How can a Functional Health Coach help you?
I am your best ally as you choose to walk (or run!) along your wellness journey. I am not a medical provider. I don’t practice medicine, treat or prevent disease. I educate, inspire, provide resources, support and accountability guided by the latest science and positive psychology. I’m trained in the science of behavioral change to help you optimize key lifestyle practices (functional nutrition, stress management, movement, sleep, spirituality/relationships) that contribute to overall wellness. I help bridge the gap between you and your physician, and help you move from inaction to action, with small positive, mutually agreed upon behavioral shifts toward the life you want.
The Coaching Process
Change can be hard. As a change specialist, I make it easier for you to achieve your health goals, always in a supportive, judgement-free zone. I’ll never tell you what to do. You’ll make your own best educated choices while I provide support, resources and tools that guide you one step at a time. You will tap into your own strengths and internal motivation, key ingredients that prevent you from getting stuck, so you can successfully move toward the life you want.
Through the process, you will…
…gain clarity on what’s important to you and create a wellness vision for how you wish to feel, and what you want most.
… introduce small, new simple practices that work with your lifestyle and unique biology, incorporating more of what fuels you, and less of what brings you down.
… learn to use your unique strengths to overcome challenges on the way to success.
…move past clutter, old habits, and misinformation to achieve a greater sense of well-being, more energy, less stress.
What is a “Functional Medicine Approach”?
Functional Medicine is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach to healthcare that looks beyond symptom resolution to identify why illness occurs and address those root causes to restore health. While conventional medicine focuses on using medication to reduce symptoms, Functional Medicine empowers patients, coaches and practitioners to work together to resolve the complex underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness through diet and lifestyle change.
Functional Medicine considers the whole person, understanding how all is interconnected- lifestyle factors, (food, sleep, stress, movement, connection/relationships), environment (toxins) and underlying nutrient deficiencies, infections and hormonal imbalances, that all interact with your unique genetics. Research shows that healthy lifestyle behaviors play a huge role in positive health outcomes. As a functional medicine health coach, I don’t practice medicine. I guide behavior change using a “functional approach” (with the support of your practitioner), toward optimizing function in the Five key lifestyle pillars that contribute to creating health and resiliency:
Five Key Lifestyle Pillars
1.Food
2. Managing Stress
3. Sleep
4. Movement
5. Connection
“Genetics load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger”.
- Dr. Mark Hyman
My Story
I discovered my passion for helping others following years of navigating overwhelm and unpredictability of multiple auto-immune illnesses and cancer diagnoses in my own family. With so much out of control, I began digging in to whatever research I could find, with hopes of finding a kinder gentler path. A researcher I came into contact with, mentioned emerging data on the link between gluten and autoimmune/neurological symptoms. I became curious and as an experiment, removed it from our diet. Within two weeks, symptoms of fatigue, head pain and swelling dissipated and never returned.
I began exploring the role toxins play in chronic illness and became fascinated by how small lifestyle shifts were able to improve my family’s quality of life, (and bonus, way fewer trips to the doctor!), even after I thought we were already living “healthy”. My passion for wellness grew, and so did my interest in related research, books and podcasts. The more I studied, the more I saw that in most situations, illness doesn’t fall from the sky, our lifestyle choices and environment interact with our genetics, and symptoms are the body’s language for telling us something is off balance.
I went on to receive my health coaching certification through intensive study with Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, a collaboration with the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM). I had a life-changing opportunity to learn from the most recognized leaders in the Functional Medicine movement including Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Terry Wahls and many others.
Prior to becoming a health coach, I spent over 12 years in strategic global marketing in NYC for three of the largest skincare/cosmetics corporations and hold a BS in Marketing/Finance. Trading in my supermodel superheroes for pioneers in Functional Medicine, I’m now blessed to be able to support others on their wellness journey. My greatest pride, joy and learning has come from raising two boys into special young men on the roller coaster of life along with my wonderful husband and life partner, Sam.
