Why work with me?

Because I have been there myself…

I have struggled with my weight and digestive problems for most of my life, and since figuring out the keys to long term weight loss, I am passionate about sharing what I've learned with other women struggling with their weight.

 

I have experience:

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• with just about every diet out there (Cabbage Soup Diet (yes, I started young), Grapefruit Diet, Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, taking Diet, and many more).

• trying out diet pills and experiencing the negative side effects.

• restricting my calories.

• struggling with my weight for my whole life.

• being a vegetarian (for ethical reasons) and having to go against my moral beliefs and love of animals to eat meat again because that was what my body needed.

• not only gaining 50 pounds, but losing that weight when I found out which foods worked for my specific body, and it came off pretty quick when I did.

• figuring out how to fix my digestive problems (without medicine) after suffering with bloating and stomach pains for about 30 years.

• coaching many people and helping them to make positive healthy changes in their lives.

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This has given me the expertise to help you achieve long lasting weight loss so that you can feel fantastic, gain confidence, and love your body.  You can read more about my story below if you are interested!

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Here are a some things about me;

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• I love animals.  I have a Yorkie named Charlotte and I'm pretty obsessed with her.

• I love doing restorative or yin yoga.  I prefer the yoga styles where you just lay there because I also do workouts daily - walking and doing strength training workouts in my living room.

• I love the beach.  I moved from Wisconsin to San Diego, California to be by the beach and warm weather.  I can't see myself living anywhere else.

• I love traveling.  I currently have the travel bug and start to get antsy if I don't have a trip planned for a couple months.

• I love the way I feel when I eat healthy foods that are right for my body, but I'm not perfect and do allow myself to have some foods that aren't great for my body at times.

• I love a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or hard kombucha.

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If you are interested in working with me or finding out if I can help you reach your weight loss goals, you can contact me here or email me at kellysnutritionandwellness@gmail.com.  You can also learn more about my signature program, Discover Your Dream Body in 90 Days by clicking here. 

My story

For  as long as I can remember, I never felt well after I ate, even as far back as elementary school.  I would always feel bloated, nauseous, or have stomach pains after eating.  I also felt self conscious of my body, always thinking that I was “fat” because I wasn’t as skinny as the other girls my age.  This was in the 90's, so the "fat free" era.  So, naturally I ate all the fat free foods, thinking it would resolve my problems.

 

I think it was around the time when I was 15 years old that I finally was at a healthy weight, but still thought I was "fat".  I ate the same disgusting lunch every day - a turkey in a pita (which half the time would be kind of soggy by the time I ate it - so gross!!), canned peaches or mango, carrots, and maybe yogurt.  Even though I was at a healthy weight and eating relatively healthy, I still never felt well.  Not only did I have digestive issues (I was nauseous and throwing up almost every day at this point), but I also felt as if I was in a constant fog and had poor energy.

I maintained my weight, which was the ideal weight for my height, through high school and college, but was also smoking kind of heavily at the time.  I remember when I was in college, having to skip class or leave class at times because my stomach was hurting so bad.  My grades weren’t that great when I was working on my Accounting degree because I couldn’t pay attention in class, but also couldn’t focus when I would take exams.  I was given Lexapro and Xanax for this, which actually did seem to help my last semester.  Throughout college and high school, I was always on a different “diet” and although I was at my ideal weight for my height, I still thought I was “fat.”

At some point in my last semester of college, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection.  I was given Cipro, which is a very strong antibiotic.  I was also working at a job that I hated because I had a terrible boss.  

This is when my weight gain began...  

I remember by the end of that summer, I was wearing skirts all of the time because none of my jeans fit me.  My weight fluctuated, but I never was as thin as I was in high school and college.  In about 2006, I became a vegetarian because I really started to get into animal rights and was grossed out by meat.  I didn’t like tofu or beans, so I relied mostly on dairy, nuts, and seeds for my protein.  I was in school for Dietetics at the time (because, thanks to my brain fog, my accounting career didn't work out), so I always made sure that I was getting enough protein.  I still didn’t feel well, and tried eliminating gluten and dairy from my diet, and, at one point, tried eating ONLY rice, which just left me with absolutely no energy. So, I went back to eating the same as before.

My weight continued to creep up until, when I was at my heaviest, I had gained 50 pounds!  

I worked out daily for the most part, and always ate healthy, well balanced meals.  I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.  I moved to San Diego in May of 2011, which is when I was at my heaviest. At my first job, I remember having a lot of stomach pain, so I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet.  I started eating a lot of quinoa, and by August, I had lost 8 pounds!  I would still have gluten though when I would go out to eat.  I continued to lose weight gradually, but I still didn’t feel well.  My stomach still hurt often, I was tired, and I had a lot of difficulty concentrating.

I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition from 2012-2013, which certified me as a Health Coach and Holistic Nutritionist.  I learned a lot, but the most important thing was the concept of bio-individuality, which means that each person is different, and a food that is good for one person may not be good for someone else.  I had a feeling that there were a lot of foods that I probably shouldn’t be eating, and, at the same time, started having cravings for meat.  I decided to try eating meat again.  I can remember when I first started eating it, my mental clarity significantly improved.  Obviously my body was craving meat!

At some point in 2013, my mom had started going to a chiropractic doctor, and found out that she was intolerant to a lot of foods.  I still wasn’t feeling that well, so I started to have consultations with my mom’s doctor over the phone, and ended up getting the same bloodwork done that my mom did.  I found out that, not only was I intolerant to gluten, but also dairy (casein, which is the protein in milk, so it’s different than being lactose intolerant) and oats.  Oatmeal had been my main breakfast for years!  I also found out that my body reacted to a number of foods the same as it did to gluten including corn, amaranth, tapioca, millet, hemp, and many more.

I was also diagnosed with Leaky Gut, which means that there were actually holes in my intestines that allowed food particles to get into my bloodstream.  This is what was most likely causing all of my symptoms.  I’m not sure what caused it.  I probably had always been intolerant to something since I didn’t feel well starting at a very young age. When you continuously eat something that you are intolerant to, it can lead to Leaky Gut, and if you continue to consume it, it can lead to an Autoimmune disorder.  I’m sure that it was the food that I was consuming, but certain medications can cause problems, such as birth control and antibiotics.  When I was diagnosed, I had been on birth control for 12 years (because of my terrible cramps, most likely caused from the inflammation in my body), and, as a teenager, I took Tetracycline, an antibiotic, for my skin, along with a topical antibiotic.  Not to mention the strong antibiotic, Cipro, that I took right before my weight gain started!  The way I had felt all of my life really made sense after putting all of this together!  My body had been trying to fight all these toxins for years!

I eliminated all of the foods from my diet that showed up on my blood test, and started taking some supplements (digestive enzyme, Hydrochloric Acid, Vitamin D, and some others), and finally felt better!  I continued to lose weight, and am now 50 pounds lighter than when I was at my heaviest!  I also feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life!  I am not as strict with it as I should be (at times, but I never touch gluten), and can tell when I’m not.  I get bloated, feel weighed down, and will often gain a few pounds from the inflammation that the food causes in my body.  Eating my favorite food (cheese enchiladas) literally causes me to gein at least 5 pounds! It really isn’t worth it to me (most of the time).
 

Credentials/Degrees

A.A.S. Dietetics

Dietetic Technician, Registered

Certificate of Traning in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management

M.S. Exercise Science and Health Promotion

Certified Health Coach/Holistic Nutritionist

Member of the International Association of Health Coaches

Certified as a Detox Specialist

Certified as a Nutritional Therapist

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You can learn about and apply for my Discover Your Dream Body in 90 Days program by clicking here.