This local boy mama (with one on the way!), has found her bigger purpose in life! After struggling with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and struggling to have her first child, she was challenged by her doctor to commit to a healthier lifestyle for 3 months…. and after curing her PCOS, she knew she had to take the leap of faith and head back to school to become a certified nutrition coach. Melissa now offers monthly Nutrition Coaching programs and aims to be your personal cheerleader and guide you towards changing one habit at a time in order to become a healthier person. She feels honored and a privileged to be a part of a person’s life changing journey and knows that each client is unique, with a unique way of thinking, a unique culture/background and with a unique body. She aims to listens to what each client needs and where they want to get. She knows that wanting to change your entire way of living and eating habits of many years takes courage, and allowing her to guide you through it takes bravery!
We sat down with Melissa to learn more about her services, what her advice is for the busy mom trying to stay healthy, and of course mom life!
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in the Katy area?
I’m originally from Honduras, a beautiful tropical country with the best beaches in the world. I moved to Katy in 2014 with my family, to work for my family’s business. Unfortunately, with Harvey, the family business had to close.
How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?
I have one 2.5 year old toddler named Juan Diego, and currently pregnant with my second boy, Mateo.
What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in the Katy area?
Oh my goodness! What isn’t? First off, the community! When we first moved here we found an amazing church and now are part of a huge, loving church family. Strangers not only in Katy but in the entire Houston radius have been so kind to us and always eager to lend out a helping hand. Texans not only go big on food, they go BIG in heart. Katy has been my safe-haven, my comfort, my support. I love that there isn’t one day during the week where there isn’t something that I can do with my toddler or the rest of my family.
What’s your favorite local things to do in Katy (with kiddos or just for mom!)?
With kiddos AND the mom friends, 2 words: PROUD PIE. I’m proud to say I was one of the first customers and have been loyal ever since. Yes, Health Coaches DO eat pie! We also love going to LaCenterra on music nights and dancing our booties off (that’s Latin blood for ya!).
When Texas weather allows, we enjoy going to the amazing parks, our favorites are Willow Fork, especially when I want to exercise outdoors and MaryJo Peckham Park. This last one is my kid’s favorite, being a squirrel chaser and all. Katy parks transport us to a different mindset and cleanses our soul (especially from stress).
Greatest Gift about being a mom?
The cuddles!! Tiny, innocent, soft little hands that yes, will sometimes pull your hair and kick you while they sleep, but they make the softest & dearest cuddles. Having the honor and privilege of being trusted with a tiny little life is the best gift any human being can receive. It’s also a great responsibility, but with oh so many perks.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…..
I DO NOT have it all figured out. I’m a mess in my head 70% of the time, LOL! I might seem put together, carry a planner filled with organized ideas and stickers, look picture perfect in social media and preach about goodness and patience in my Insta-stories. But, it’s not always rosy. I suffer from anxiety and can have really bad days.
Tell us about how you’ve made a career out of helping others towards a healthier lifestyle?
Basically by being myself. I was never an athlete in school, never really enjoyed exercising, my weight fluctuated constantly, I pretended to have self-love and I also suffered from PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). A bigger purpose in my life made me want to help other women and men change their life and choose to become a healthier version of themselves, and that is how Melissa Wellness was born.
When did you decide you wanted to be a nutrition coach and what was the inspiration behind that career choice?
After a while of being married, my husband and I wanted a baby. We tried anything and everything, invested all our savings in fertility programs and nothing worked. After much prayer and handing off the wheel to God, He blessed us with our first child. Little did I know He was guiding me to a different career path and using all of my newly acquired knowledge in how to become healthier and eat better (specifically for my PCOS). After talking it over with my doctor, she encouraged my challenge of 3 months of healthy eating to get rid of my PCOS, which worked like a charm! I thought that if I was a success, others could achieve similar results too. So, even after having a set career as a Marketer, I decided to take a leap of faith and go back to school and become certified in Nutrition.
What services do you offer your clients?
I offer monthly Nutrition Coaching programs. I’m your personal cheerleader and guide towards changing one habit at a time in order to become a healthier person. I also have several one-time payment programs to begin your journey, for clients who aren’t ready to begin a longer journey.
Give us an example of what a monthly plan might look like from you?
I start off my getting to know my client first and what his/her needs are. Each client is unique, with a unique way of thinking, a unique culture/background and with a unique body. I listen to what my client needs and where they want to get. According to this, we create a unique plan just for them. This plan includes steps to reach their specific goal in a specific amount of time, changing one habit at a time. My client gets to choose which habit they want to tackle first and whey they want to change or adjust it. Throughout the entire plan, you get weekly and sometimes day-to-day coaching with me, recipes, accountability reports and weight/body measurement check-ins as well as 24/7 support from people living the same journey in our private groups.
My plans are on a monthly basis, but we encourage our clients to stick with us for a minimum of 3 months. Why? Because your body is so perfect, it takes it’s time to adjust to change and work out all the kinks to work even more perfectly. These changes are usually seen within 3 months, and depending on what your goals are, sometimes can take up to 1 year. However, within just 4 weeks of adjusting your eating patterns and style, you will begin to feel awesome changes and even notice some of them.
What’s your main hope and goal for a new client?
My hope is that they can trust me to be their guide and personal cheerleader throughout their journey through change. My goal is for them to achieve whatever they have set their mind, spirit and body to.
Tell us about your work with the Latina community. Why is this an important focus for you?
I’m originally from Honduras, in Central America. So, by birth and blood I’m a Latina myself. Latino culture revolves around food and most of our celebrations and even sad moments involve food and more food. Food is part of culture and it is innate in us, everyone really. I want to teach the Latina culture that food can become more than just comfort, it can be complete nourishment and soul-filling.
Best health advice for busy moms in 2020?
Make time to take care of YOU. It’s the best gift you can give yourself and your family. If you take care of yourself, your mind, your body and your spirit, your kids will follow that example….even if it’s not right away. My mother was an athlete all her life, and I can still hear her preaching how I should exercise, and never did, until I was 30 years old and now I love it….what you teach a child, they’ll remember in their adult years.
Most exciting opportunities you’ve had through your platform?
The greatest opportunity for me as a Nutrition/Health Coach is to be trusted by my clients. Getting to know a person and them allowing me to become part of a life-changing journey is an honor and a privilege. I feel extremely blessed even when somebody just wants me to answer a question or give them advice. Wanting to change your entire way of living and eating of many years takes courage, and allowing somebody like me to guide you through it takes bravery. All my clients have been some of the best blessings I’ve received.
Goals for the New Year for Melissawellness.blog?
Have the opportunity to work with more one-on-one clients that are willing and able to change their lifestyle to a healthier one.
Expand my small-group workshop platform to be able to host more people who wish to learn and share with others their health journey.
When parenting gets hard, what’s something you tell yourself that gets you through?
I guess it depends on the day you catch me on! Ha, ha! Ok…being serious now. Verses like these come to mind:
“This too, shall pass.”
“They are only this tiny once, they’ll be gone before you know it.”
“I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“God made Me, YOUR mother because there isn’t anyone more perfect for this job than me.”
Who has inspired you most in motherhood?
First off, my own mother. She was as devoted as a mother can be and the perfect mother for me. Both my grandmothers, one of them had 9 children so hey…she gets the Wonder Woman award. They both lived in tough times, hard-to-make-it countries and still managed to raise their children right and love on their grandchildren (like me) so much that I have amazingly special memories of them.
And lastly, my husband Juan. Like me, he was never a parent until he became one. Yet, he knows how to work his way around this mom to make her feel special, loved, supported and not alone. And I’m not an easy to live with person, being a perfectionist and all….but he loves me every day in spite of that.
To learn more about Melissa Wellness:
Website: www.melissawellness.blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissafortin.wellness/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Melissa_Wellness-1027393167453439/