I’VE BEEN THERE! I not only have the personal life experience needed to connect with
you, I have the education, the skills, and the know-how to radically change your life for the
best. I did it myself and I am living proof:
Credentials:
- Certified Holistic Health Counselor by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners
- Continuous personal research in health, nutrition, and self-development
- Natural, life-long interest in health, specifically in natural, holistic health and living
- Extreme passion for (eating) healthy foods and healthy cooking
- Lost over 30 lbs using a holistic approach and have kept it off for over 5 yrs now
- Have helped many to get permanently healthy
- ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor
- Certified Zumba Instructor
- Danced and performed for many years. I’m still dancing and still loving it! Is this a credential? Absolutely! Move that body!!!
Education:
- Graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York City which is affiliated with Columbia University.
- At IIN, I studied under these well-respected health professionals:
-And many other experts…
- B.A. in History from Binghamton University
- Full knowledge and understanding of the fact that there is not one single, right way to be healthy – that only an integrative, holistic approach works and it must be individualized
- Ability to guide others in an unbiased way through well-rounded knowledge and experience in many diets and Eastern and Western theories ranging from raw foods to Ayurveda
- Extensive knowledge and understanding of basic and essential health principles that does apply to everyone and the ability to use that as a building block to build individual holistic coaching programs catered to every individual
Life Experiences:
Like I said, I’ve been there! I’ve been sick and I’ve suffered and I felt like I was stuck. But I turned it all around and will never live like that again. Let me share my personal story with you:
I grew up without much self-confidence and a ton of self-imposed mental turmoil. I was constantly depressed, angry, and just hated the world. I was actually once called the ‘Black Knight’ by a neighborhood friend of my parents because of my gloomy outlook on life. I was out of control with food, my body, and many aspects of my life. There were times where I would get incredibly depressed and could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of these things caused physical ailments as well, which only made things worse.
Then my wake up call happened. When I was 23, I was diagnosed with a fibroid, followed by a pre-cancerous cervix, chronic candida and shoulder pain, excess weight, and to say the least – general unhappiness. I call this my wake up call because I at the age of 23 was going through many of the same things as my 47 year old mother! She used to say, “If you’re like this now, I’d hate to see what you’ll be like when you’re my age.” Yikes! She was right.
So I made a decision to do something about it and I did just that. I watched my mother going through her ailments and being dependent on her doctors. All they did was give her lots of meds that only temporarily helped only for these ailments to keep returning. That is when I knew I had to do something different.
Knowing how much I loved food (and I mean LOVED food!) and still do, I knew something had to change there. That is when I started studying and experimenting. This was how I learned how to be healthy all the way through. I worked with my own Holistic Health Counselor that specialized in women’s issues and I can’t tell you how much my life improved. It was a complete turn-around! For the best! I finally felt good in my own skin for the first time in my life.
I Was Overweight
I believe we're all meant to be different sizes and I certainly don't think everyone should be stick thin. I, however, think we each have a natural weight for our respective bodies. It took me a long time to reach a healthy weight. I never felt good in my own skin and was constantly depressed. I know a lot of you out there can completely identify with this. No matter if you're 'thin' by society's standards or bigger, so many of us never feel we're small enough, thin enough, smart enough, attractive enough and the 'enoughs' never seem to end.
I have been a life long compulsive eater, completely controlled by food, and feeling so powerless. At times I'd be completely disgusted with my binges, eating foods that didn't even taste good just to get that quick 'high', and wanting to chop off parts of my body because I hated them so much. I was so miserable. I thought I had a weakness, a huge imperfection, that made me a completely inadequate human because I couldn't control what I ate.
Even though I had an unhealthy relationship with food and my body and really my life, I was at a decent weight in high school but then gained 20 lbs my first semester of college. What happened to the “Freshman 15?” I gained 20, not 15! And I did it in less than one semester, not the whole year. Plus stretch marks were showing up all over. I knew I was out of control and had to do something.
I joined a dance team and started doing the vegetarian thing, but it wasn’t completely working. I did lose 15 lbs, but I was still big for my small frame. I had a love/hate relationship with food and with my body that was a daily obsession. Not one day went by without thinking about how unworthy I was, how I'd never be thin, and therefore, I'd never have a great life nor did I deserve one. Food was an unhealthy obession that soothed me but also made me crazy. No surprise, the weight started coming back on.
I eventually lost a lot more weight, but then I found I didn’t look good overweight or super thin. I had gone from one extreme to another and wasn’t happy at either. So that is when I took control. I had to go through a lot of self-reflection and evaluation, books, my nutrition school, and working with others to really respect my body and treat it how it should be treated. And I had to make a decision to be dedicated. Dedicated to me. It was a complete mindset shift that helped me gain control.
In total, I’ve lost over 30 lbs and kept it off for over 5 years now. And I eat plentifully without dieting, restictions, or struggling. When you eat whole foods, your body is getting what it needs and although you can eat alot, you’ll find you won’t eat as much because your body is finally satisfied and nourished. It’s not a diet. It’s a healthier way of living. You'll feel so great when you can eat when you want and to be comfortable in your own skin. And yes, you can still have cookies. Just like I do. I LOVE being healthy and enjoying life more, and I want you to do the same!
My Passion:
My passion is for everyone to find optimal health and be proactive about living a healthy lifestyle. I grew up watching both sides of my family deal with the same ailments although they have different cultural backgrounds. My father is Puerto Rican and some of his family chose to eat the Standard American Diet, which is highly processed, artificially flavored, chemically enhanced, high sugar, high salt, and high in the ‘bad’ fats. Some of his family members also have sedentary lifestyles coupled with way too much stress. It’s no surprise that his side of the family has diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, and weight struggles.
My mother on the other hand, is Korean. She grew up on whole, natural foods, had no cavities as a child and rarely got sick. But then she moved to America and slowly integrated the American diet into hers and health problems took vengeful roots. Her stress levels also went up and her life changed. Although my mother and her family are very thin, they still got sick. Being thin does not necessarily equate healthy. Health is multifaceted and comes in all shapes and sizes as I’ve learned by observing my family.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are some similarities. Family members on both sides have passed from cancer and suffer from lifestyle illnesses that could have been prevented. The commonalities that I saw in both sides that gave these ailments fuel for their fires were lack of exercise and a ton of stress. And I knew I didn’t want to go down that road. Things can still happen beyond our control, but anything we can prevent, we’ve got to do it. We can have control over our health.
I'd like to see everyone value their health before a disease or some other condition forces them to do so. Being healthy is a daily act, and one that can be easily forgotten. It is my passion to help clients break free from an unhealthy lifestyle that has such a vicious hold on them.
A Few Little Tidbits you May or May Not be Interested In, but Why not Share Them With You:
- I was a teacher for nearly two years in South Korea.
- I was a sales rep in Corporate America in New York City.
- I was a manager for a highly-recognized, “in” clothing retail store. Let’s skip the name mentioning and just say it’s the typical, loud techno music playing store with pictures of shirtless models all over, etc. The values of that company challenged my own and I left. If you’re not familiar with these types of stores, next time you are in a mall, go in one…you’ll see what I mean.
Thank You So Much for taking the time to read all of this. I really appreciate it. If you'd like to know more, click here.
We’ll get to know each other more when we work together on getting you healthy. The main reason I shared all of these personal (and some painful) details with you is to let you know that I have been there, I understand, and I have the compassion that you need in order to be able to do this. Together, we will make a healthy you. See how I have done that for others on the Testimonials page.
One more thing: I GUARANTEE this will work for you. I am here for you to break out of your rut. It's time for a fresh perspective, and a new way of living that'll having you feeling healthier, and looking better with so much more energy so you can finally live the life you truly want. All you have to do is go ahead and Contact Me today to set up a free 30 minute no obligation 'Get Acquainted" session! We’ll talk about your health goals, how to go about achieving them, as well as figure out what challenges stand in your way, and how to go about resolving those issues. It’s also a great way to see what health counseling is like and to experience my coaching style first hand. Make being healthy finally work for you!
I was much bigger than this but I couldn't find any pictures. I must have gotten rid of them.
This is me now, finally at my natural weight without struggling and craziness using the
Life & Food Wellness way:)
Meet Yolanda
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