my past. My overcoming enabled me to do all of the things that I’m so passionate about now! My journey brought me into alternative medicine and a fitness lifestyle. Honestly, I still roller coaster with my weight sometimes, but the roller coaster is within 10-15 pounds- nowhere near that extra 50 pounds that I once carried around! I don’t think I’m perfect, but I love myself anyway. I started Welcoming Wellness in 2010 with a mission to help others to reset their defaults to crave self-care, nutritious foods, and a healthy active lifestyle!