It is always hard for people to describe themselves.  It takes a degree of self-perspective and intellectual honesty that is difficult to master.  But, let's get down to it anyway.  

 

I was very sickly as a child.  So bad, that seven different pediatricians misdiagnosed me with cystic fibrosis and said I wouldn't make it past my 20th birthday.  Nearly a decade after my prescribed expiration date, I'm still here, not only surviving, but thriving!  Fortunately, the eighth one got it correct and it was simply a very severe case of asthma.  Unfortunately, while growing up, I often spent more time in the hospital than in the classroom and the cadre of medications I was put on, actually somewhat stunted my growth and predisposed me to weight gain.  It was incredibly strange, I went from being so sickly I couldn't put on weight, to always being one of the heaviest, yet still one of the shortest.  Now, life has an interesting way of working out and a series of events led my father to natural medicine and after becoming a board certified naturopathic doctor, he was able to reverse my condition!

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It was these events that led me down the path of pursuing my passion for improving both my own and other's health.  I was a lifelong athlete, playing baseball and football, as well as participating in wrestling and the martial arts throughout my childhood.  It was during my time spent in the athletic trainer's office in high school that inspired me to head down the route towards a degree in Physical Therapy.  But as I said before, life often finds a way to change that path and after receiving Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Exercise Science, I elected to take some time off from school while running a business.​

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Unfortunately, in the end, it didn't work out and I eventually began to train at Long Island MMA.  At the time I was reading a lot of MMA instructional books and owned every book published by Victory Belt publishing.  Then one day in 2010, they released a new book by a guy named Robb Wolf, called The Paleo Solution.  I was preparing for a submission grappling tournament at the time and I immediate became engaged by both the similarities in our lives and the style and knowledge in the book.  It inspired me to start devouring any and everything I could on the subject of nutrition and reignited my passion for pursuing health.

 

Fast forward a couple of years and I launched the Paleo/Primal Long Island group to help others and enrolled in a Master of Science program in Clinical Nutrition.  Along the way, I met and began writing and researching for the amazing couple Dr. Jayson and Mira Calton, assisting with both blogs and research for their books.  I also completed my Certified Micronutrient Specialist education.  As the Master's degree draws near to the close, I am still contemplating entering a PhD. program, but for now I would like to focus on helping you.  

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In addition to my nutrition consultation services, I have the pleasure now of helping improve the lives of everyone from high-level athletes, to soccer moms to even children, thanks to the opportunities I have with Long Island Strength & Performance and Building Strength.  

 

I'm sure there will be further chapters to write, but that is enough for now.  If you made it this far, I admire your patience and sincerely appreciate your support!