Welcome

I am not a doctor, nutritionist, personal trainer or fitness coach. I am a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend, and a sister with life experience that has led me to where I am today. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at 30 years old. I had high blood pressure after having each of my children. My platelets were consistently low. I wasn't getting enough vitamin D. My BMI was too high and I developed plantar fasciitis. It seems like there was always something going wrong with me physically. This led me to implement diet and exercise as a remedy.

 

When I started working out after my first child, my personal trainer recommended not eating red meat. When I was diagnosed with arthritis my doctor recommended removing inflammatory foods which led me to a gluten free diet. Throughout my life I have tried different diets and played around with different versions of these diets. I haven't eaten red meat since my first personal trainer recommended it and it has developed from there. Connecting food to my health became an overall mindset. 

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I started watching documentaries and learned more about how the food we eat is killing us and, still, I ate it. It wasn't until I watched a video about a mother who was vegan explain her journey to a plant-based lifestyle and how she incorporated her family. It made me realize that my health or lack thereof can ultimately impact my ability to be all that I am for the people in my life - a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend, and a sister. Not only that, but the way we ate and the way I cooked impacted my family's health as well. So, I decided from that day forward that me and my family were going to be 100% plant-based.  Yet, I realized as I started implementing this new way of eating, that we were not all on the same page in my household. That didn't mean to focus on me and let them do what they want. Ultimately, I wanted my family to have healthier habits with food and eat to live just as I wanted to do. However, I had to meet them where they were, make them a part of the process, and provide them with a lifestyle that supports eating better. Honestly, my husband still doesn't eat exactly as I do, but he eats better than he did.

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Eventually, my plantar fasciitis faded until I no longer woke up limping. My knees still crack but they don't crumble. My knees don't hurt! My blood pressure is a process but it's much lower than it was. Within nine months, I lost 30 pounds and that's before incorporating any exercise. Weight loss was not the goal but a benefit. 

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What led me to start The Conscious Chew was two friends who asked for help changing their diet and eating healthier. I have learned from my own experiences and my family that eating consciously is not a diet. It is a lifestyle. That makes it permanent and a part of a daily system. Think about how you eat now and how it is incorporated into your daily habits and routines.

 

Mindful eating is more of a mindset than it is what you consume. Strengthening the mind is just as important as what you eat. When the mind is stronger than the body, the body will follow. We are a product of the choices we make. It is not easy change who you already are and the beauty of it is you don't have to. You just have to be able to grow. You have to be able to open your mind and believe in that vision of your future self. The fact is that it can't be done in one day and it can't be done at one time, but it can be done and you can do it. 

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I want to help you, one step at a time, become intentional and develop a consciousness that leads to a mindful lifestyle and healthier habits through The Conscious Chew.