If you are wondering what made me quit my job and start my own business, stick around and I’ll tell you how my job took an unexpected turn.
Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a Pastry Chef. I would spend time with my mom and grandma learning how to bake. I even got a Kitchen Aide mixer for my confirmation when I was 12!! My favorite memories are when my grandma would come over the night before Easter and we would make this lemon and lime cake…I am already cracking up before I even finish this story. The last time we made this cake together, my gram flipped one of the cakes out of the pan and on to her hand and then ALL OVER MY MOM’s KITCHEN FLOOR! I know I busted out laughing, my gram was mortified and let out a slew of naughty words, and my mom was in disbelief as she held back laughter and tears. To this day, I have no idea what her plan was after she got the cake in her hand…I guess we will never know since my beagle ate up every drop that fell and we watched as our only dessert for the next day disappeared. Anyway, that is just a staple memory I think about anytime I start to tell someone how I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef when I grew up.
When I was 16 years old I started working in a restaurant kitchen and stayed in some form of the food industry for the next14 years. It was soon after my third baby that I realized the hours of the industry were becoming harder and harder to maintain. I was constantly looking for a sign or some unknown opportunity to present itself. Anything to not have to wake up at 1, 2, or 3 AM. Unbeknown to me opportunity came knocking when I took one last leap of faith to get my health back on track.
If you’re a mom reading this, you can probably relate. If you’re not then this is what you have to look forward to…just kidding…kind of. When I say I tried EVERYTHING I mean I tried EVERYTHING. I went as far as taking this wicked pill that kept me up all night and my resting heart rate sat at 90 or above. Yea, I wouldn’t recommend that, even if the very temporary results are ones that you like when you look at the scale. For 2 years after I quit taking that crazy pill, I experienced debilitating cramping 3 weeks out of every month…like so severe that it felt like the beginning stages of labor and I knew that feeling all too well. I saw a few different doctors and no one could figure out what was going on. I eventually reconnected with my friend Melanie who is an actual angel on earth. She is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. She looked at my eating habits and symptoms and translated my deficiencies and food intolerances back to me in a way that I understood. We discovered that I had a dairy and gluten intolerance. If you have ever had to eliminate either of those from your diet, you know that it is not an easy process. I changed my diet little by little and really learned to listen to my body. Sometimes I feel like that is a blessing AND a curse. Sometimes I just want pizza and cake but I know that I am committing to not feeling my best, which I definitely do more than I should. I learned that it is ok to indulge without punishing myself at the gym the next day. I truly learned that food is medicine and that if you want to live a life where you feel amazing most days, that this new holistic lifestyle is something I never wanted to give up on and this was something I had to learn more about.
THIS was the opportunity I didn’t know would present itself. The way Melanie taught me how to love myself again, to understand what it truly meant to fuel my body, and the way she supported and encouraged me; I wanted to pay it forward. I decided to take a leap and apply to the Nutritional Therapy Association. I could not wait to see what kind of doors this would open for me. The first door that opened was the one where I quit my job. A job that I knew for the last 8.5 years. A job where I made life-long friends. Friends that I knew I wouldn’t see for long periods of time. It was a terrifying door to open but so far I am loving that I get to sleep past 1, 2, and 3 AM!!
The second door that opened was an opportunity to work with my now friend Caitlin. She is an awesome business mentor and has created this network of women who support women with no strings attached. Women who follow their dreams and have a hype squad in their corner. To be honest, I didn’t even know that this type of thing existed. When I closed my first open door, I was and quite frankly still am, in shock that this type of squad exists. It is slightly terrifying and overwhelming to be a part of but I know I will find my own niche within it just like everyone else has.
I am now a few weeks away from getting my own Nutritional Therapy Practitioner certification. The following adjectives are a major understatement but here are my current feelings: scared, nervous, excited, motivated, frustrated, happy, and grateful.
I hope that this resonates with some of you and I cannot wait to help you feel your best self in the future.
