I’ve been a nurse for over 16 years, most of which was spent in trauma or surgical intensive care units. I’ve delivered countless chest compressions, units upon units of blood, and numerous vials of medications through veins, lungs, even bones. I have been scratched, bitten, spit upon and cursed. I have washed every imaginable body fluid from my shoes and my clothes. I have witnessed death before my eyes, in my grasp, and on my watch. Yet while all of these things may sound unpleasant, it is what nearly always happened at the beginning of every shift that is my most unsettling memory: THE PATIENT HISTORY REPORT.

Coronary Artery Disease. Peripheral Vascular Disease. Stroke. Cardiac Arrest. Obesity. Diabetes Type 2. Over and over, the same diagnoses. So many of them preventable with education, availability of resources, a shift in lifestyle and the desire to live well. While there are genetic exceptions, congenital anomalies and predispositions, THEY ARE FEW.

After over a decade of caring for patients in a critical care setting, I sought the opportunity to serve and influence clients privately and independently outside of the hospital, where I could take a more holistic approach to healing and educating. It became my passion to model health and fitness as I taught clients how to learn to model it for themselves.

Now, after several years as a privately hired nurse, I sharpen my focus on what I have come to know as the most valuable offering I can give to the world – that FITNESS IS THE BEST PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE. I have lived it – on both sides of the hospital bed – and I am determined to do whatever it takes to reach as many people as I can in this lifetime to influence them to live a healthier lifestyle. THIS IS LARGELY ACCOMPLISHED WITH WHAT YOU FEED YOUR BODY. It is important to move too, yes! However NO amount of physical activity can offset the damage done daily with poor nutrition. All of those aforementioned diagnoses are preventable – with FOOD. The research is there.

The power of making good food choices is within your control, what a wonderful thing! When so much of what is experienced in life can be out of your control, why not control what you CAN to live your best, most vibrant life? You do not have to succumb to clever unhealthy food marketing and poor eating habits, then passively accept the diagnoses that label you and send you down a road of debt and despair. Eating high quality food is more expensive, however it is far less expensive than lofty medical bills. I have seen the destruction, and I want you to be spared.

So, while I leap outside of my comfort zone filming foodstuffs and videos or romping around in a bikini on stage to garner attention and a platform for my message, PLEASE respond with an honest evaluation of your lifestyle and make a change toward a healthier one. Be willing to be uncomfortable too, for a while. The discomfort in making a change will soon give way to the most glorious freedom and sense of well-being you may ever know.