My Story
My Journey with Food
When I was a young girl, I loved being in the kitchen.
Food was common ground for connection with family and friends, gatherings were centered around meal sharing and food preparation. From as far back as I can remember, I was always drawn to creativity and connection through food.
As a pre-teen, the art of cooking evolved into an impassioned skill. My first job was serving food at a local tea house at age 11, and then with a local catering company soon after, and I went on to cook and serve food for many years.
Throughout my teenage years, however, my relationship with food morphed into something different. I spent almost a decade as a competitive gymnast, where weight and body image were of heightened focus. When the time came to step away from gymnastics, the drastic drop in exercise, along with puberty and the complex mental/emotional challenges of adolescence, my once loving, and rather normal relationship with food, was replaced by something deeply dysfunctional.
From my teens well into my twenties, my food journey became my biggest struggle.
I found myself in the throes of binging and purging, starving, dieting, over-exercising, and popping pills. I lived 2 separate lives: the one I stepped out into day after day, and the one that consumed me from deep within the inside.
The shame and guilt that engulfed me during those years was devastating, and the loneliness, unbearable.
Throughout it all, there were times when I received some help. The interference of my parents was unwelcome and, while I did not want to be stuck in the Eating Disorder mentality, the help that I did receive wasn’t what I really needed, didn’t resonate with me, and never seemed to get through. How I remember it now is that I never really felt heard or understood enough to receive the guidance.
I wish I could remember the exact moment the lights came on, but I don’t. I just know that at some point in my mid-twenties, I came to the realization that my health was suffering, that there was more to me than an eating disorder, and more to this life than struggle. Determined to find a way to bring back my love of food and turn my life’s journey into something positive, I aligned myself to a new path and began to look to the health world for guidance.
And then…
Cancer
At 32, I was a young wife and mother, and well on my way to being fully recovered from the Eating Disorder when doctors found a cancerous tumor in my colon. I endured a life altering colon resection (not recommended!) and was advised to endure several rounds of chemo.
At this time in my food & health journey however, I knew there were other options.
It was time to listen to my gut.
I knew I had not escaped my past unscathed and that Cancer, for me, was not about loss but about opportunity.
Opting out of chemo, I set out to up my health game. I went back to school, turned to exercise for therapy, and opened up my spirit to life’s teachings.
What I found was that I had a calling: to help others find their own positive food journey and to be the help I didn’t have when I was younger.
Finding my Way
Since my cancer diagnosis, it has been non-stop learning.
I have spent years in school becoming a nutritional enthusiast, a kitchen muse, and a food and body advocate, receiving certifications in Holistic Nutrition, Functional Nutrition, Culinary Nutrition, Eating Psychology, and Eating Disorder Recovery Coaching. My kitchen is now a joyful and creative space, once again. I have learned how to listen to my body, reuniting it with athleticism, dance, and the wondrous outdoors. My amazing husband and charismatic young son keep me motivated and inspired (and never seem to mind being my taste testers!).
We live in a tiny little mountain town called Ymir, nestled in the Kootenays, in British Columbia, Canada, where the people are loving and quirky, the water is clean, the mountains fill my lungs and soul, and active living is just our way of life.
AND I have been cancer free now going on 13 years! Horns honking, fireworks, woop woop, hip hip…you know the drill! Hooray!!
My life’s story with food has taught me endless lessons: to embrace every moment with gratitude and compassion, to listen to life’s teachings, and that believing in oneself is half the battle.
I hope to pass this along.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for being here!
With Love & In Strong Health,
Cindy
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