Hi!
I’m Stephanie, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach. I help empower women who feel like they are trapped in a body that isn’t their own; burdened with excess weight, hormonal imbalances, and stress. Together, we find the relief that they crave and the ability to THRIVE in each day, rediscovering their TRUE self, without sacrificing their TRUE SELF!
How I got here…
We all have our story, and I definitely have one of my own! (How much time do ya got?!?) I will try to keep things short and sweet for now. The women I help…that description above….that was me. Struggling each day, wanting to let the REAL me out of this body that was sore, overweight, unbalanced, and stressed beyond the MAX! Every day was a burden it seemed…just trying to survive. This isn’t something that just happened over night, however, there were a few MAJOR life events that really pushed me over the edge.
HERE WE GO…
My passion for helping others goes back as far as I can remember…and a few years later came my passion for all things health and wellness! I dabbled here and there in the newest, latest, greatest fads….foods, workout gear, supplements, meal replacement shakes…..Uff-Da! It was a lot! Some of it stuck around, and some of it….thankfully, I kicked to the curb! I also starting reading and researching more health topics, which eventually lead to webinars, books, classes….then, a degree in health! And…eventually here!
But, before that degree and everything else, I had some “stuff” that happened….those MAJOR life events I was talking about. Each one intensified a bit….and each one of those events left a little bit bigger mark on me, and my health. I started to gain weight, have hormonal problems, and I just didn’t feel like myself! One after another, the life event would come in…rip up my life….and leave me more shattered than the time before. The last one, the one before I turned things around…that was a DOOZY!
“THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMELS BACK”…
My family and I had just gotten through the MAJOR life event of selling our home in town, and moving to our dream place out in the country (living in a camper while we built our home!). We were picking up the pieces from all that came with that, and the next event came knocking at my door…actually, it was a phone call. I found out that I would not be returning to my job. My contract was not renewed….essentially, I was fired! (Can we say STRESS!) I had JUST been through one of the TOUGHEST experiences of my life, dealing with land purchase, and all the fun that goes with that (any realtors here?!?), and now I wasn’t sure we could afford to keep it! My health got worse. I felt myself going into this horrible, deep, dark place….I referred to it as a dark hole. A pit I couldn’t climb out of no matter how hard I tried.
Backing up a bit to my health, and how it got worse….I gained weight….fat. You know, the “bad” kind that forms around your mid-section? I also started having AWFUL periods…..like, I wanted to RIP-out-my-uterus bad! My cycle in general was off, and I was having mood swings worse than ever. I am pretty sure my husband was ready to call his priest at times! My sleep…well, more like….”Sleep? What’s that?!?” It wasn’t really happening. Partly because I would stay up late having pity parties for myself eating bowls of cereal and watching late night tv shows or binging Netflix. Also, because I wasn’t comfortable. My body was sore….achy….I didn’t feel like ME! At one point, I remember walking around our yard (a great place for Aha Moments, which I will share more on in a bit!), and thinking to myself, “is this even MY body?!? I do NOT feel like me! Who am I?!?” Talk about an awful feeling….not only did I look in the mirror and not recognize the person staring back, but I couldn’t FEEL me anymore! “Where was I?!?! What happened to me?!?”
I TRIED ALL THE THINGS…UNTIL I TRIED THE “RIGHT” THINGS…
I tried different “health” things that I had learned about, or seen around…..those meal replacement shakes, supplements, crazy intense exercise. Nothing helped. Around the same time that I was trying all the crazy fad stuff, I came across a Health Coach on social media. Someone who had gone to high school where I did! Our health stories were not identical, but she was still very relatable and had some new-to-me, health information that I found really intriguing. So…I followed her, and every so often, I would check out what she was writing about.
One day, I was walking around our yard (remember…Aha Moments?!?), and I realized that I needed to figure THIS out. I needed to snap out of this funk….pull myself out of the dark hole…..fix my body! I decided right then and there to shift my classes and degree (did I mention I was taking college courses, getting another degree when all this happened?!?) and go in the direction of health and wellness. I had a passion for health and psychology already, so why not dig in deeper! I also started to research more about the symptoms and health issues I was having….I stayed away from the fad stuff, and REALLY dug in. I could feel myself breaking free, and coming out of the depressive states, ready to heal and embrace change.
THE CHANGE BEGINS…
I started to look at the foods I was eating….putting the cereal away, and getting my butt in bed before 10:00 pm! I was tracking my cycle, researching, reading, walking, journaling, praying….walking! I was STARTING to feel better. And, one day, on another one of those monumental walks around my yard, I found myself in front of our wellhouse, with this thought that STOPPED me. I NEEDED to help other women who struggle like I have struggled. I NEED to make sure that they have someone who can help them out of that dark “hole”, and rediscover themselves. And, NO JOKE my friends…..I looked at the wellhouse…..and I have no other way to say it, other than….I KNEW. I KNEW what my next steps would be. I knew my purpose. I knew that everything I had experienced so far in my life, led me to this point…and was not for nothing. Everything happens for a reason, and this was it!
I started researching more about health coaching, health coaches, schools….all of it! I came upon Institute for Integrative Nutrition. After some reading and checking around, it seemed like a good fit for me…AND, a lovely little miracle….classes would be starting a month later, AND they had a special financing plan with NO interest! It was music to my un-employed little ears!
In 2019, I earned my Certificate as an Integrative Health Coach……AND, my Bachelors in Health Psychology! What a joy and accomplishment after all that I had been through before! Shortly after, I created my first website and started my health coaching practice business….The Well-House. Fall of 2023, I took things to the next level by completing the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program…I am ready to help empower my clients!
CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD…
I continue to work on my personal health journey, along with following my passion to help other women. And….the payments towards colleges, health schools, all things learning…. it hasn’t stopped! The passion for learning and for what I do, keeps me a student…maybe for life! But, that’s ok. I think back on the day that I got that phone call…..I remember thinking what was I going to do with my life, and how would I ever move forward. Well, here I am!
I hope you were able to follow along for the ride! Maybe you could relate at times, maybe you got a laugh, or a cry out of my story. Maybe you are ready to start your healing journey yourself. Well, I am here for you! If you want, reach out to me…we can chat. Check out my coaching programs. Or, just have a look around from time to time…see where it leads you. Whatever you choose to do next, just know that you are welcome here at The Well-House!
Stephanie
Education, Certifications…
In case you are interested, here are some of my credentials and training info. Also, just as an FYI…I love to learn! So, this section will never truly be finished…but, here is what I have for now!
- Bachelors degree in Health Psychology
- Certified Health Coach – Institute for Integrative Nutrition
- Coaching Intensive Practicum 2.0 – Institute for Integrative Nutrition
- National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach – NBHWC
- Nutrition Certification – Food Matters Institute
- Hormone Health Certification – Institute for Integrative Nutrition
- Nutritional Therapy Practitioner – Nutritional Therapy Association
- HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) Practitioner
You can find me here too!
Join me on INSTAGRAM!(BTW…I practice what I preach, and don’t spend a ton of time on the social media.)