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The Culture of Quick Fixes

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We live in a time where “things” define us, supplements, fads, biohacks, and shortcuts. We chase longevity through the latest pill or powder while ignoring the foundations of health: balance, consistency, and responsibility. We’ve replaced effort with expectation and turned wellness into a commodity, not a commitment. Social media fuels the fire. It’s a never-ending stream of misinformation, half-truths, and political takes. Opinions are flung faster than facts can be verified. The louder the voice, the more likely it's heard, regardless of whether it’s right. When does this insanity end? When we no longer value education? When algorithms win over expertise? In healthcare, things aren’t perfect. Patients wait. Diagnoses are missed. Tragedies happen. And yes, those are the stories that make headlines. But the truth, the quieter truth, is that the majority of people receive good care from providers doing their best with the resources they have. Let’s be clear: hospital billing is ...
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Eat YO Meat

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Almost every day, I’m approached by patients frustrated with their weight, often saying, "I've tried everything, and nothing is working." I hear this most from peri- and post-menopausal women. It's true—losing weight does become harder as we age. But the good news is that we’re learning more about why that happens and how to prevent or combat these changes. After having Kinsley, at an "advanced maternal age", I faced my own struggles . It’s been almost three years since that pregnancy, and the discipline required to achieve the physique I want has been far greater than ever before. Months of strict eating and exercise habits yielded only small weekly results. Thankfully, I’ve learned to focus on the bigger picture, knowing that real change is often seen over months and years, so in the great words of Dory, I "just keep swimming" soaking in summer Many women will tell me, “I hardly eat anything, and I haven’t lost a pound”. This is an area of heal...
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To all my mommas...

  To all my mommas… Becoming a mom has been the strangest, most amazing, hormonal, physically demanding thing I have ever been through. I struggled so much training for my 50k last year to feel good, to run a pace I used to recognize on my watch. I felt defeated almost daily. An injury was unexpectedly what my body needed. Slowing down I was able to appreciate the ability to move, give my body rest I didn’t know it needed and lose the rest of my baby weight taking an honest look at my dietary habits. It has taken almost 2 years to lose the weight with baby #2 even though I had a “bounce back” with Sebastian by 12 weeks. It has taken almost 2 years to feel like I am moving in my own body. It has taken almost 2 years to laugh and feel carefree again – to not wake up multiple days a week with a sudden lingering of postpartum depression. Even after 2 years, 3 years since having my first child, I am not the same person, I am not the same runner, I am not the same wife, friend, d...
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The Silence in Suffering

 I recently had an interaction with patient who is similar age as me and a mom, career women and entrepreneur. As this person’s healthcare provider, I am well aware of her struggles with anxiety, depression - searching for feelings of value, purpose and place on this earth. From the outsider though, it may look like she has it all . As someone who has also struggled very much internally with my mental health it really made me wonder how many women feel this way. Today, it seems we live in a world where it’s one extreme or the other. There are those of us who prefer to keep our mental health struggles private or between our closest friends and those who post the obnoxious, yes, I said obnoxious, photos and videos on Instagram crying about how motherhood/life is so hard . Where is the happy medium…is there a happy medium? As someone who struggled with PTSD from war related trauma, and kept it silent and compartmentalized for many years , I am aware of the damages keeping things i...
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twinkle twinkle

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  Kinsley, tonight I held you next to me a little tighter. You love to be snuggled and sung to, especially as the day winds down. “twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are” We sang this together tonight as we rocked in your chair, your head against my chest. I look at your tiny body and how much it has grown in my lap over the past 23 months . I think about the words of the song we are singing wishing you were old enough to understand time and that I will be away for 3 months. I wish you could look in the sky knowing I am looking at the same starry sky thinking of you. I will miss your 2 nd birthday this year, I will also miss Thanksgiving. I will miss 3 months of daycare drop off hugs, bath time giggles, & bedtime tickles with you and Sebastian. As the time for me to leave draws closer I already feel the hole in my heart opening to emptiness. This is a feeling I have never felt, a feeling I did not know I was capable of feeling. Becoming a mom has opened ...
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My Why

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 May 29, 2018 I was "celebrating" my birthday. I had just returned home from Afghanistan a few days prior. Long story but while I was away a 10 year relationship was officially coming to an end. I felt like I had let down everyone in my life, my lowest of lows is safe to say. I remember walking into my garage  thinking, I could turn my car on, shut the garage door and end this all but thankfully I walked away from that situation. I heard  God telling me to slow down and spend time alone. I listened to that calling and to be honest, it was the loneliest time in my life. I had been living life in the fast lane traveling the world on my own and with the military. Amazing experiences but what I didnt realize at the time were just my version of running away from the life I didn't want to face.  Shortly after my birthday I knew I needed a fresh start. I packed up some household items and my clothes and I left. I got an apartment and someone graciously gave me a bed. I...
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RIDE THAT STRUGGLE BUS INTO THE SUNSET

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  In true toddler form, cuts on his face and random goggles                     I turn off my alarm and roll over. I notice my husband has placed a cup of freshly brewed nespresso coffee next to my bed…what a guy. Another sleepless night with our 10-month-old, no end in sight in that regard. After the coffee brings some life into my legs I lace up my running shoes and head out the door. My legs feel like bricks, this particular day I find myself loosening up and by the tick of the first mile I am cruising a bit. I perform a 2-mile workout after my warm up consisting of several sprint intervals. It feels good and as I run that last half mile home I feel like there is a light shining on my running future. Refreshing after the past 10 months have felt more like a haphazard dumpster fire of workouts.                 I have recently felt encourage...
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