Welcome to iTHRIVE Nutrition & Fitness
You might think that because I'm now a Registered Dietitian, that I grew with pretty healthy eating habits - but that couldn't be further from the truth. I grew up in an unhealthy home. Our family didn't practice healthy eating or regular exercise, so because of that, I struggled with being severely self-conscious in my body and insecure with myself.
In high school I tried multiple diets like slim fast and trying weird "concoctions" of food that I thought would burn fat, but nothing worked. This poor lifestyle continued on through my first year of college. It wasn't until then, the spring of 2013, when EVERYTHING changed.
One morning I woke up and took a look at myself in our dirty dorm mirror of our community bathroom and realized I couldn't even recognize myself. I felt like I was trapped in a body that wasn't who I truly was. After seeing the health issues my parents faced throughout their lives because of the poor habits they had, I wanted something MORE for myself. I wanted to finally feel confident in my own skin, love myself, and feel like I was truly thriving in life instead of just dragging my way through it.
Today
My Story Continued…
From there, I became obsessed with learning about how to truly get results that would last - and not just stick around for a few short months like all of the other quick fixes I tried in the past.
From that moment I lost 40 pounds, and since then have participated in a half marathon, have competed in multiple powerlifting competitions, and have been optimizing my nutrition and training to continue to make further progress ever since.
In 2016 I graduated from the University of Toledo with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.
And in 2020 I completed my Master's Degree in Food and Nutrition Sciences from Ohio University as well as completed by dietetic internship and passed my board exam to become a Registered Dietitian.
It has become my passion to help others look, feel, and become their best for a few reasons.
REASON #1: I know what it feels like to be insecure with your body, lack confidence, and hate the way you look. My mission is to help as many people break free from that and become the people they feel they were destined to be.
Reason #2: In 2019 my mom passed away, and in 2021 I then lost my dad. I watched them struggle with health issues their entire life and never fully be able to thrive in life because of those issues. With both of them passing away, I no longer have the opportunity to help them, but I DO have the opportunity to help YOU. (Check out the adorable picture of them both below lol)
REASON #3: After growing up with unhealthy parents, I want to make sure I'm staying as healthy as possible for my new son and set a good example for him (there's a fun picture of us two below). I know you likely want to do the same for your kids as well. So it's my mission to help you do that so you can show them what it's like to eat healthy, have confidence, and love yourself along the way.
