**MY STORY**

Hi! I’m Susan. I am a health coach, speaker, wife and mom of two young baseball-loving boys. I am also a huge foodie and fitness fanatic who lives an active and healthy lifestyle. I love travel, theatre, karaoke, Halloween and NYC. But what I love most is people—from spending time with family and friends, to partnering with clients.
I lived and worked in Manhattan for over 20 years, building a successful career in the magazine industry. At Fitness Magazine, I developed health-centered advertising programs for major food companies and lectured on a variety of health topics to businesses.
I have a life-long passion for health and wellness and my training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition has equipped me with cutting-edge knowledge in holistic nutrition, innovative health coaching, lifestyle management, disease prevention, and over 100 dietary theories (gluten-free, Paleo, vegan, macrobiotic, and everything in between). I learned from health gurus including Joshua Rosenthal, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, MD, and Mark Hyman, MD.
Health Coaching now extends to all aspects of my life-from my career and family to my community, including serving on the Health and Wellness Committee for my children’s school district.

I changed my STORY and I changed my LIFE.

You too can begin a new chapter and make real, lasting lifestyle changes; and become healthier, happier, more energized and confident.

CHAPTER 1
We all have our own story with food. For some, it’s a love story; for others, it’s a tense and stressful saga; and for others still, it’s an epic battle with deception and guilt. For me, it’s been all three. Throughout my childhood and the two decades I lived in Manhattan, everything was centered around eating. From street vendors to five-star restaurants, I ate on autopilot. I had no portion control and fueled my body with unhealthy foods. Social eating, emotional eating...I was a bottomless pit.

On the flip side, being active and healthy was always part of my DNA. I drank green juice, ate tofu and kale, shopped in health food stores and exercised. I counted calories, kept a food log, met with nutritionists and experimented with cookie cutter diets. I worked at Fitness Magazine, where health and wellness became more than just a passion; it became my life. I wasn’t overweight, so I believed I was healthy, and so did everyone around me.

My exciting “I can do it all” lifestyle kept me going a mile a minute. When I got married and had children, while still working full time, my plate began to overflow. I exercised regularly and may have looked like the picture of perfect health, but here’s the thing: I wasn’t. On the inside I was sugar-addicted, sleep-deprived and over-programmed. I just didn’t know it.

CHAPTER 2
Eventually, I moved with my family from Manhattan to the slower-paced suburbs of Rochester, NY. Overnight, everything changed. Suddenly, I was no longer a career woman, I was parenting 24/7 while adjusting to my new surroundings. In the transition, I struggled to find my new identity, my next chapter, and dwelled on my past. I coped through exercise and took an “I can eat whatever I want” attitude.

Eventually, I recognized the truth: my life was and always had been out of balance. It was time for me to pick myself up, dust myself off and take control of my story. It was time for real change. Lasting change. So I ditched my scale and addressed my eating head-on. And I started to explore the areas of my life that were out of sync and weighing me down.

"You can’t start the next chapter if you keep re-reading the last one."

Everything changed for me when I discovered the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and realized that being a holistic health coach would be a perfect career for me. Learning from some of my favorite leaders in the health industry provided me with direction, drive and confidence to launch chapterU health coaching and share my passion and knowledge to help others.

It is amazing when a passion and a career come together.

What I didn’t know was how the program would also lead to my personal transformation. Throughout my life, I have invested in my own self-growth and personal development. While training, I immersed myself into growing and learning and creating the best version of myself. My new lens on health brought into focus all parts of my life that nourish me - relationships, career, community, spirituality. By exploring my “whole health” and integrating small shifts, I have created lasting positive change in my body and mind. And by eating well and taking care of myself, I'm influencing and taking better care of my family.

Food still plays a big part in my story, but I now have awareness to make smarter choices and appreciation for what my body needs. I no longer define myself by a number on the scale or how I look. My journey is not about perfection; it’s about feeling strong, confident and energized. And progress is perfection.

THE TURNING POINT of my story occurred when I learned the following personal truths. They worked for me and they too will work for you.

I stopped dwelling on my past and released the idea of who and where I was “supposed” to be (and accepted who and where I was].
I re-defined weight as not only a number on the scale, but also as every burden in my life holding me back. I started letting go of the things that were weighing me down and now focus on what truly motivates and fulfills me.
I took the word “should” out of my vocabulary, gave myself permission to say no, eased up on my perfectionism, listened to my own voice, embraced my imperfections and moved myself higher up on my to-do list.

**"If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down." -Toni Morrison**

My journey has been life-changing. In my new chapter, I am happier, healthier, energized and more confident than I have ever been, and I continue to learn and grow each day. I have a healthier influence on my family, while maintaining focus on myself, my relationships, and career. This is what I want for you too. You have the power!