The Power of Purpose and Meaning in Life – Wow…thanks for visiting my site and reading up on my blog. I am humbled and giddy at the same time that my blog, my site, my business, is a THING!  I am passionate about nutrition and the role it plays in our lives and being able to have a platform to teach what I have learned is incredibly exciting for me!

A trained educator, I started my “adulting” more than 20 years ago as a special education teacher before moving into school leadership and then eventually into consulting and coaching.  God has given me a heart for education, teaching, learning and coaching. I am obsessed with working hard to get better, learn more and share what I know.

As I believe most people do when they get close to 40, I started analyzing my life and where I wanted to be once I hit that milestone age.  I am blessed with a devoted, godly husband and two miracle daughters who fill my soul with crazy happiness and who make me want to model the life of a strong, independent woman I want them to be one day.  I loved my job and felt I was doing what I was meant to do in my professional life.

Personally and physically, however, I knew I needed to change some things. Once a college athlete, I found myself realizing that it had been close to 15 years since I had

any sort of an exercise routine and I certainly didn't have a real sense of what living a healthy lifestyle meant.  I had recently changed over to box wine because, I rationalized to my husband, “It was getting expensive opening a new bottle every other day.”  Having canned vegetables and boxed snack options were so much more convenient than buying fresh produce…and really, I thought, “how bad could it be?  I'm a busy, working mom so it's all good.”  Finally, getting to the point where I actually brought my entire carafe of coffee to work every day, I realized I MAY not be as healthy as I could be, and MAYBE I could/should change a few things…

So, like so many moms close to that milestone age of 40, I joined a gym.  Now, this wasn't any old gym, www.startlivinglean.com on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio (where I was living at the time) was/is the best place I have ever worked out at.

(And I have been to ALOT of gyms around the country in the last 4+ years)

So…that should do the trick, right?  WRONG.  Fast forward a year where I was stronger, sure, but I hadn't seen any changes in my body and I certainly wasn't feeling much better.  Honestly, I was even MORE tired because I added one more thing (the gym) to my already hectic lifestyle.  I also think I justified eating anything I wanted because, “Hey, I worked out today.”

That's when a nutrition coach came to the gym and said something that rocked my world with this. one. statement.

“What's better to eat, an apple or a slice of pizza with chicken?”

Intrigued, I listened more.

“Well,” he began to explain. “You may be surprised to hear this but pizza with chicken is more correct than eating just an apple.”

Whoa.  What?!?!

“An apple,” he went on to discuss, “may be healthy, but it isn't correct.  The pizza is more correct because it balances a complete protein, fat and carb. The key is to try to get a balance of healthy AND correct.  That is the key to sustainable nutrition that is balanced, transformational, and simple.”

SOLD.

I finally had a formula on which I could base my food choices and after hearing more about this rationale, it made sense and I was ready to try it. I immediately went home and started looking at combinations of proteins, fats, and carbs and realized while it was SIMPLE, it wasn't EASY and I needed a lot of support.  I hired Joe and we began working together right away….seven days into my new lifestyle I was already stronger, leaner, and had more energy than I ever had before, even in my college cheerleading days.

After a year of eating like this, I looked stronger and leaner…but I was still holding on to a few issues I couldn’t shake.

Acne. Anxiety. Inflammation.

I started to do research and more research and then even more and realized just how powerful food was in harming or healing our bodies. I knew it could make me lean and strong, but I didn’t realize how much the QUALITY of our food really mattered. That was when I devoted myself to one full month of eating clean along with the concepts that Joe taught me and my life changed completely.

Everything was different. My acne, my inflammation…I even was able to tell my doctor that I wasn’t worried about depression anymore. It was the missing link and I realized I had really unlocked the missing code. It wasn’t just about eating “correct” and it couldn’t be around just eating “healthy.” It HAD to be a balance of BOTH.

After figuring this out and sharing this concept with friends and family, I knew that I had to do more than share the basic concepts. As an educator, I knew I had the skills to formally support, encourage and teach people this concept and felt as passionate about teaching nutrition as I did about improving schools.  Equitable education in our country is an equalizer and the social justice movement of our generation…and understanding how to take care of our bodies so we can live a long, purposeful life, is as well.  As much as I love, appreciate, and needed Joe to teach me initially, I knew that affording such a luxury as an expensive nutrition coach is not obtainable for most. So I set out to find another way…to find a platform in which I could share what I know and what others could benefit from, affordably.

I eventually received my training and certification as a health and nutrition coach through the same organization that my coach did and set out to figure out a format for more people to learn, experience, and progress towards their long-term life goals.  Sustainable, effective, and important nutritional information shouldn't be for the privileged, it should be a right for all.

Carrie