Guided by her own health transformation and passion for helping others, Mayo Clinic Certified Health Coach and Holistic Nutritionist, Amy Lydia, provides life changing health and nutrition planning.
About
AMY LYDIA MCNALLY, MA (Zehren)
Founded by Certified Nutritionist and Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach, Amy Lydia McNally, MA, Amy Lydia Nutrition & Wellness provides life changing health and nutrition planning.
Guided by her passion for wellness and helping others, Amy Lydia draws on her own experience of being diagnosed with the autoimmune diseases Sjogrens and Autoimmune Neuropathy plus top notch training from Mayo Clinic to empower others toward living well.
Her coaching helps clients achieve personal nutrition and wellness goals including managing nutritional imbalance, food sensitives, weight management, positive psychology, and more.
Amy Lydia’s years working in management with national branding partnerships including Equinox Gyms, W Hotels, and Ralph Lauren provides a cultural context of wellness that is complemented with a holistic wellness certification from Mayo Clinic- this vision has proved valuable in connecting with clients of every age and background.
She’s known for her conscientious ear of understanding with an aptitude to apply what she knows for your personal wellness. Her friendly and nonjudgmental attitude with an easy to follow “get it done” wellness plan will lead you to success. Amy Lydia lives with her husband Brad in Minnesota.
For Amy’s full professional bio, visit LinkedIN.
MAYO CLINIC TRAINED
Amy Lydia’s wellness approach is based on training from the Mayo Clinic and AFPA. This includes a powerful mix of holistic nutrition education, counseling psychology, positive psychology, prevention research, solution-focused therapy and motivational interviewing.
AMY LYDIA’S CORE VALUES
Organized, Listener, Knowledge, Balance, Nutrition Expert, Communications, Action, Empathetic, Collaborative, Friendly, Trust, Results
Education
MAYO CLINIC
Certified Wellness Coach
AFPA
Certified Nutritionist
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
M.A., Communications
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY
B.A., Public Relations/Marketing
Amy Lydia’s Story
Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m Amy Lydia, Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach and Nutritionist. I love helping people and I’m passionate about all things wellness!
My mission is to:
Empower others to live well
Guide others to healthy habits
Share my health story in hopes of inspiring yours
SO THE STORY BEGINS
I understand firsthand the challenges of living with a health condition and the difficulty of making a significant life change. Okay, maybe that’s an understatement. About 10 years ago, I almost died from an autoimmune disorder. At the time, I was working in corporate marketing with amazing companies like Ralph Lauren, Equinox, and W hotels. I was planning nationally recognized marketing campaigns and attending fabulous red carpet events. I was a highly active young woman living a life I loved in a big city—until my disease took all of that, and more, away from me.
I went from doctor to doctor and spent thousands of dollars on treatments that didn’t work. But what other option did I have? I was hospitalized many times. I received several misdiagnoses and simply got sicker. Ironically, I was doing brand marketing at Equinox and leading the launch of a new brand extension, Pure Yoga, and I was doing it all from my bed.
If I could sum my health battle up in one word, it would be “loss”. I lost friends. Chances at love. My job and condo in the city. I lost money. I couldn’t even make it to the store, which meant moving in with my parents and losing my independence. My stomach stopped working and I soon lost my ability to eat. Within a few months, I unwillingly lost over 25 pounds and was unable to sit or stand for long periods, or even walk without the help of an aid. Next thing I knew, I was bedridden for two years.
PATH TO DIAGNOSIS
I was losing the life I loved; the life I’d worked so hard for. I was depressed, lonely, and scared. I’m not sure what was more heartbreaking: all the misdiagnoses by doctors or all the people who didn’t believe me. It led me to take my health into my own hands and seek my own answers. I immersed myself in health and wellness information and learned everything I could about healing my body. I even moved to California for a year to seek alternative health methods, from acupuncture to light therapy to elimination diets. Things helped for a while, but nothing stuck. I still wasn’t well. Eventually, my efforts led me to the most respected clinic in the world: the Mayo Clinic. It took a lot more time and testing, but they finally discovered my rare autoimmune disorder. It was a massive relief to finally be taken seriously and, at long last, start the proper treatments. I thought at last, I could swallow a few pills and be cured. But, as I learned, that’s never the case with autoimmune disease or chronic illness in general. Conquering it would require a new lifestyle and a new style of thinking.
PATH TO HEALING
The first step towards total wellness was putting my faith in God and accepting my new limitations instead of fighting them. This was incredibly hard and humbling, but at the same time powerful and healing. Acceptance and faith gave me the courage to proactively manage my health and make evidence-based lifestyle changes. I focused on the obvious, like nutrition and fitness, but also the less expected, like erasing automatic negative thoughts, unhealthy relationships, stress, and sleep problems. Opening my heart to my new lifestyle with chronic illness allowed me to gain my life and spirit back! In fact, I’m more confident and positive, healthier spiritually, emotionally, and physically, and closer to God now than I ever was. Though my disease is chronic (it has no cure), my drive is chronic too. I’ve learned how to live my best form of wellness.
PATH TO COACHING
The many challenges of my health journey opened my eyes to a health epidemic that’s just not going away. Millions of people are struggling like I was, with a desire to improve their health and no one to turn to. Most doctors don’t have the time to walk people through the healing process and the necessary lifestyle changes. I saw that void and went back to school. I’d had my “aha” moment, and wanted to give others theirs. I completed my Master’s degree, became certified in Wellness Coaching from The Mayo Clinic, and a Certified Holistic Nutritionist from the AFPA. Mayo Clinic is my “helped-save-my-life clinic” so getting Certified through there was essential for me.
Today, my life is different than before; it’s brighter than ever and filled with purpose. With top-notch training and firsthand experience living with chronic illness, I can now empower you to change your health and life in a positive way. Whatever you’re battling, there’s hope. And I’ll help you find it.
That’s my story and I’d absolutely love to hear yours and help!