Like many women, I learned early on in life that food was to be feared, food is the enemy, and that “thin is in.”  As a young girl I watched my mother constantly struggle with her weight.  Her’s is a typical yo-yo-dieting story – she started and stopped Weight Watchers numerous times, tried medically supervised liquid only diets,  packaged food products and shakes, and it worked, for awhile.  She gained and lost 100 pounds several times, mostly by starving, following low fat, low calorie diets, or exercising for hours.  It consumed her every day thoughts, her life.  None of these diets worked long term, and she blamed herself, or a lack of willpower.  She was depressed, frustrated, exhausted and unhappy and she struggled unnecessarily.  My mother was diagnosed with metastatic inflammatory breast cancer at 80 years old. As I learned more about cancer as a metabolic disease, and trained in the Metabolic Approach to Cancer, it became clear there was much more involved in her diagnosis than just bad luck or genetics.

Not surprisingly, I, too, developed a poor relationship with food early in life.  I used food as a crutch when challenges in life overwhelmed me.  I tried many times to overcome my obsessive relationship with food with medication, talk therapy, the 12 step program, meditation- I even admitted myself into an inpatient eating disorders program. The trouble was, the problem wasn’t “in my head”, it wasn’t necessarily due to my childhood struggles, or an anxiety disorder, it wasn’t simply genetics or a difficult marriage, the problem was physiological and psychological addiction to the processed sugary foods. My body and mind would never function optimally until I got rid of my physical and mental reliance on sugar and processed carbohydrates to temporarily improve life’s challenges.

When I turned 50, I realized I needed to figure out, once and for all, how to change the unhealthy patterns I had developed.  I had significant life changing events to overcome and felt like I was aging quickly because of it.  I needed to focus on self-care.  My bones ached, my fingers swelled from arthritis, I had brain fog, loose skin, and lacked energy. I was running marathons yet didn’t look or feel healthy.  I found the answer by changing what I put into my mouth.  I started following a whole foods, low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet, essentially a Ketogenic Diet.  I ended the constant snacking, the constant sugar intake, the processed and packaged foods.  I added healthy fat, which was a bit scary at first, overcoming the calories in calories out/low-fat mentality, but it has proven to be a successful, amazing journey and I am thankful to have found a new approach to eating.  Viewing food as medicine has changed my obsessive thinking and daily struggle of “what to eat when”.  I am mostly animal based now, and am still a work in progress. Life is not always a linear path, but I know low carbohydrate nutrition helped me, has helped other family members, and can also help many people struggling with poor health.  

I have been an emergency room nurse for over 20 years.  Every day I see band-aid solutions for chronic complaints.  I see people struggling unnecessarily, returning often and finding no long term solutions in the traditional advice offered. I manage whole health – not simply offering another prescription, or a band-aid solution, not just telling you to “eat less and exercise more”.  We will work together to slow and reverse the core causes of cancer, aging, weight gain and metabolic dysfunction, and eliminate the frustrations of chronic dieting.  As a nurse and someone who has struggled as well, I am able to compassionately and empathetically listen to your frustrations and help you find sustainable solutions to your struggles with diet.  Let’s start your healing journey today!

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