Meet April

Hi, my name is April and I’ve recently started my journey as a health coach! I am a Virginia native, but life has taken me all over the country landing me at my current residence in The Sunshine State. I have a master’s degree in elementary education and a culinary degree, so  becoming a health coach was not on my radar until recently.  Let’s back up a little…and I'll tell you how I got here. 

Growing up I was an extremely picky eater and struggled with my weight. I have also suffered from anxiety since I can remember. During college, my anxiety became worse as my weight increased. It wasn’t until my junior year of college, after weighing in at 180 pounds and having to buy a size 14 pair of jeans (I’m 5’4”), that I decided I needed to make some changes.

I’ll never forget my college friend Liz, who gave me a book about natural remedies.  That book changed my life. As I read and researched, I learned that my body needed real whole foods.  I started focusing on cutting processed foods from my diet and cooking my meals instead of eating out. At the same time, my best friend, who is a long-distance runner, convinced me to start running. Running became such a huge part of my mental health routine. As the weight fell off and my body started to heal, my anxiety started to disappear.

I lost 50 pounds over the course of about 4 years and although my anxiety had started to diminish, I knew that I needed to make another life change. I had become so interested in cooking, that I decided to quit teaching and move to Arizona to attend culinary school. 

Ironically, I not only found my love for food in the kitchen, I also found the love of my life.  Shortly after graduating culinary school, I was married to a handsome chef, and we moved back to the east coast to start a family and I went back to teaching. Fast forward 10 years, 4 moves, 2 kids and several job changes (including medical assistant), I have finally found a way to combine all my passions and am excited to share them with you!