about the age of 12.

 

I vividly remember the beginning of incessant bloating, stomach cramps, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and yes, gas. Then I started to gain weight, puberty hit HARD, and my chest, back, shoulders, and face broke out with terrible acne! You can imagine the insecurities I had every time I left the house. Anxiety and depression crept their way in too. This is around the time that my perspective of food began to change. It was either something I ran to in emotional times or something that brought me a source of pain; literally. Little did I know that proper nutrition can actually heal - I was just eating the wrong kind. 

 

In a cry for help, my mother and I visited countless doctors and specialists. Each visit ended in the same conclusion - medication. Medication for my stomach pain, PMS, skin and mood problems. After being told this was the solution over and over again, we started to believe that this truly was the only option and at a young age I started my cocktail of medications. When most of my symptoms began to go away I was thrilled! I thought we had really found the solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, these "positive results" were short-lived. Several side effects like more weight gain began to hit, but most noticeably was the severe increase in anxiety and depression. Who knows what else was really going on in my body with all of the meds I was consuming day in and day out for years. So something HAD to change, I had to get off of these medications, I had to find another solution. This was the beginning of my journey to becoming a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.

 

I was in search of natural methods to regain my health and vitality (and frankly I just wanted to stop feeling like my body was always working against me). I came across the title of a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and was surprised that I'd never heard of it in my undergraduate nutrition education. After some thorough research and speaking with several other FNTP's - I jumped into the program Fall of 2016. It was the best decision I've ever made - I mean it when I say that this organization changed my life. 

 

During my time in the Nutritional Therapy program, I began to make small shifts in my diet and lifestyle and became more aware of what foods I was highly sensitive to and cut them out. Over the next few months, I began to notice extreme changes in how I felt physically and emotionally – I wondered if I could begin to taper off of my medications. So I did, and I continued to feel better and better! What a relief. I felt as though I had finally regained control of my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through this experience, I realized that the secret to health actually wasn’t a mystery and it wasn't rocket science either! I couldn't keep it a secret - I had to share everything I'd learned with the world. So, I created Short & Sweet Nutrition, a private practice, where I hope to guide you through holistic nutrition and small lifestyle changes over time to ultimately regain your health and love for life. Stop waiting around with unanswered questions and begin your journey to healing today! 

At a young age I started

my cocktail of medications