I am passionate about helping others to become their best self.
I started my career as a health and science teacher, with a degree in Child Development. I followed up by getting a Master’s in Special Education. I choose to work in urban districts, working with children who had a history of school struggle. As an educator, I work with students to assess their strengths, needs, and learning gaps so I can collaborate with them to design instruction to advance their knowledge while addressing areas in need of remediation.
I experienced first hand the impact of trauma on children, as 10 years into my teaching career my husband and I choose to become licensed therapeutic foster parents. For the last 18 years, as a parent – adoptive, biological, and foster, I have worked with the children entrusted to my care to heal physically and emotionally. In addition to supporting them in developing healthy patterns for life while fostering the skills they need for independence. I noticed how the effects of trauma and the effects of malnutrition were similar in their impacts on the physical health, brain function, behavior, and the ability to form and sustain connections.
I began to tweak and change what I was feeding my children- moving away from the Standard American Diet (a.k.a SAD), eliminating the processed convenience foods ( which had been my prior lifesaver as a parent) to focusing on protein, fruits, and vegetables. I eliminated the juices, sports drinks and sodas in favor of water, milk, and almond milk. I will be honest, the first few weeks were brutal as their bodies detoxed from all of the processed foods and sugar! However, the differences soon became apparent as their bodies finally received the nutrients they had been lacking for so many years.
- Less sugar meant stabilized blood sugar, reducing the highs and lows of energy.
- Lower blood sugar meant less spikes of cortisol, the hormone that triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response.
- Appropriate intake of protein, calcium, and other nutrients triggered growth. (One foster son grew 2 inches in the FIRST month.)
- Increased Omega 3’s in their diets promoted improved memory and attention, decreased hyperactivity, and promoted better sleep.
This was only the tip of the change in their physical health. I integrated Mindfulness to aid them in becoming more aware of their patterns of behavior and responses. This allowed them to better able understand how their past traumas triggered certain behaviors, why this happens, and to slowly make change over time, replacing negative patterns with positive ones in a way that is sustainable for the future. The goal was to change destructive patterns resulting from their trauma. The greatest gift has been to see them successfully parent their own children.
I wanted formal training to back up what I had noticed by making changes in my own family and expand my skill set, so as a passionate learner I went back to class! I received certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living through Cornell University, Functional Nutrition Coach certification, Epidemic Answers Certification (a specialized program for health coaches specifically targeting how nutrition can impact childhood illnesses such as autism, ADHD, allergies and more) and certification as a Facilitator in Mindfulness from Mindfulness Educators. I am now a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.
Now, I help individuals and families bring about positive changes in their health and well-being without pills and potions, and with nutrition and mindfulness. I am a believer in this because I have seen the ways in which this has brought about change for my own adoptive, biological and foster children. Now I work with individuals and families to remediate the biological and behavioral impacts of trauma, ADHD, Autism, anxiety, depression and more to improve physical, mental, and emotional health.
Simply put, I collaborate with people to discover health and find their best self!
Does this sound like what you need for you or your children? If so, then let’s chat. Click the button below to schedule a time.
So what can a health coach do for you?
I partner with clients seeking self directed, lasting changes, aligned with their values which promote health and wellness and thereby enhance well-being.
YOU are the expert on your life, and you have the capacity to make change in your life.
Are you ready for change? Have you struggled with getting started in the process of making change? Or have you found that you can make a change temporarily but struggle with how to sustain that change over time? Coaching can enable you to make positive changes in your life and health and acquire the skills to sustain them over time.
As a coach it is not my job to tell you what to do, so I will not be telling you that if you eat salmon and kale, take a vitamin supplment and do yoga your life will be perfect. Instead coaching is a client-centered, relationship based process that assists in the shift from being a passive recipient of health care interventions to becoming responsible, self-directed person, with a proactive stance towards facilitating one’s own lasting change.
Love from my valued clients…
Still wondering about the connection of food and mood?
Consider checking out this article I wrote for the August 2023 edition of the Natural Awakenings magazine, which was published in the Fairfield and New Haven editions. To learn more about the 5 snack mistakes parents make. Click here to link to the article on pages 16-17!
Consider checking out this article I wrote for the July 2024 edition of the Natural Awakenings magazine, which was published in the Central-Eastern Connecticut edition to learn more about the 7 stress busting foods. Click here to link to the article.
Perhaps you prefer the auditory to the visual? Listen in to my interview from the Health and Nutrition Segment. Click here to connect.
Does this sound like what you need for you or your children? If so, then let’s chat. Click the button below to schedule a time.
Renee is a member of …
