My Personal Journey

I wanted to share with you why I wanted to start this blog, Creating Wellness Habits, and my personal journey to discovering the power of habit stacking.

At the age of 23, I was depressed, had severe anxiety, I had gained 10 lbs, and I was tired all the time. I was lost. I had recently moved from the small town of South Portland, Maine to San Francisco, California – quite the culture shock. I went from being super active to sitting behind a computer screen all day long. I had a great group of friends and a strong community back home and knew no one when in California. I was barely making enough money to feed myself. It was a struggle. Not a day went by when I didn’t consider moving back home. But I did enjoy my job, I loved my boss, and had started making friends at work. So, I stayed. 

The turning point for me was when I started outgrowing my clothes. I went shopping and vividly remember trying on a bathing suit. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. This wasn’t me. From that moment I knew something had to change. No one was coming to save me, I had to do it myself. 

I joined a gym. I made a commitment to myself to go at least 3 – 4 days a week. I would do just 30 minutes on the treadmill (walking and jogging intervals) and maybe some light dumbbells after. I started losing weight and fitting into my clothes again. After a while, I would jog more than walk and started to change up my routine to incorporate other exercises. I built up the confidence to step outside of the “comfort exercises” I’d been doing. I started to notice that I had more energy throughout the day (there were days I literally had to sneak out to my car to take a quick nap during my lunch break at work) and suddenly I wasn’t craving the bagels and unhealthy midday snacks that started becoming a habit in the office. 

Working out changed my life. It was the best thing that I’ve ever done for myself. Not only did it help me physically look better, I felt so much better, I had more energy, and my mental health was in a much better place. I started cooking healthier, cleaner meals and I learned about nutrition. My body felt better and wanted nutrient-dense foods rather than the cheap, processed foods I had been eating when I moved. THIS is why I’m so passionate about physical activity. It improves every aspect of your life. 

A few years after joining that gym and seeing the life-altering changes it made for me I dove head-first into educating myself on all things health-related. This included workouts, to nutrition, to reducing my toxic load, living a clean lifestyle, and the benefits of creating a self-care routine. 
After 13 years of taking classes, courses, and immersing myself in all things health and wellness, I want to share them here. These practices, habits, and daily routines that I’ve made fit into my lifestyle have changed my life. I want YOU to experience how good it feels to feel really f-ing good.