About me
I am a holistic health & fitness coach, certified personal trainer, & nutritionist.
I have worked with clients with varying goals, needs, lifestyles, & challenges, ages 24-80, representing all of the continents (except one... come through, Antarctica!).
I have helped clients lose 70 pounds, build healthy routines, look in the mirror & love what they see, go from couch potato to regular exerciser, find balance in exercise, make peace with all foods, & stop emotional eating.
As a coach, I am more interested in teaching you how to trust your own body than in giving you quick fixes or promises of fast weight loss. By giving you all the tools you need during our work, you will be able to create & sustain healthy habits for the rest of your life!
What I do
I specialize in helping my clients make lasting changes in their health, with a holistic & compassionate approach. My clients gain confidence, clarity, & consistency in their fitness. We focus on mindset shifts & small habits around food, exercise, & lifestyle that lead to big results.
If you want to make real changes, you must take your whole life into account!
Because routine, recovery, & relationships all play a huge part in your fitness success, I help my clients build healthy habits in every part of their lives.
You don't need another meal plan or diet! I help you create a style of eating that works for your goals based on both science & personal feedback. I help you improve your relationship with food & stop the binge/restrict cycle or emotional eating by learning to trust your body.
I will help you start with the bare basics of exercise & build you up progressively to more advanced yet simple workouts, so you can gain strength, stamina & mobility, while reducing body fat & pain.
I work virtually with my clients through my own app & membership site.
I am able to work with clients anywhere around the world, without the constraints of time zones or location!
No need to drive to any location or even leave your house; you can get complete 360 fitness coaching wherever you are!
Why I do it
You are 100% worthy & powerful, just as you are.
Fitness is one of the best ways you can practice those truths.
Health gives you freedom to live the life you desire & the confidence to go for it!
Fitness is for everybody, no matter their age, background, story, or identity. Your uniqueness is meant to be treasured & expressed, not dismissed to fit into a box.
I want to help you understand & enjoy fitness in a way that's meaningful for the life YOU want to live!
I was always the active tomboy kid who scraped my knees, climbed trees, played basketball with my dad, & tried to beat the other kids at whatever physical game I was in (competitive much?).
When I hit puberty, my body started to change. I heard & repeated in my mind, like a windup music box, a comment someone made about my body that made me feel ashamed of it.
Then, on my 16th birthday, I got a Superfoods book as a gift (a pretty cool gift, if you ask me).
I became FASCINATED with how different foods could affect our bodies & health, almost like magic.
I started eating (drinking?) tomato smoothies –remember I told you I was kind of weird?– & shifting my diet from ramen & cereal to blueberries & spinach.
Whatever weight I’d gained from puberty came off pretty quickly. I noticed. Others noticed. It felt good.
I felt like I had control (I've moved around a lot throughout my life, or others moved away, so my world was constantly changing. Control was extremely appealing.).
My new unconscious goal became to continually exercise that control by losing weight. If a little is good, a lot is great! Right?
I didn’t know then that I was seeking to make myself disappear. I was trying to lose myself, literally, because I subconsciously believed I was wrong, not good enough, flawed. I fell into a full-blown eating disorder that consumed my entire life, mind, & body.
I ate suuuuper ‘healthy’ & took up running & jump rope. I knew how many calories were going in & how many were going out (which is never completely accurate without highly sophisticated machines).
Food & exercise were my religion, & the scale was my god. The number determined my mood, my food for the day, my exercise regimen for the week.
It was bad, & dark, & miserable… & cold. Like sitting naked in a corner of a concrete room in a Yakutsk winter.
It culminated into a breaking point in college, when I had to decide between making big, scary changes or leaving school & going into treatment.
I chose to recover.
Eating disorders are the number one most fatal mental health disorder, with the highest mortality rate of any mental health illness.
Why would you starve yourself to death, willingly? How can you be so wrong about the reflection you see in the mirror? How can you feel so in control when in reality you are so out of control?
The years following that turning point in my life were filled with binge-restrict cycles, deep despair, utter confusion, trial & error, & tons of lonely self-doubt.
I know what it’s like to be at war with your body.
But I survived.
I turned the tools that I once used to destroy my body into tools to survive & thrive.
I got support. I educated myself. I kept trying.
The eating disorder monster still comes around, & it will likely never leave entirely, but I don’t listen to it anymore.
I am no longer at war with my body. I actually like it.
I know what to eat for my body, & why, & how much. I am not afraid of food. I can eat a salad & enjoy it, & I can eat pizza & enjoy it.
I know the power of smart training & consistent exercise for my physical & mental health. I love moving & the energy & strength it gives to my body.
Health is not just what you do, but why you do it, & how.
Health is not the end, but as a means to an end: living a full, happy life.
Health is being free from your inner critic & external expectations of what you should look like & coming from a place of self-trust & confidence.
Health is freedom to do what you want, with the people you want, when you want.
I turned the tools I once used to destroy my body into tools to empower me.
That is why I care so much about fitness.
That is why I do what I do.
That is why I want to help you live the full life you want through fitness.
Fun Facts about Me
That's a complicated question! I was born in Kansas & moved to 14 different houses by the time I left for college. I spent about half of my childhood in the States, & half in South Korea. Here's me at a beach in Jacksonville, Florida...
I studied Missions/Linguistics at the Bible college I attended, & loved my Greek & Hebrew classes so much I decided to pursue linguistics. Got a Masters in Field Linguistics in England. I used those as an ESL teacher & an avid language lover, but it has little to do with fitness!
Watching some shoot-off of 90 Day Fiance while snacking on peanuts & drinking a cheap beer, thank you very much. I'm also a huge sweet tooth & love ice cream, donuts, & a rich cake.
On this earth, there are few creatures or things I love more than my cats, Jayu & Nyangi. Jayu is a Russian Blue who stole our hearts from the moment we met him. He is athletic & loves to go for "walks around the block" (yes, I hold him in my arms). Nyangi is a street cat we rescued. She loves to sleep & eat & occasionally play. Will bury her head in your hand for pets. They light up my heart & I am so grateful for their presence in my life. #shamelesscatmom
What's not? But really... As a kid, I was super competitive. I would do 200 pushups a day & keep track arm wrestling matches I had with other boys. I'd make sure I had more points than my competitors. Today, I'm not as competitive with others (maaaybe 😉), but I can thank my past self for my arm strength.
Want to know how I can help you reach YOUR fitness goals in a compassionate, holistic, & sustainable way?
You will be directed to fill out a quick form to help me better understand you.
I will go over your goals, current struggles, & possible solutions!
Gain more clarity so you can reach your personal fitness goals!