My name is Ami Paulsen. I am a Certified Nutrition Therapist Practitioner (CNTP). Ten years ago that idea would have felt like a joke. Having grown up during the low-fat, high-sugar era; I’d spent most my life overweight, exhuasted, and dealing with stomachaches and severe anxiety.
I thought I was eating healthy. I was trying my best based on what I knew. I bought canned food with buzz words like “healthy,” “low-fat,” “all-natural,” and “heart-healthy.” I ran three-five miles a day, didn’t eat after 6 p.m., and only ate fat on the weekends. Yet I was 30 lbs overweight. No matter what I did, I couldn’t lose weight. One day I was venting my frustrations to a friend. Why did I still look and feel the way I did after all my hard work? Luckily, my friend had been on her own nutrition journey and taught me the joys of eating real food, the truth about fats, and how I could feel better by making changes. I was ready to change.
Over the next several months I lost the excess weight, cleared up 30 years of exzema, and lessened my overall anxiety. I was hooked. I’d found my new passion. I’d felt so blessed with the information and the changes I was able to make, I wanted to find a way to help others.
This is when I decided to go back to school to earn my certification. I attended the Nutritional Therapy Institute in Colorado and earned my certification of CNTP. During this time, I learned the truth and facts about food through education and experience.
But it wasn’t just my health that transformed in this process. The first people I wanted to help were my family members. My husband lost weight, my daughter cleared up her exzema, and we found healthy compromises for my son who is a diagnosed “problem feeder.” My son also noticed his anxiety improved greatly. We get sick less, have more energy and understand the relationship with what we eat and how we feel.
Little did I know this was just the beginning of my journey. After a stressful time in my life, I found myself sick again. With a diagnosis of arthritis, fibromyalgia, leaky gut, severe candida overgrowth, and parasites, I knew I could turn to food as a support in my healing journey; which I did. From research and my own personal experience, I know how to cook delicious, nutritious food to fit with medical diagnoses and food sensitivities. I had to learn how to read and how to navigate eating out. I’ve been there! I’ve been in social situations where I had to be an advocate for myself and my health.
I would love to help you on your own journey. Don’t go this alone. I was blessed enough to have a mentor and a guide to teach me how to eat real food and listen to my body. To find out how we can work together, visit our “services provided” page.