My story

(2/2010) My health journey as I knew it started over 2 years ago when my passion for fitness was leading me to pursue a certification in personal training. The owner of the gym I go to is wonderful and started mentoring me right after I completed the Columbus Marathon in 08.

What I began learning from him changed my life. Our first meeting, I thought we were going to talk dumbbells and interval training. Instead we discussed nutrition and hormones. He asked me questions my physicians have never even asked me. He assessed my stress levels, digestion, food aversions, hormonal patterns, caloric intake and the list goes on. After food journals, weekly body fat tests, re-arranging my diet a million times, suffering through acne, sluggish digestion, extreme fatigue, hormonal swings and more...I am finally on the upswing. It's been a long journey. Needless to say, I realized my first priority was to focus on my own healing and wholeness before I could get certified to help anyone else. So my dreams were put on hold as I began to seek answers.

To back peddle a bit, I have always appeared "healthy" to everyone who knew me. I would run a lot, try to eat healthy (minus my addiction to sweets) and live an active lifestyle. I was fortunate in the genetic department, so weight hasn't been an issue for me. But remember- THIN DOES NOT EQUAL HEALTHY. The thing is, since high school, I never really FELT healthy. I was constantly bloated, as food seemed to really bother me---but I loved to eat, and I exercised all the time because it was the only thing that made me feel better. This worked for me until I hit a few bumps in the road.

In 2006, I was diagnosed with melanoma at age 22 and had surgery to remove the cancer. This rocked my world and I began feeling less invincible and was the first time I really felt concerned about my physical body (literally my skin). In 2008, I found a tumor in my right breast and had it removed. It was benign- my doctor said it was probably related to "the pill."

This was when I really began to process things. Why was I experiencing these things? What is the root of disease? Why was it that my hormones were so off? What is the root of my problems???

Thus began my journey in the naturopathic realm of life. After hormone tests that were inconclusive, I tried everything under the sun to bring my body "into balance." I knew that I wasn't operating at my optimum level. I was tired of covering up symptoms or worrying about my health. So here came the trial and error period & not to mention expensive part. I visited my OBGYN and multiple MD's. I saw a chiropractor & an applied kinesiologist. I had blood tests from a naturopath and acupuncture treatments. I tried herbal remedies, holistic remedies and prescriptions. Our pantry turned into a pharmacy and our paycheck turned into a large medical bill.

Fed up with little results, God brought me to my knees in December 2010. He started showing me that He is my physician (Matthew 4:23) and that I needed to surrender control and seek Him for guidance. And so my spiritual journey began colliding with my quest for health. Hence, my motivation for this blog and for TRINITY WELLNESS.

For Christmas this year, my mother-in-law sent me the book "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin, a biblical-health challenge for 40 days. I am currently on day 35 (2/6/10) and have never felt better. See my story under my "Maker's Diet" section.

I am not at the end of the road, but can tell you that God is changing me in ways I have never imagined. He has redefined the calling in my life to work with others (women in particular) to steer them toward wellness and healing. I have realized more than anything that God calls us into wholeness and wants to heal us from the inside out. Thank you for following my journey and I hope it blesses you.

(5/2011) The newest part of my story is that a few months after starting this blog (and changing my lifestyle) I became pregnant and had my son, Ezekiel (Zeke) this February. He has inspired me to pursue a career in health coaching, rather than just personal training. I am currently enrolled at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a health coach in 2010.

I look forward to learning this year, improving my health and hopefully inspiring others to seek balanced wellness!