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I started this blog to help and inspire young women who are embarking on their wellness journey.
I have a heart for providing them with all the tools, information, and resources needed for them to succeed in their wellness journey (aka what I wish I would have had while beginning my own journey).
If you are here, you probably want to learn more about me, or maybe you accidentally clicked the wrong button and ended up here.
Either way, here is my story… (at least the chapters that have already been written).
On a sunny April day at 11:06 am, my mother’s favorite child was born (me)!
Just kidding…
Maybe…
Not really.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in a small town called Monte with a population of about 8,000 people.
I grew up as the youngest of four children with three older brothers. My youngest-older brother is 9 years older than me… yup.
I always hear comments like “I’m praying for you” or “Just wait ’til you get a boyfriend” or “Poor thing”.
Honestly, as a kid, I never really got it. I thought it was great. It felt like being an only child, but not really.
In 2012, my parents, two of my brothers, and I moved to another town in Argentina, about 30 minutes from the city. It was completely different from everything I had known.
This was the first big change that had ever happened to 7-year-old Sophia, and it felt terrible. I wanted to go back to “my real home”.
Eventually, I started making friends and loved this new town. I belonged.
Everything was great. Snacking, playing, and sleepovers were basically my life.
By this time, all my brothers had moved to the US with my mom’s side of the family to start their studies.
My mom and dad decided it would be good for me to continue my education and teenage years in the US.
So the decision was made… we were moving… again.
All I had ever known, my home country, was coming to an end.
I vividly remember telling my mom I was most scared to go to school in the US because English wasn’t my first language (spoiler alert: this didn’t end up being an issue at all).
So, at the ripe age of 11, I said goodbye to my friends and family, and we moved to Florida.
We arrived in the Spring of 2018.
I loved the first month because it felt like a vacation. My summer consisted of froyo, the pool, and talking to my friends in Argentina.
My friends actually created a going-away present for me before I left.
In the package, they put a picture of all of us with a decorated frame.
That is the first time I remember thinking negatively about my body.
“I look so fat compared to all of them.“
I was always told I was “taller“, “looked more mature“, “older“.
And ever since that moment, all those comments translated to “You are BIGGER” in my head.
Through a series of events, I got a scholarship for one of the top private schools in Orlando.
I started going there and slowly but surely made a few friends.
But I did not fit in.
All the girls seemed to be blonde, pretty, rich, and skinny.
I remember feeling like a misfit.
Cultural differences, my perfectionist tendencies, being a tween, and truly not fitting in all started affecting me.
One day, me and some of the girls were getting ready for PE class and the conversation of weight came up.
“All of these girls’ weights are significantly less than mine,” I thought.
Forgetting that I was about three inches taller than them, I once again stored this little moment in my heart.Even though I never fully fit in, I was doing extremely well in school and had a group of “friends”.
Through a combination of awareness, comparison, perception, and comments, I decided that I was going to “become healthier”.
So I started researching on the internet how to do this (such an awesome and reputable source).
I never really thought about food growing up until this time. I decided I would cut out all snacks and sweets.
I remember my mom making my favorite muffins. Since I knew they weren’t “healthy”, I didn’t eat them.
She noticed this.
For the first time, I felt a sense of “self-control” and proudness.
My dad and one of my brothers went on a two-week trip to Europe.
During this period, my mom did a week-long fast for spiritual and health reasons, and I was happy.
Why?
Because this meant I could choose what I would be eating for meals. I could really eat “healthy”.
The only problem was, the more research I did, the fewer foods I could eat, it seemed.
I started focusing mainly on veggies and some protein but started cutting most things out of my diet.
At this point, I started noticing a difference in my body, and I was so proud.
I was also getting praised for my “self-control” and “discipline“, which fueled the fire.
That night, I actually went to The National Honors Society event, and I remember looking completely different in the dress I had previously worn.
I hadn’t eaten much all day, and then to not worry my mom, I had a tiny bit of kefir yogurt.
My dad and brother came back from the trip and were extremely concerned.
From that moment, things started spiraling out of control.
I was eating less and less, skipping meals at school, losing weight rapidly, and it became apparent to all my family and even teachers that there was a problem.
It got to the point where my parents wouldn’t let me go to school because I wasn’t eating, and it devastated me.
Seeing my grades go down caused a lot of stress.
I kept consuming content on the internet that kept me spiraling, little papers in my room with lists of what I had eaten, calories, and getting addicted to the feeling of numbness.
Eventually, I got diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and got sent to the doctors.
I remember knowing I had to stop. I saw my parents suffering, and it pained me, but I was in too deep.
We tried to do outpatient treatment, but mentally I wasn’t ready, and neither was my body. I got sent to the ER due to my orthostatic blood pressure and dehydration.
I even spent my 12th birthday at the hospital. (And did not eat my own birthday cake)
From there, I got sent to residential treatment. It saved my life.
After 2 months, due to insurance, I was discharged before being fully weight restored, much less mentally restored, and ended up going back to my old ways.
After I got discharged, I was hovering between needing to be re-sent to treatment, but “At least I was eating some food.”
Throughout 2020 we all endured strange times.
I was isolated and still hyper-focused on unhealthy behaviors.
Once restrictions were lifted, it was decided that going back to school.
My sophomore year of high school would be good for socializing, more structure, being a “Normal teenager”, and making some good friends.
So I went back to public school, even homecoming.
I loved it.
I instantly made a lot of friends and found people with similar cultural backgrounds, more diversity, and a bigger sea of people and opportunities.
This sent me into a “letting go” phase.
It swung the pendulum in the other direction.
I started binging and stopped exercising, and over the span of three months, I gained over 30 lbs and felt extremely unhealthy.
It sucked. I had finally gotten my period, but it wasn’t a real one.
I would get 2 periods one month, none the next, and my hormones were out of whack.
I wouldn’t eat out with my friends, stopped going on walks with my mom, and just felt unhealthy and depressed.
Now, I needed to consume a whole new set of information with this new issue that had arisen.
I felt hopeless and stuck in a completely new, yet oddly similar cycle.
Throughout this whole process, there is one thing I can confidently say, No matter your specific situation:
Education is key.
I was uneducated, which caused me to be confused and distressed about the information I found online. I didn’t know who was telling the truth and who wasn’t!
After 4+ years of treatment and working with 6+ nutritionists, doing research on my own, consuming endless amounts of podcasts and books, I have learned so much.
Education is the one thing that can really allow you to be confident in your journey, take control, and achieve the goals you have set in place.
I gathered that if I can save someone 6 years of feeling hopeless, stuck, making mistakes, spending countless hours researching, and feeling like they are in the dark about their own health, then anything is worth helping them shortcut the process.
That is why I created this blog.
To provide young women with what 11-year-old Sophia needed the most.
Thank You!
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your presence here.
If you’ve made it this far, I truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to read through this, and I deeply value every connection I make through this blog.
I want you to know that I am here for you, not just as a guide in your wellness journey, but also as a friend. My intention is to create a supportive community where women embarking on their wellness journeys can connect with like-minded individuals, offer encouragement, and work intentionally to achieve their goals.
As we all navigate the world of wellness as newcomers, it is crucial that we support and motivate each other to reach our goals.
Once again, thank you for reading. Remember, your life so far consists of chapters that have already been written. It’s up to you to decide how you want the rest of your story to unfold and start creating the next chapters.
With love,
Sophia
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