I have always struggled in many areas of my life, battling weight issues, alcohol addiction, and emotional and mental health obstacles. I never focused on goals or plans, I have been floating through life without any direction. Just living day by day running the hampster wheel without thinking about myself and what I need and want. If there were days when I had thoughts and dreams they were just that and I never said hey how do I get there? How do I accomplish these things I want in life?

      Just recently I am approaching the 50-year mark I have started to reflect on my life and realized that time is moving fast and I need to decide what I'm going to do next as the clock keeps ticking. I needed to stop just dreaming about who I want to become and what I want to accomplish and make a conscious effort to make some actual positive change. I decided I needed a plan, I needed some goals, and I needed to write a road map for success. I know I wanted to clean up my eating habits, lose weight, work on emotional and mental health, feel and look better, and work on a successful career.

 My analogy of how I handled my life thus far is this: I'm on a road trip without a map or GPS and I'm trying to navigate my way on a journey across the country. I have no plan but to get in the car and drive because that's how I'm going to get there. I know what to do, I have driven for 34 years I know the process and I believe I have mastered the skill. I know what I need to get to the place I want to go. A car, fuel, rest, Etc. but I am unable to guide myself on this journey. I never learned how to plan, set goals, and manifest what I want to get me to where I want to be. I am not sure why It took me so long to realize this but I am where I am at this moment and I am fine with that. I think many of us know how to do the things that we want to accomplish.

     I have been in the culinary industry all my life, I know what foods are good for me and which ones are not. I have exercised on and off all my life I know about cardio and strength training, HIT classes, stretching, spinning, whatever. I know that making bad choices and not taking care of myself makes me feel way worst mentally and physically than when I am doing the positive things that make me feel great. So why would I drink a 12-pack of Coors Lite and chase it with Fries, a steak and cheese, and a meatball sub as the scale tips 320 lbs? I know now as I still struggle approaching 50 and 50 lbs lighter, older, but wiser that I feel 10x better than when I was at that point in my life. I made change and I got to this point just by doing things differently but I didn't have a plan or any goals just share effort. I realized I'm lucky but now I hit a wall, I hit some roadblocks, and I got a flat tire. I need to regroup and set forward a plan. I have the image of who I want to be but I need to set up a way to get there.

     So this website is about me and what I am doing to make positive changes in my life, I am learning along the way, sharing my struggles, obstacles, success, and insight into what works and doesn't work for me. I have the desire to help motivate and support others and as a Chef have a few skills and some knowledge in the food and nutrition department. I am also currently taking a nutrition coaching certification course so I can help myself and others on our journeys to a positive healthy lifestyle.

    So with all that said I hope that you enjoy the site and maybe find an ounce of value or something that can be helpful to you. I will share recipes and focus on meal planning and prep, sprinkled with whatever else inspires me on the day. In the end, it's a website about me and my journey but It's up to YOU to create your destiny.

Welcome to You Health and Wellness.