Things shifted in high school when I reached a tipping point. My father had several heart attacks and other chronic illnesses at an early age.  He was only in his 30’s!  I was afraid I might develop the same health problems so I decided to pay more attention to my eating habits and become more physically active. I joined a gym and began to keep a food diary. It forced me to become more aware of what, when, and how much I was eating.  I lost weight slowly but by the end of my senior year I had lost 60 pounds And I had a consistent workout schedule. Being physically active helped me get rid of my anxiety and stress.

Following high school, I pursued a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.  Unfortunately, during my first year in college, my father died at age 44 from a heart attack.  To earn some money while in college, I started to work as a pharmacy technician. I really liked the work and discovered how much pharmacists can really impact people’s lives. After graduating, I decided to get a doctoral degree in Pharmacy. I wanted to combine my knowledge of nutrition and medication to work with patients (similar to my father) with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and heart disease.  Often these problems are caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Since high school, my weight has fluctuated but I’ve managed keep my weight in a healthy range.  From time to time, I notice gradual increases in my weight due to eating too many processed foods, drinking alcohol, and indulging in too many sweets. It doesn’t take a lot.  Eating an extra 100 calories a day, that’s just two Oreo cookies (my favorite!), can lead to a 10 pound weight gain in a year! When my weight would start to climb, I would return to my success practices of tracking what I eat and by limiting my intake of fat, alcohol, and other empty calories. I tell my patients and clients that nutrition is king! In the last several years my weight has held steady and I’ve been working hard to build more muscle. In additional to practicing yoga, I’ve added weight training through CrossFit. I determine my total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) to figure out my nutritional needs without activity and then factor in my fitness plan to determine how many calories per day I should eat. I am also a fan of carb cycling, time restricted eating, and avoiding a calorie deficit.

As a lifelong learner, continuing my education and training has been important to me. In my “day job” I work full-time as a faculty member at a school of pharmacy. And I recently became a credentialed health and wellness coach and a certified yoga instructor.  I get to help others by empowering them to make healthy lifestyle changes and cultivating self-compassion!  My greatest joy is working with patients, clients, and students as their guide on the side. My role as coach is to help people achieve their wellness goals.

The pandemic has forced me to think about ways of teaching yoga and providing coaching without borders.  In April 2020, my husband and I started a YouTube channel – the Yoga Apothecary.  In our video series Wellbeing from A to Z, I provide a weekly wellbeing message while leading a vinyasa style yoga practice.  Not everyone is into yoga, so we launched the Wellbeing Elixir too.  We hope this content can increase everyone’s happiness, vitality, and sense of wellbeing. Music, poetry, and the visual arts are important part of our wellbeing formula.

I still don’t like my childhood photos. I see the younger me – the person unhappy in her skin. However, through hard work, life-long learning, persistence, and passion plus help from a pit crew of supporters, I’ve learned to live a much happier and healthier life.

You can too.