photo by Jocelynn Beach

Hi, I’m Erin. Welcome!

My story starts out with bologna sandwiches on Wonderbread, instant noodles, and microwaveable meals… staples of my diet in university. It seemed to happen over night, all of a sudden I had gained a bunch of weight and felt crappy all the time. As someone who used to pride herself on being fit and healthy, I was pretty disappointed in myself. I knew I wanted to feel better, but I couldn’t seem to make anything stick on my own. I finally gave in and decided to start working with a Personal Trainer.

Around the same time, I was doing some pretty cool nutrition research, but I just knew my personality would be wasted on test tubes. I wanted to inspire people! Eventually, I got so hooked on fitness that I actually became a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant myself. I loved motivating people and seeing results, but I had this nagging feeling that there was more to the health picture.

Then one fateful day, I injured myself while rock climbing and spent the next 3 years in pain, and so frustrated that I couldn’t be as active as I wanted to be. I was taking prescription pain killers and sleeping pills just to manage. I’m sure you can imagine… I was not a happy girl.

After I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry, I went off traveling. I rode my bike (just about the only activity that didn’t cause me pain) across Europe and was on top of the world! I felt like anything was possible. But when I came back and started my job search, and ended up working a high-stress job that wasn’t quite right for me, I started to struggle with the chronic pain again, and this time it was paired with major digestive issues. I was depressed and tired all the time, and I didn’t know what to do. Eventually, the stress of my work just became too much. It took everything I had to overcome my fears and finally leave my job – I simply couldn’t wait any longer to start getting my health on track.

I devoted the next year to personal development and healing.

Endless hours were spent researching nutrition and health, and I realized how strong the connection is between what we eat and how we feel. My digestive issues and pain slowly disappeared. I had tons of energy and I felt great. Plus I was really, really happy. I knew I was onto something and I couldn’t shake the desire to help others feel as great as I did. I took the plunge to become a Holistic Nutritionist so I could help others heal their bodies, find happiness, and achieve the vibrant health that I was experiencing.

Fast forward to today…

I created this blog in hopes of sharing some of my overflowing passion with other food lovers and seekers of a more wholesome, healthful path. This is the place I will chronicle my thoughts on holistic wellness, kitchen experiments, and general whole food goodness talk.

The Goodness Life is about living a vibrantly healthy life – a life full of goodness.

At our house:

We totally dig whole foods. We frequent the Co-op and the Farmer’s Markets and aim for local and organic. We eat in-season as much as possible. We sprout when we can.  We try to avoid things that come in boxes and have ingredients we can’t pronounce. We enjoy colourful meals and our veggies dominate our plates!

I am a firm believer that healthy living doesn’t have to be boring, bland, difficult, or expensive – cultivate a relationship with yourself and your food, eat good food to feel good, and try something new. I’m willing to bet you might just find it’s really fun, rewarding, and delicious!

Love and goodness,

Erin

P.S. If you would like to take your health to the next level and you are interested in working one on one with me as a Wellness Coach, or you’d just like to know more, get in touch at erin@thegoodnesslife.com – I’d love to hear from you!