Meet Joanna

Meet me, Joanna – an intuitive, holistic sports nutrition and eating disorder recovery coach, an athlete, a compassionate listener, and always looking to dig deeper for answers!

I have been an athlete since childhood.  I was not always competitive but I was pretty good at most sports I tried.
I loved learning how things worked and how to make things work better, often by taking things apart and rebuilding them.  I would take my dolls apart and put them back together so they worked the way I wanted them to work and I could spin the arms without them falling off – amazing what paper clips and rubber bands can do!

Now, I know the human body cannot be healed with paper clips and rubber bands, but whole body health is more than just the physical body – it includes the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects.  What you think and feel, how you deal with stress affects how you eat, what you choose to eat and how your body processes it.  How you processed emotions as a child also affects your health later in life.  I had the full experience…

In February of 2000 when I was diagnosed with adrenal exhaustion, also known as chronic fatigue in the non-holistic medical field.  I had to take this health problem apart, and learn how to fix my own problem – MY body wasn’t working and I was so tired I needed a nap after walking to the mailbox and back.  I was ignoring all the warning signs as swimming, biking and running were my only means of stress relief.  It was the only time I felt free.  My friends and I just had ‘good clean fun” beating ourselves up in training and loving how we felt.  But I had stress – work, relationships, family stuff and hidden stress from childhood trauma and lies I came to believe about myself.  I had to keep proving myself to receive love.

Sometimes, I would run 2 hours to clear my head.  I realize now how out of balance that was!

By the time I went to the doctor, I was 70% depleted in all nutrients, my digestion was terrible, my gut was in dysbiosis, I had leaky gut, my memory disappeared and my monthly cycle had stopped for over 3 months, I had PMS, GI issues – and all I wanted to do is sleep…all..day.  Although I took care of myself and considered myself healthy, my body showed me that I really wasn’t.  And neither was my mind and stress management.

I was on fumes and my mind didn’t want to accept it.  “You can do anything!” my mind kept telling me, especially after finishing the inaugural Ironman USA in Lake Placid in 11:52 hours even with severe dehydration.

Now, I was sleeping 11 hours per day, dragging through each day and unable to finish even simple tasks.  I wasn’t even able to remember anything, short or long term.  I just wanted to move and sleep but my body ached and revolted every time I tried!
I was like the walking dead and totally disconnected from my body.

I went through an identity crisis of who I am.  I surely was not an athlete, not like this…but who was I??

I dove into learning about the condition, how I got there and how to work myself back out of it and become ‘me’ again.. or maybe the real me for the first time.  It’s when I discovered the body needs 3 things:

1. Eat more real food
2. Balance the blood sugar and hormones and
3. Manage my stress differently so it is no longer a stress

It’s the formula I use to help you fully recover and get back to racing and a fulfilling life with a newer sense of balance.  It’s why Be Whole programs were created.

I learned about juicing to replenish nutrients quickly.
I learned about balancing blood sugar to repair and optimize my health.
I tried raw, I tried gluten free and many other things to find what works for me and my body.
I learned how to honor my body’s needs for rest, yoga and that occasional day off.  I learned how to listen to what my body needed today.  I learned to like a day off from training.
I learned how to start loving me and all aspects of me and how to laugh and be happy again.
I learned how to calm the fears and anxiety in my head and connect with Jesus and God – the real healers!
I learned to reconnect with what made me happy, and stop using my athleticism to run away from being myself or from my stressors.
I learned to stop internalizing my emotions or ‘running’ away from stress and criticism, and start standing up for the truth!
I dabbled with spirituality and healing modalities to help release the stories, heal the criticisms from childhood which were my trauma….but when I re-discovered Jesus and what it really means to be Catholic is when my life really changed!

I questioned why my other hip ached.  But after working through and healing the emotional wounds, healing the lies I came to believe about myself, God and life, then I was able to feel God’s love and work FROM His love, rather than keep working FOR His love.

Your body can heal naturally – I had to learn the layers and levels of all that so I can help you go through what you have with more hope and a knowing that your body will heal.  I can shine the light onto where healing needs to be focused and let Jesus do what He does best – heal the sick, cast out demons and heal the lepers.

I continue to be curious and learn how I can help others as a result of my journey to optimal health and performance.

Athletics is still who I am and even with arthritis, I find joy in my activities and am work on improving rather than giving in to darkness or lies of the enemy.  This arthritis is probably my second hardest issue to work through but I can honestly say, I have learned so much about healing and trusting God to lead me to the answers I need for me.  Maybe that is who lead you here to me….

You want to be your best version of yourself as an athlete and human being?

I invite you to partner with me (and God) on this journey to your best health – body, mind, spirit and sport!

blessings and hugs, xo

joanna

To schedule an appointment, call Joanna at 215-272-6774.

Phone and email coaching sessions are available in addition to in person (local Bucks and Montgomery county and Philadelphia area only for in-person sessions).  Credit cards and PayPal accepted.

To see Joanna’s education, please go here.