Kristen Shane, RN, BSN, NBC-HWC

Registered Nurse, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

I have been working in Health Care for over 20 years trying to focus on HEALTH which led me on an interesting and unique career path from Women’s & Newborn Health, Child Psychology, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Weight Management, Chronic Disease Coaching, and Pediatric Gastroenterology. Recently I have become A Functional Medicine Health Coach so I can continue to help others discover their path to their healthiest selves.

I grew up in the Midwest in an active family of 4 girls with 2 working parents; where the motto for food and nutrition basically was- If you can’t nuc (microwave) it, you don’t eat it”.  We were the first generation of the Standard American Diet, Snackwells (low-fat, high sugar) and convenience foods.  I was one of the ‘big” girls, on the sports teams and in the biggest in my family, I emotional ate, dieted and I carried guilt and shame about my size and eating habits.

In 2012, I watched the strongest and most important woman in my life become ill.  At the time, I felt helpless and at the mercy of Western Medicine, which was of no help for her condition.  My three sisters and I grew up watching my mom be and do all the things for us: breadwinner, schedule planner, chauffeur, supporter, role model.  We came first and I see now that she lost herself.  She yo-yo dieted, never exercised, or did much of anything for herself, she was devoid of time to feed her soul.  Because of her sacrifice, my sisters and I thrived, participated in a variety of activities, attended the University of Michigan, built careers, and now families of our own.

I also had a setback in my physical and emotional health. Stress after my mom’s death led to a miscarriage at thirteen weeks in 2013.  Several knee injuries resulted in knee surgery, PT, and finally stem cell therapy before returning to my previously active lifestyle.  I learned to work slowly through the 2-year adversity to reestablish health and build new stress reduction skills for the long term.  And I largely focused on how and what I fed my body to reach my healthiest self yet. (Spoiler-Just Eat Real Food!)

And now I am here trying to do all the things: build a career, date my husband and raise 3 boys to be kind, successful, healthy adults all while not going completely bonkers with stress and anxiety!  I am trying to do it differently than my mom though because I believe that to be successful at the above items, I need to first begin with me.  When we put ourselves last, we can’t truly be our best self for everyone else.  And most importantly, let’s do this without the guilt!  Secure your own mask before helping others!

The short of it, our current lifestyles have us living “busy” lives with exposure to poor nutrients in our foods, toxins in our environment, little physical activity, a never-ending to-do list that doesn’t include things that fed our souls, and an overall feeling of, is this it?  And we are often tired, anxious, unwell, and generally not our best selves while being busy.  Are we looking forward to a time when we can do the things we want but that time may never come or if it does, we don’t know how to make the most of it because we have poor habits from when we are just “busy.”   I want to help others find their best, healthiest selves so each day they are thriving, making the best choices for their life now and for the future.