I made a lot of changes that first year on my own. The biggest one, I invested in my academic learning and went back to college for 18 months. I also slowly learned an important lesson as my days threaded together into one big perpetual To-Do list: you can't be everything to everyone, and it's okay to say no when you have to ... or want to.

I excused myself from positions on my son's school board and condo association's board of directors. My son transferred from from a local Catholic school to a better learning, more resourceful public school. We found a good home for our puppy that was overwhelming our busy lives. It didn't happen overnight and it wasn't always easy, but we started to focus on what really mattered.

My passionate interest in natural health and wellness came from a personal experience two years ago. I had removed processed food, commercialized sugar and junk drinks from our diets in an attempt to be healthier and feel better. Almost immediately, I lost weight, had more energy and a 'brain fog' lifted. I was fascinated by this and wanted to know how this was happening, so I educated myself on everything nutrition.

Food is tremendously powerful to a body's health, and I soon found myself on the dark side of this power. Low-calorie, zero-fat foods became my best friends for too many months. Within seven months I lost 40+ pounds and went from a size 12 to a size less-than-zero. Because my BMI (Body Mass Index) was normal (though in the lower range) - and - my cholesterol dropped 140 points (280 to 140) - and - I felt physically terrific and exercised daily, I thought I was healthy.

And for awhile, I was. What I didn't know was that our bodies need (the right kind of) carbs, protein and fat to function properly. Good fat (poly- and mono-unsaturated) creates an energy source; it cushions and protects internal organs; it carries fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) throughout the body; and more. Yet I was getting zero fat in my diet from months of fruits and vegetables.

I soon found out these good fats are also essential for healthy hair after my own began to fall out. My period stopped for many months as well, since estrogen is affected by weight being too low for an extended time. And that's the problem I had created for myself: I was 10 pounds underweight for where my body needed and wanted to be in order to be healthy. These symptoms were alarms from my body telling me it was not happy and something was not right.

It took a mile journey and a mountain climb to finally discover - and eventually accept - that I was abusing the very thing I was trying to improve (my health!) by not allowing the proper balance of foods in my diet. With the same zealous I started with, I did a 180 in my thinking and tackled new research.

This time, to find the foods needed to heal myself and create an overall - and lasting - wellness in my nutrition, my psyche, and ultimately my life. I didn't realize until later that my own new selection of foods was a fusion of the Macrobiotic and Okinawa styles of eating: whole grains, land and sea vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, fish, and other whole food, natural, organic, fresh and seasonal foods.

Finding my own personal nutritional and emotional balance was a trial and error experience I had to go through. Fortunately I had the intuition, and later the professional education, to catch and heal my eating disorder. I learned that even too much of a healthy food can be damaging, because it crowds out room for other needed and essential foods and creates a nutritional deficiency in the body.

There is an abundance of power in food. The Yin side is that it can heal, as well as ward off and prevent disease. On the Yang side, it also can create havoc and malfunction in a body - quickly realized or over time - if abused, ignored or not used properly. Joshua Rosenthal says it best: Life is a long time. Health is a vehicle, not a destination.

The Institute of Integrative Nutrition introduced me to all the different dietary theories. As contrasting as each of them are, can you guess what is the one common factor consistent throughout each one? An abundance of high-quality, organic, whole, natural, fresh and locally grown seasonal foods!

Think of it this way: If a food didn't exist one-thousand years ago and our ancestors didn't grow it or eat it themselves, it's not a natural or whole food. Anything not in its natural state doesn't belong in our bodies because it's otherwise not quality and wholesome, and instead is commercially manufactured and processed with chemicals, artificial and unnatural junk ingredients. Consider which you would rather have flowing through your blood and pumping your heart: factory-produced or earth-natural?

I was able to radically improve my overall health and wellness by making healthy changes not only in my diet and lifestyle, but most importantly in my understanding and thinking of nutrition and life balance. I learned how to listen to my body's cravings (both intuitively and via professional training) and understand the nutrients in food and its purpose in our bodies. I learned the emotional aspects of eating, and work each day to identify what my body (or Life) is seeking in order to keep my bio-individuality's needs in balance.

As a single mother with a 21-year corporate job, I intimately know the challenges of finding a working balance of family, career, home, personal, play, life, spirit, exercise and self-care ... all while trying to find the time to cook, shop and eat smart. I also know first-hand the great amount of invested time and personal dedication it takes to become an educated food consumer and creator of your own destiny.

I am completely inspired and passionate about supporting and educating others on the power of smart healthy living! I chose to professionally train as a Holistic Health Counselor so I can help others with their journey to develop their own healthy and enjoyable long-term habits. I support them to reach their optimal health.

I empower people to change their lives from the inside out through nutrition, self-care and primary foods. I encourage them to mindfully choose a lifestyle each day and to abandonly love themselves up with self-care. I get them excited about the power that food has in creating positive health, and most importantly, the power WE have to choose the foods that are put into our bodies every day. WE make these choices. Everday we re-choose what to put into our bodies: everyday, it's OUR decision.

Buddha said: Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.

Everyone wants to feel good and be their best. I give support and coaching to those who are on their own personal journey of wanting to feel better, have more energy, and create smarter, long-lasting habits for a better chance at a long healthy life.

Debbie Ford was a guest teacher at my very first Integrative Nutrition class. After class, I had the wonderful and fateful opportunity to meet and share my transformation story with her. I was able to personally thank her for the aha! spiritual seeds and unshakable faith that she planted in my being. Faith in myself and faith in Fate, and Divine Intervention, and the simple belief that the Universe has a plan for each of us. I had brought my well-worn and highlighted Spiritual Divorce book to class that day and inside she inscribed a note to me:

Dear Rosa, I love you. Thank you for stepping into your greatest self. Debbie Ford.

Without a doubt, I knew I had come full circle.