Hi! I’m Colleen McCarthy, let me help you Nourish yourself.

Have you been to multiple doctors? Do you feel like nobody is listening to you? Do you feel like no matter what “diet” you try, nothing seems to help you to release the excess weight?

Maybe you have been struggling with IBS, headaches or migraines, chronic fatigue, heartburn. Maybe you feel very limited in your dietary habits because you feel sick most of the time? Maybe your body is in a major health crisis. I’ve been there too!

It sucks to be suffering and feeling like no one is listening to you, but I can tell you that right now you are in the perfect place, at the edge.

Grab my hand, because this is where you learn to take back control of your life.

Paint a picture of how you felt physically when you started this journey…

I felt like I was dying, physically dying. Everything was wrong. My body was a foreign object I was disconnected from. I was obese and crippled with shame over it. I had no libido whatsoever. I had severe, chronic back pain all the time. I took 9 different prescription drugs for arthritis, GERD, insomnia, restless legs, chronic diarrhea, or chronic constipation, and chronic pain. I used a TENS unit on my back, and when I wasn’t using it, I wore a strap-on ice pack to numb the pain. I was more miserable, and hurting, than I have ever been in my life.

What changed in terms of real results, your body, thoughts,habits, self image and your relationships, etc?

Everything changed! It sounds so cliche, but I got my life back. The most obvious change from the outside is the weight loss: 87 pounds to date, and I’m still losing. I look like a completely different person … I can walk into a room of friends and they literally don’t realize it’s me. My next door neighbor introduced herself to me at our annual Super Bowl party — she did not know who I was! So yeah, that’s fun, a bonus.

My prescriptions have been reduced from 9 to 1, and I’m determined to get rid of that last one! My restless legs: gone. My GERD: gone. Diarrhea: gone. Constipation: gone. Lactose intolerance: gone. Back pain: mostly gone. With Colleen’s urging, I started walking several times a week, and now I really hate it when I can’t fit a walk in.

I look forward to doing things socially with friends and family, a far cry from the years I spent hiding away from them. I’m buying new clothes for the first time in more than 10 years.

My body and I are friends again. I bought an adjustable desk so I can stand or sit whenever I want during work hours (and I work a lot). Trying to move more. I am learning to love myself and forgive myself for allowing my health to decline the way it did. I actually took a selfie. I’m baaaaacccckkkkk!

What was the biggest breakthrough/ change/ shift in your time working with Colleen physically?

Oh man, there were so many, I’m not sure I can pick just one! Probably the biggest shift is learning to pay attention to how my body feels, listening to the signals it sends, especially around nourishing it, and honoring it. Losing the shame and just tuning in to what my body wants/doesn’t want in order to feel good. It’s all about feeling good in my body, in my skin.

I love my food! The only difference is that now, my body loves the food I’m feeding it too. I had been overweight and unhealthy for so long that I learned to completely tune out my body, and my body learned to stop sending signals about anything because I wasn’t picking up the phone so what was the point!? Colleen dragged me kicking and screaming back to a place where I am tuned back in to my body again. This is a MAJOR breakthrough for me.

What was the biggest breakthrough/ change/ shift in your time working with Colleen mentally & emotionally?

Again, so many. I’m definitely not eating emotionally anymore. Like, ever. Food is nourishment now, but also enjoyment. I had a lot of self-loathing when Colleen and I started working together. I was super negative and always focused on what was wrong. I insisted on weighing myself every day, despite Colleen’s fierce objection, and if my weight went up by 4/10ths of a pound overnight I would totally lose it! It took a lot of work to let go of the scale and focus more, again, on how I felt. I was a tough customer, resistant, self-loathing, angry … I’m not that person anymore.

How would you describe the overall experience of the journey?

Life-changing. Colleen was never “just” a health coach for me. The work we did together touched every area of my life — my health, my relationships, my professional life, my spiritual life. We spent the first bit of time on the physical, and once we had the body/food stuff moving in the right direction, then we went deeper. Colleen is like a forensic investigator. Any time I had an unusual reaction or feeling or emotion, it thrilled her to peel the layers of the onion back and figure out why. She was my teacher, my coach, my friend, my supporter, my mentor, my stern task master, my guru — rigorously fact based yet spiritual, emotional, experiential. She kept it all really real.

What did you love the most about working together?

What I loved most is that Colleen just ‘got’ me. I can’t imagine having this experience with anyone else. From day 1, minute 1, there was a connection. I felt seen and heard and understood, and like here is someone SO INVESTED in helping me, how could I fail? I felt totally supported in every imaginable way. “Colleen says” came out of my mouth daily. I learned to trust her completely. We were a team.

Had you worked with other dietitians/ nutritionists or coaches before? How did this experience differ for you?

I had never worked with a dietitian or nutritionist before, but I knew I needed real help to regain my health. I had read enough about food sensitivities to know I wanted to take the MRT blood test, and searched for a LEAP therapist online. My search led me to at least 8 people who met that criteria, and I read the description each person used to describe what she did and how she worked. They all sounded like what I needed, but there was something about the way Colleen described herself on her website that I just knew instantly she was the one, and my search was over. It was instant and intuitive, and 100% On Pointe!

Anything else you would like to share?

I will never be the same after this experience. It started almost a year ago, and this journey will continue. I will be eternally grateful to whatever power in the universe brought us together to do this work.

Colleen changed my life forever.