Welcome!
I'm Laura. I help women at midlife create a way of eating & living unique to their body & lifestyle to achieve the health they deserve.
You feel a lot more in tune with yourself lately. It’s true what they say about midlife, that your best years are still ahead of you.
Life is a little more stable, more predictable and you’ve got some time to finally take care of YOU.
But you’ve been noticing that something is starting to feel a little “off” in your body, you’re feeling some subtle changes. Your clothes might be fitting a little tighter than they used to or you’ve had an unexpected health issue crop up.
You know your eating and lifestyle habits could stand some improvement but you’ve tried so many times to eat healthier and it just doesn’t seem to stick.
You know you should pay attention to your health so you don’t have any serious issues in the future.
Why is it that sticking to a healthy diet has been so hard for you?
I know exactly
how you feel.
I’ve been there too.
I’m Laura and I’m a nutrition and wellness coach for women who want to take charge of their health, mindset and daily life to thrive in midlife.
I’ll teach you how to nourish your body and balance your hormones so you can feel great while diminishing any signs of aging. Small, actionable steps are the key to success and I’ll show you that through adjustments to your daily habits, real health, vitality and wellness are achievable for anyone.
With experience comes knowledge and I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned along the way.
The Backstory
People have been surprised to learn that I’ve struggled with body image.
I was seemingly the one who always had it together. I hosted dinner parties cooking from scratch and serving it on vintage china. I decorated my house for the seasons and every major holiday. I weathered every cold and flu to take care of everyone else without getting sick myself. And I never struggled with my weight, managing to maintain a slight frame for most of my life without having to resort to yo-yo or crash dieting.
But I had always approached health from an outward perspective. Healthy meant thin - often at the cost of actual nourishment.
Typical to my GenX upbringing, fat was the enemy and anything low calorie was embraced. My nutritional knowledge was basic and came from women’s magazines and daytime shows.
I learned to follow the guidelines of the food pyramid and that everything was okay in moderation. I made sure to eat fruits and vegetables (mostly fruit), limit sweets and snacks (denied myself), only drank diet soda (don’t get me started), and above all else stayed away from anything saturated like it was the plague.
This all “seemed” to work. I thought I was healthy. After all, I was thin. But I paid the price and battled troublesome digestive and skin issues.
But I was thin.
Then in my early 40’s, after years of nutrient deficiencies, gut disturbances and taking hormone disruptive synthetic birth control I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was shocked.
It was presented to me as no big deal and something that could be controlled with medication. I was given a prescription for Synthroid and sent on my way. The worst part was that I didn’t question it. I played obedient, the good girl, and did what I was told. Never once did I question how or why this could have happened.
Three years passed of me dutifully refilling prescriptions no questions asked. Symptoms started to arise - debilitating fatigue, intolerable sensitivity to extreme temperatures hot or cold, pulling clumps of hair out of my hairbrush. Until one day, literally overnight, I had a mindset shift.
We as women have been so indoctrinated to believe that our job is to please others - to keep them happy, to be of service, to make them comfortable - which makes it extremely uncomfortable to stand up and say something and ruffle some feathers.
It all happened because my email got hacked.
At the time, my personal email was a Yahoo account. It suffered a huge breach of security and accounts worldwide were hacked. As a result, crazy, ridiculous, nonsensical emails from my account were being sent to my entire contacts list. I had no choice but to shut down my account and start fresh.
This turned into the perfect opportunity to go through my subscribed list and unsubscribe to those accounts and newsletters that I no longer wanted.
During this process I came across an article written by a nutritionist on foods that support thyroid health. I truly had an Oprah “aha” moment as I dove into reading how proper nutrition and good gut health are crucial to optimal bodily function.
She taught me about something called leaky gut and that by changing your diet to one based on whole foods, maximizing nutrients, removing processed foods and eliminating sugar, gluten and dairy, you could prevent or even reverse chronic disease.
I knew it was time to take control of my own health and wellness and I became a health advocate for myself. I not only wanted to reverse my hypothyroidism, I wanted to make the transition into menopause as smooth as possible. I needed to balance my hormones and figure out what was going on with my thyroid.
I also knew this would be challenging. It’s a big undertaking to completely overhaul your diet. We as humans have strong ties to food as comfort, nurture, and love, and undeniably there were favorites I knew I would have to give up.
I had to train myself to not only eat differently, but to think differently as well.
For 6 months, I ate clean, meditated, journaled and moved my ass. I enlisted the help of a naturopath and tested my hormones and my poop. I started a supplement protocol and did an elimination diet.
I learned how wrong the diet and nutrition information I had been following for 25 years had been. I intuitively began to relate to my body in a different way. I listened to it and finally started to understand it. I dove into wellness and really started taking care of myself.
The reward came at the six month mark when my thyroid markers came into normal functional range and my autoimmune antibodies reduced by 50%. While not a complete victory, it was no longer a red flag and I was elated. All the hard work, effort and money I had invested came into fruition on paper.
I was in a place where I
confidently felt I had taken
back control of my health.
My thyroid journey raised an awareness of how we as women are falsely marketed to, disempowered and taught to be afraid of asking questions and asking for support. I had willingly given away power around the one thing that was truly mine and mine alone - my health.
As a nation, chronic illness and disease caused by lifestyle choices is at crisis level, through no fault of our own. We just don’t know any better. I know I didn’t.
I didn’t intentionally feed my children non nutritional food. I didn’t intentionally not nourish myself. I acknowledge that I was fed a bunch of lies that came from the taglines on boxes and packages, was given inaccurate guidelines so large scale organizations could profit and was conned into believing that health equals removing every morsel of fat from my diet only to be unknowingly replaced with chemicals and sugar.
I know that now and I want to share that knowledge, my story and my journey with other women to empower them to fight for their own health.
I want to empower women to change their habits into healthy ones to stave off future chronic medical conditions. I want to empower my generation of women so it can be funnelled down into future generations.
I believe women are the change agents in society and that we have the ability to take control. To control the burden we place on our healthcare systems as well as lessen the footprint we leave on our environment and our planet for generations to come.
The shift was clear.
After deciding to take control of my health into my own hands, I spent most of my free time learning and studying nutrition, health, wellness and mindset. Within 6 months I became Nutritious Life™Certified, then completed an apprenticeship in a women’s hormonal health program. In 2020, I became certified as a life coach.
With the guidance of these programs I believe I can guide you to express your best, healthiest self.
Today, I’m thriving in midlife. I’ve created routines and habits that sustain the kind of life I want to live long term and developed a healthy way of eating that nourishes me, body and soul. I can equally appreciate a beautifully ripe avocado as a bubbly glass of Prosecco. I practice the art of informed choices.
I created my coaching business to help women who are ready to take control of their health find their version of wellness in a straightforward way. I guide you in making informed, healthy choices and reframe habits that no longer serve. I help you feel healthy and vibrant again.
If my story resonates and you recognize yourself in my words, I invite you to be part of my community. Sign up for my newsletter to receive regular nutrition and wellness content directly to your inbox.
If you’d like to live the health of your dreams, discover how to Work With Me.
Your version of wellness
Appreciation
