Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Henry.
Hi Amy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Why I become passionate about Health and Wellness: I was on my first diet at age 5, was weighed weekly as a dancer when I was young and grew up thinking I was and would always be “big”. I wasn’t – I was a normal-sized child. But I created that story in my head and all my decisions regarding clothes, peers, food choices, and how I viewed myself were through the “big girl” lens I created in my young mid. My “story” was damaging and led to a lifetime of negative thoughts and behaviors, trying every diet imaginable, struggling with eating disorders, weighing food, obsessing about my body size, etc. I reached a size 16 in my early 20s which was not healthy for my body. My weight and body image consumed me and yet, every time I went on a diet, I ultimately failed and went off the diet, ending up heavier than before I began. It made no sense to me. The problem was, I was putting a Band-Aid on the wrong part of my body! Rather than listening to my own body, I was focused on using ”diet plans” to tell me what I can/cannot eat, how much and when. I should have been focusing on the STORY I was living by regarding my emotional issues with food because it is not about food, it is about my RELATIONSHIP with food. My story is not unique though – most people who struggle with their weight can relate and now, my professional goal in life is to provide hope to those struggling with emotional eating and helping those individuals create a different pathway to living the best life.
By stopping the broken story from my childhood, my story became more about understanding food, removing the emotion from food and became a story of redemption. How did I do this? Mindset and determination to stop living in the past. After battling my weight in my 20s, I got pregnant with my first child and began appreciating my body. After the birth of my second child, I began my health journey to understand food as food, not as my emotional vision of such food. I began to research how food interacts with the body, how different types of exercises can help energy levels and build muscle, and why our bodies need sleep above anything to maintain a healthy central nervous system. I became a certified nutritionist and corporate wellness speaker and have counseled over 500 individuals in the past 15 years. Plus I didn’t stop with two children! I have four kids, work full time in corporate America and love to be social. I do not restrict food never diet, weigh food or count calories. I do not spend hours in a gym. I am just like you. I am still evolving in my enlightenment with self and the world I have created. This year, I am beginning my new series, The Mind Method, using the power of stories to break down our own past stories we live by. The 6-week online course is designed to empower, educate and enlighten individuals to start a new story in which they can live their best life in a healthy and happy way.
It’s important to recognize when our thoughts are based on false beliefs, challenge them, and try to find healthier ways of thinking about ourselves and our bodies. Developing healthy coping skills such as mindfulness and self-care and looking back at how far we have come, can help us break free from the false stories we tell ourselves. It’s also important to connect with supportive people who help us recognize our worth and beauty, regardless of size or shape, and gain a sense of validation for our accomplishments – both little and big. Changing how we see food, removing our stories about and around food, and reframing our past from a negative to a positive, is what my new series tackles. If you begin understanding the chemistry of food in the body, you see that food is a drug, Food interacts in our bodies on every cell level. So to conceptualize food as medicine rather than emotion helps you erase the “story” you live by when choosing what to eat.
Connecting with others who have similar journeys helps you to see – you are not alone. You are not a failure. We are all human and by showing gratitude for our past, living in our present, and creating our own future – that is how we remove constraints in order to be the healthiest version of ourselves.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Body image and weight (body dysmorphia) will always be in the back of my mind. Yet, I decided to stop letting it define who I was as an adult and how I view and experienced life.
Getting pregnant 4 times was mentally challenging/ interesting as I really started to appreciate my body during that time as the baby was growing so I gave myself grace and permission, which led me to self-discovery. However, I did have the “fear of failure,” to not losing the baby weight and made a point to give myself grace and time, knowing if I just continue making health choices, my body will eventually respond!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Amy Henry Method?
https://theamyhenrymethod.squarespace.com
The Amy Henry Method, in which Nutrition, Movement and Sleep make up the Wellness Trinity, gives people hope and direction that they can easily implement in their busy lives. My new course focuses on the stories and emotions we create around food, exercise and sleep, and I give my audience the tools to erase the broken stories and create new ones, for which to thrive.
The Mind Method Intensive opens individuals to the possibility of being free from constantly running on the dieting treadmill and continually failing to achieve their goals. Leading individuals to see they have power within themselves to lose weight and breaking through the past constraints. I want to inspire each person to remove the EMOTIONAL CONSTRAINTS holding them back from reaching their goals through community, gratitude, and enlightenment, in which they have the ability to create a new life for themselves.
Personally, I am most proud of being a role model for my four kids, overcoming a fear of public speaking when I first began in the nutrition world and being a fitness instructor where I use my dance training and athletic movements to inspire others to move with me!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My family comes from Cleveland, Ohio and we moved down south when I was only 5. My parents drove home the importance of family – we were Italian, after all! I was the 2nd oldest of six children, and along with many dogs, my childhood was filled with lots of noise and a ton of love! I had to be responsible early on, which instilled in me a structured work ethic that helps me, even today.
My fondest memories involve the summer swim team and being in a dance company. I would twirl and dance all day long in the house rather than walk around and I loved spending hours in the pool!
Pricing:
- Individual Coaching: $125 per hour
- Group Coaching Intensive: $695 for the 6-week, evening hours
- Corporate Wellness Speaking/Motivational Speaking: Prices vary
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theamyhenrymethod.squarespace.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/the_amyhenry_method
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/theamyhenrymethod
Image Credit:
Sara Hanna
