Alright . Let’s dig deep and get personal because it’s really important you know WHY I’m so passionate about helping you THRIVE in the body you’ve been given.
Despite having a pretty normal upbringing, my teens and early 20’s were a rockstar rollercoaster of highs and lows. I was battling anxiety, depression, disordered eating and panic attacks while constantly ending up in toxic relationships or burnt out from all my people pleasing tendencies.
THE BREAKDOWN // In my early teens, a girl I danced with got signed by a modeling agency. All of a sudden she was flying around the world, meeting exciting people and making a lot of money for someone our age. Her beauty equated to happiness, success, popularity and everything else my 15-year old self was craving. I wanted in. We were the same height so I started trying to match my body to hers and the images I saw in magazines. I read everything I could on weight loss and obtaining the perfect body, started cooking my own food so I knew exactly what was going into it, cut out some major food groups from my diet, convinced my parents to let me run to my dance classes so that I could get a little stronger (aka thinner) and kept a running count of my daily caloric intake at all times. I became obsessed with my hips and losing the tiny bit of curve that sat on them. I was searching for happiness in all the wrong places and while it brought momentary satisfaction, the rise and fall of the weight loss high was rapid.
Before anyone really had a chance to process what was happening I’d fallen into the grip of an eating disorder. Enter the hardest years of my life. What started out as a pretty innocent wish to be happier spirraled into a total obsession with food, calories and obtaining the “perfect” body. Something I’ve seen happen far too often. It is a very slippery slope, the one between “healthy” eating and obsession. I lost a good chunk of my youth along with my health (think hair loss, organs shutting down, inability to think clearly, periodically fainting etc.), some friends and most importantly my self. Luckily I was admitted into an incredible hospital program in BC where I spent 3 months re-nourishing my body, learning tools to help me cope better with stress and deep diving into what makes me truly happy.
This was the breakdown that started the breakthrough. The crack that required me to stop everything to build a new foundation. A foundation upon which I would build my strongest self, Raw Beauty Talks and all that is to come.
This is one chapter of my story. A challenging one but in hindsight I wouldn’t change it for the world.
THE BUILD UP// I spent the next 10 years on a journey to find peace with my body, a sense of calm within and that deep, lasting kind of happiness that doesn’t come from a big shopping spree or hitting your goal weight.
I originally launched Raw Beauty Co. with the hope of sharing real, raw images and stories of women and their journey’s of self love. I created it for myself but was amazed by the reaction from people around the world. I hold the conversations I’ve had close to my heart and have learned more from the women I’ve spoken to than I would have in a lifetime. My experiences thus far have led me to the place I am today – a million miles from that person I used to be.
Today I’m lucky to be healthy, deeply happy, connected to my body, married to the man of my dreams, and a mom of two kids I adore. We live in a beautiful city on the west coast of Canada surrounded by nature and a plane ride away from even more adventure. My external world is beautiful but I truly believe it is simply a representation of how I feel on the inside.
I know intimately what it feels like to be lost, anxious, unsettled, unsure, unconfident, jealous, yearning, unhappy and unhealthy. I don’t want anyone to live in that space for too long. Life is far too short to be anything other than the happiest, healthiest version of YOU, living the life of your dreams.
In 2017, I completed my health coaching certification through the Health Coach Institute. As a health coach I have the honour of sharing tools that will help you create positive, life changing habits that will help you find health, happiness and peace with your body and from within.
xo
Erin
