About me

My Transformation: The Path to Balance and Conscious Living. How nutrition and coaching help me change my life?

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

Certifications

• Nutritionist – Masterclass, Romania, 2019
• Nutrition coach – Precision Nutrition Level 1, Canada, 2021
• Personal development advisor – Training Romania, Romania, 2024
• Life coach – CoachVille, Romania & USA, in training
• Sleep, Stress Management and Recovery Coach – Precision Nutrition SSR, Canada, in training

And other stuff...

I decided to start with the certifications because I am aware that it is important for you to know these aspects about me, myself putting value on continuous learning, and appreciating people who are transparent with their training. In addition to degrees and certifications in nutrition and personal development (the others are irrelevant here), I am a human, just like you, one who has struggled with weight and low self-esteem since infancy, I might say, in addition to many other things. I would be naive or hypocritical to say that all the problems have dissolved and that I no longer have thoughts like "You've put on a lot of weight" when I exceed the "ideal" weight threshold set by some wounded parts of me, even when I do it on purpose in order to put on muscle mass. I also do still somatize my eternal health issue (is anyone else constipated?) when I forget about myself by dedicating too much of my time to work for an ounce of somebody's appreciation.

These parts will continue to exist, just as there will continue to be storms on the ocean, but now I have some tools and resources (or islands) that help me step back, dis-identify with their deeply limiting ideas, behaviors and beliefs rooted in my childhood or my family tree, and gently manage them by taking 'control' of my life. All this helps me to come here, in front of you, with a lot of vulnerability.

Where did it start from?

Lacking an emotional vocabulary and a stable and gentle family environment that I needed as a child, I developed a peculiar shyness and passive-aggressive behavior around the age of 6, which was my way of being until not long ago. This closure in myself, about which my parents, and later on the teachers, complained about - "She studies, but all in vain if she doesn't participate in class.." I still hear, only accentuated my defective relationship with food, and my cravings for sweets, fatty and highly processed food have intensified.

We all know that Romania did not go through an easy period, and parents often turned to grandparents, neighbors to take care of their children while they worked hard jobs around the country or abroad. There was a daily stress that came from adults wanting to be in a X way in order to have a more fulfilling life than theirs: be a good girl in school, be polite, do what you're told without comment, or eat everything from your plate. Actually, I didn't eat much when I was little, or at least not much besides French fries, Kinder eggs, or some other crap. And I don't want you to feel like I'm blaming anyone, all of this was necessary for me to have the realizations I have today. I love my family like crazy and I wouldn't change it for anything.

But then, obesity and 10 kg less later at the age of 10 due to a diet made me feel like a normal kid again, who she finally found clothes in the children's section, and she stopped being looked at strangely by her colleagues. I had even felt the taste of pride... for a short time.

Later on...

Losing weight did not, however, solve the lack of self-confidence. In an educational system where your worth is based on your grades, I never felt as smart as you were supposed to be, and I can't say that I particularly liked any subject. School was a chore. Mathematics was preferred because I could make analogies quickly, and in high school I discovered biology, which I was attracted to for some reason. I discovered my super power of nerding out, the discipline of memorizing whole books, and I never thought I was smart, but I managed to stay among the best students all the time.

I didn't think I'd have a chance for the faculty of medicine – to get in and finish it – where a third of my peers were going. That's why I chose an University that had nothing to do with my wishes, but which was written on my forehead since the 7th grade by my grandmother. Finance and Banking, what more could you want from a child whose parents were away working abroad and whose family struggled so much financially? I didn't even know what the options were, I found out about the faculty of Dietetics after taking the nutritionist course... yep.

During all this time my weight continued to fluctuate, but without huge difference. I didn't like how I looked like, but still felt those few extra pounds. I didn't do sports at all, apart from 8 months of swimming during the weight loss period when I was 10 (and during which I didn't really learn to swim... haha), and for about 2 years I even took a break from doing sports in school so that my average grade would not drop. I needed it to enter a good high school.

The socially acceptable dream

I began to slowly wake up from the "family" and socially acceptable dream after I graduated from college and entered the workforce. I got a good job, by the way. Who was dreaming of earning 3500 lei (around 700$) in the first year of work at the age of 23, in the Romania of 2016? And 2 years later almost doubling her salary. But something wasn't clicking. I started reading personal development books, listening to podcasts, but the first book that left its mark on me was The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. And then I started going to the gym, and continued to exercise at home after a fitness program for many years (thank you Rebecca Louise :D). I wanted to learn more about what it means to eat healthy and to 'get rid' of the eternal health problem that haunted me as a small child (mentioned above).

I didn't enroll in the nutrition course with the intention of practicing in the field, but I got the taste of it. I soon realized that I was developing a passion for nutrition, and the idea of ​​sharing with others what I had learned grew stronger and stronger. I started to incorporate this passion at work as well, where I sent a health pill to the members of my 'Nutrition Club' every week. I felt, however, that something was missing from the way a nutritionist works. I didn't practice, but I heard it being said many times in the stories of my colleagues, friends and relatives. I understood that diets did not bring long-term results, unless there was a lot of willpower. And when there were results, they were gradually vanishing. Yoyo! I was wondering what the solution was, like any rational person, other than the motivation that I had, but the others didn't.

When did the change occur?

Without realizing it, I myself had fallen into the clutches of orthorexia (def.: excessive preoccupation with avoiding foods considered unhealthy), consuming nutritional content from this area. I literally wanted to throw up at the sight of fizzy juice, which had once been my only source of fluids, and getting my hands on a fried potato was considered a death sentence. There was no mention of not exercising at home 6/7 times a week. The scenarios had been reversed: a woman who could barely find clothes in the adult section. I had reached the same weight as when I was 10, only now I was 26 and several inches taller. In any case, I was happy with myself, but my body was still foreign to me. I was doing it all out of a wounded part of me that wanted at all costs to look healthy. Thank the universe that I was not taking on clients at this stage in my life.

Fortunately, something brought me close to the field of psychotherapy, psycho-nutrition and compulsive eating. A recommendation I saw on Facebook from a person I followed who was active in the field made me sign up for the Canadian nutrition coaching course. This course has a holistic approach, as it looks at the human relationship with food from multiple points of view: social, environmental, physical, mental, emotional and existential health. Here I learned about the concept of 'deep health', which guides people to change more than the surface aspects (the weight on the scale, for example) through quick fixes (how many miracle diets have you heard of?).

Food for body and soul

I understood then that the extreme lifestyle I had been leading for the last 2 years was not making me happy and it had certainly begun to affect my relationships with my family, partner, friends - an important part of the concept of 'deep health'. I had stopped visiting my grandparents because of the food they gave me, I would spend hours looking for the perfect restaurant on holidays, I would look at the menus of the places where I was invited to eqt and cancel if it didn't fit the 'norms' '.

Thanks to the new concepts I had learned, I quickly realized that my lifestyle was not sustainable. The first tortilla chip came with the revelation that the dose makes the poison and so I adhered to the 20/80 concept – 20% of the time food for the soul and 80% of the time food for the body. But with decisions made consciously, and without repercussions or punishments like for example: "I'm eating this pizza, but tomorrow I'm going to push harder at the gym."

Going from self-criticism-based motivation to self-compassion-based motivation took a lot of practice and work with me along with coaches and therapists. I finally seem to understand the role of intention with which you enter this journey of change: my purpose had to be greater than being thin to impress others. My purpose has undergone a transformation: I eat out of love for my body and my well-being.

Micro-habits beat motivation

Carrying the new intention with me every day, I developed small habits that allow me to make most choices from a space of self-love, without pressure. Most of them because I know I still have a lot to learn and my purpose here is not to come and present myself as a perfectly healed person. I'm not a health, nutrition, or lifestyle guru, but a woman (a word I wouldn't allow myself to use before) who has had certain life experiences and wants to guide and support as much as possible the lives of other people with similar experiences. YOU are your own guru, don't even think about giving the power to me or others.

Returning to our main subject here. The 5-minute rule, the fork down, how do I feel now?, rainbow on the plate, or I love you are some of the habits that I will talk about more in the blog and on the other communication channels with you. There are things that seem so simple that you don't think they can make a difference. And no, nothing is simple... but would you rather carry a burden of 100 kg that knocks you down, or one of 5 that you feel easily? You want immediate results that last long, but how can you do it burnt out?

What is my role as a coach?

Each of us comes with an emotional baggage, with a certain routine and responsibilities. There is certainly no one-size-fits-all recipe. That's why I like to play with concepts and little habits, adopt them... or not, depending on the feedback I gather. This is what I propose to do with you. As a coach, we analyze and co-create an action plan, or game plan – as I like to call it, from session to session. This plan is customized, tailored to your current routine and lifestyle.

No miracle recipes, diet plans, measuring calories or food. You learn how to eat consciously, according to your body's needs, how to develop micro-habits that can transform your mindset and then your life in the long term. We make friends with the inner critic and play to increase self-confidence.

Of course, education plays an important role in everyday choices. Therefore, together we will create plates that you enjoy eating and that really nourish you, we will learn how to read the labels, and we will analyze together whether a food falls into the category of eating often, occasionally or less often. Nothing is forbidden, because I believe that restriction comes with resistance, and a 'cheat' day can turn into a failure.

In the end...

Consider că trebuie să trecem prin diferite extreme pentru a ne găsi echilibrul. În cazul meu, din mâncatul compulsiv de dulciuri și alimente procesate am învățat că mâncarea este mai mult decât hrană, iar – ca să facem și o glumă – din ortorexie faptul că legumele și fructele pot fi gustoase 😀 (dar acum pe bune papilele mele gustative au suferit atunci o transformare pentru care sunt recunoscătoare). Fiecare experiență vine cu o lecție fără de care nu am fi persoana care suntem azi.

So, hoping I haven't bored you too much, I'm curious to write to me about your experience, what you're facing and how you think I can support you. This helps me tremendously to know my audience and to deliver content of value.

Your coach,

Lavinia

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Side note – what is a nutritionist?

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Lavinia Dinca

Nutritionist