I haven’t always been so clean…
As is so often the case, my journey towards health coaching has been paved by the stepping stones of life experience.
Prior to my “mom years” which began at 37, I was a pediatric speech language pathologist in the Raleigh area. Before that, an advertising sales executive in New York City working in the magazine world. I spent most of my twenties living and working in NYC and, let’s just say, I needed a way to deal with my anxiety. In those days I ate ultra-processed “health” foods like “Boca burgers,” heated up my leftovers in plastic Tupperware, drank waaaaay too many cocktails out and about multiple nights a week, worked my butt off at Equinox gym spin classes and serious yoga studios AND combatted my extra sweat (from anxiety) with prescription strength aluminum deodorant. Umm…. yea… I cringe even typing all of that…. BUT it’s the truth of where I was.
Fast forward to my mid-thirties — I was married and healthier in pretty much every regard and looking into what to do and not do, health-wise, in pregnancy. I started learning about the microbiome ("gut health") and how so many diet and lifestyle decisions I made in pregnancy and while breastfeeding could potentially impact so many aspects of my children’s health, both as infants, and even into adulthood. It was both frightening and empowering to learn that the choices I continue to make basically impact their life long immune systems (yikes!) Since that time, 6+ years ago, I’ve been on a journey of filtering through fact versus fiction and finding what works when it comes to cleaner solutions for my entire family. I half joke that even my dog gets high quality fish oil and a probiotic with her food....but….she does!
Today, though, spinning away my stress on my Peloton bike, Barre-ing it up on YouTube, meditating and connecting with my mom friends are some of my favorite stress relievers.
I believe that the collective toxic load is the problem – it’s not just our foods, personal care products, heavy metals, stress, our devices, the water we drink or the air we breathe. I wholeheartedly believe that our world is more toxic than ever before. And it's our depleted microbiomes, nutrient-deficits, sugar and processed-foods epidemics and high levels of inflammation that play a role in, not only, most diseases of aging -- Alzheimers, Dementia, Cancers, Diabetes and Heart Disease just to name a few..... But also in ADD, ADHD, sensory issues, eczema and some of the learning disabilities that have become increasingly more common in our children.
I had my boys at 37 and 39 and as an older mom, especially, I WANT to be alive and WELL to see my kids grow up. And while there is so much out of my control when it comes to my family’s health, there are so many things we CAN do with nutrition, lifestyle and habits. That's where Clean Coaching Mama comes in.
Many friends have told me that they don't know where to start. I've been asked for recommendations on probiotics for kids, what kind of cookware to use, where to prioritize buying organic and what snack foods my kids eat. I've been asked to check ingredients in people's foundation or face wash, and what safer detergents and all purpose cleaners work best. Also what workouts on You Tube are effective to squeeze in during nap time or how to try out meditation. What began as just offering my tips to friends became a formal health coaching certification and the start of Clean Coaching Mama. “Where to start?” can be confusing and there’s just as much fear mongering, green washing and things that DON'T work as those that do. I'm passionate about giving you solutions that DO work and helping you on the journey of transforming your health.
