It’s been more than 50 years since it happened, and it still influences how I live my life every day. I have lived over 20 years longer than my mother got to live, and that fact weighs on my mind constantly. It was during the Christmas season, more than 50 years ago, when I came home from college for winter break, that my entire world was turned upside down. I was looking forward to a festive time with family and friends, filled with traditional foods and joy, just like we always had. My mom, who had just turned 48, went to bed with a headache on Christmas Eve and never woke up the next morning. Instead, she passed away in a hospital bed two days after Christmas; she suffered from high blood pressure and succumbed to a hemorrhagic stroke. She had just turned 48!
Years later, I faced the reality that a similar fate could be mine. As a single parent juggling a demanding job with frequent travel and tight deadlines, one stressful afternoon landed me on a stretcher in the emergency ward. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure for the first time, marking my wake-up call! High blood pressure is often referred to as a “silent killer”; it can be generational and is frequently exacerbated by stress or a diet high in salt, making it a significant lifestyle disease.
Until then, I had been moving through life feeling like a wet, wrung-out towel, assuming everyone felt that way and that it was normal. It was then that I realized I was not immune to the dangers of the “silent killer.” This revelation terrified me and made me question whether my mom’s fate would also be mine.
Despite eating clean—I was a vegan in my 20s, well before it became a trend—and being knowledgeable about nutrition, even writing my college thesis on the subject, I still fell victim to high blood pressure. From that moment, as I approached the age of 48, the age at which my mother died, I felt like I was holding my breath, waiting to exhale. Once I reached 48, I became truly committed to living my healthiest life yet, feeling blessed to have reached an age she never did.
I set out to control my blood pressure through stress management practices, which continue to be crucial to my health and wellness. Having shopped in the “chubby” department as a child, I also had to discover ways to maintain a healthy weight. I tried countless diets—from the low-fat/no-fat phase, which substituted fat with sugar, to meal replacement shakes, extreme caloric deficits, and even a diet involving pellets on my earlobes. I experimented with keto and various other approaches, and while they all worked for a time, none were sustainable as I grew older.
It wasn’t until I clarified my WHY and internalized it via daily intentional actions, that worked for ME, did I get CLARITY and made me more confident in "my skin." I no longer was at the whim of the latest supplement, the latest theory, the latest best exercise.
Through combining focusing on my mental fitness as well as my physical fitness, I now trust myself and the decisions I make, I show up with a calm confidence that reflects my true essence.
That is what I help women who work with me achieve.
I might say, it's a movement and I'd love to have you as a part of it.
Won't you join me!
