I’ve worked with individuals to achieve a variety of goals (which we can also add to in our work together):

• Stress reduction and increasing control of personal and environmental stressors

• Exploring passions and increasing quality of life

• Creating new habits (e.g., adding physical activity - cardio to strength training, improving bedtime routine & sleep hygiene, making more time for self-care & relationships)

• Nutrition changes that work with a busy lifestyle, finding a healthy eating plan that fits into your lifestyle, and helps with weight loss and maintenance.

“As the wife of a pastor, weeks pass very quickly with each day made up of planning activities that meet the needs of our congregation. Growing up, I was taught that women supported their husbands, so of course I followed that same mindset, and was the helper in my marriage.

Over 3 decades I made and ate midwestern meals, tended to my children, and was the right hand to my husband. I loved my life, but my body suffered as I realized I neglected my needs along the way. I saw Nikki's card at a local coffee shop, where we ended up meeting a few days later. She was very understanding, and I felt like she would work with me at my pace. She did, and then some.

She helped me explore what was important to me, what I wanted for myself and my relationships, and taught me how to listen to needs and not feel guilty for taking breaks during the day to take care of myself. This gave me the confidence I needed to start thinking about what I want for myself in the future, while still being the supportive wife and mother I have been the past 20 years. It felt really good, thank you Nikki!”

- Carol K., Lake County, IL

“Nikki sent me this form after our last session, as we were wrapping up 6 months together. A friend referred me to her, after telling me she lost over 100 pounds after having her kids-I found myself in the same situation, but was heavy before my pregnancies, so was feeling terrible about myself after I had all 3 of them. The way she helped me look at myself with hope again, and not get discouraged when I had some stress chocolate was everything I needed to start my weight loss. We met every week at my kitchen table while my kids were at school, and I realized quickly that I did have the time to devote to myself-so had no excuses. I soon also had the energy and felt more motivated as I saw myself eating less of the kids food and snacks, and finding things to eat when I did feel stressed that didn’t derail my efforts each week-that felt amazing!

I found a system that worked for me, didn’t feel like I was thrown off track if I couldn’t meet my goal everyday, and started to enjoy exercising with and without my kids! It took me a month to write this, and even now, I see how easy it was to make changes, but that I just needed someone to repeat to me what I said I wanted, and allow me to talk through how I could get there. A health coach is a professional everyone needs when they’re stuck and are afraid they can’t change their life-you can!”

Taylor P., Gurnee, IL

“Nikki was a great find, so I want to shout from the rooftops for her! When I first sat down with her, I felt I could trust her, I felt heard and like my vision was as important to her as it was to me. We met weekly, one week in person and the next over Skype-that was easy for my work schedule and truly allowed us to stay focused on my goals and progress. I appreciated her energy and directness, when I would let her know how my intentions worked that week, she would immediately prove she heard what I said by addressing challenges she heard me mention and helped me evaluate why they were there and how to overcome them the next time. That was more helpful than I could have imagined, and I am so glad she made me look at that. Looking back, addressing those misses really helped me grow, and I don’t think I would have recognized them on my own. Where would I be then? Scary to think about!”

- Nancy H., Lincolnshire, IL

I kind of “won” 4 meetings with Nikki. I never had anybody ask me what I want, my life hasn’t ever been about that. I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t, she was nice and listened to me. It’ll be hard to make time everyday about myself with 4 kids and 2 jobs, but I have a plan we put together, and she said I could call her if I needed help in the future. This was helpful”

Kate, Chicago, IL