This felt awesome for a few years, but in my mid-twenties I started noticing that I had become obsessive about what and when I was eating, if I was working out enough, and pushing through it all despite what I wanted or what my body was signaling to me. In the name of health, I had eliminated foods from my life, was eating a predominantly vegan diet, was overexerting myself at the gym and had low energy.

I didn’t feel particularly accepting or loving toward my body, either. I realized that the stricter I became with my lifestyle, the less trusting of my needs and myself I became. I wanted to feel that sense of empowerment I felt a few years earlier, but I knew the feeling had to come from deep within myself this time.

I started introducing foods I loved back into my routine, listening to my body’s hunger cues and honoring them, and becoming more relaxed about restaurant choices and planning. I quit the gym and discovered Pilates, which I genuinely had fun with and which helped me significantly strengthen my core, pelvic floor and legs (and became a certified adaptive Pilates instructor after 10 years of personal practice!).

I let myself naturally gain some healthy weight in exchange for more ease, fun, self-trust and physical energy, and less overall stress and tight-gripped control. It was a practice that took repeated action and commitment. And the more I let go, the more confident I felt, the better I became at setting boundaries with others around negative food and body talk, and the more adaptable I became in all parts of my life.

I firmly believe that the way we eat and act around food is an expression of the way we feel about ourselves. Through improving our relationships to food and our bodies, we can create huge impacts on our lives and on the lives of those around us.

Today I help clients find ease and freedom around food and acceptance of their now bodies using coaching, intuitive eating, body image work, Pilates and nutrition & health education so they can release themselves from the shackles of dieting, restricting and negative body image.

I can’t wait to work with you on your journey toward food freedom and body acceptance.