Valerie's Bio

Bio-
I had always been an athlete and fit as a child, but never really had a sense of a deep body-mind connection.  Such choices as Fluff-n-Nutters for breakfast (for those who don’t know, that is marshmallow and peanut butter sandwich on white bread), Mc Donald’s for lunch, Dunkin’ Donuts for an after school snack, and a plethora of candy throughout the day, nutrition was not my forte.  With all of the beer and cigarettes, terrible food choices and of course candy throughout college, I had easily tacked on my freshman 15.  Finally, frustrated of waiting tables while pursuing my musical theater career in Manhattan, I decided to get my personal training certification and teach aerobics to generate income.  From that decision on, my life path changed.

My twenties became a time of completely stripping myself down of everything I thought I was, loosing my identity and struggling through years of anorexia and then binge eating where I was significantly over weight.  I had gone from a vegetarian, to a vegan to a raw foodist in 5 years, depriving myself of even a morsel of chocolate. I hadn’t taken a day off of exercising in 5 years and was burning about 1,200 calories a day.  At age 25 I hit a wall and my body took over.  Food became my best friend and I could not stop eating.  I ate all of the things I would not allow myself over the past 5 years and the foods that satiated me in my childhood, in one month I put on 43 pounds!  I could not find any balance and only knew complete deprivation or over consumption of food. 

In retrospect, I can say that all of that was a blessing. During that dark period of my life, it wasn’t all bad.  I had learned through my own personal struggle with food, as well as in a holistic nutrition school, about all of the different sides of nutrition. I had taken massage courses, worked with clients along they way and helped them achieve great personal fitness goals. I discovered Bikram yoga at age 22 and fell in love with it. It helped me to start diving and looking inside of myself, creating a deeper sense of body-mind connection. I had Anthony Robbins, Carolyn Myss and Wayne Dyer as my coaches throughout the years and was tapping deeper and deeper into understanding the self.  I was working a side job doing event marketing and party planning in Chicago learning the ins and outs of the party planning industry.  I was still singing on the side, letting my creative juice flow and made two CDs for fundraisers, I have even done some seminars to High Schools about eating disorders. 

I consider myself a Healthy Lifestyle Coach because as a result of all of my experience and struggles throughout my journey, I am able to help my clients find what works for them individually and to maintain a healthy lifestyle that works for their body type, their history, their genes.  There is not a magic cure of a quick-fix for anyone.  It’s discovering what is best for you and learning to live in harmony with your organism, but enjoying the process.

Throughout these many years as a Healthy Lifestyle Coach, my Healthy Lifestyle Coaching career has grown and changed along with me.  I have the ability to work with my clients on so many different levels and design programs according to individual needs. Whether you are 10 years old or 75, I can design a program for you.  If your goal is to loose weight, get healthy, deal with eating issues, work on your cardio, or just improve your sense of self, I can motivate you to achievement. Whether you choose to incorporate Yoga, meditation, interval training, learn or strengthen your cycling skills, massage, work on nutrition or all of the above.

“Your body is in your mind.”

Understanding that in order to create a healthy lifestyle, there must be a balance. It is my commitment to my clients to reach their goals while sustaining a healthy mind and body.