Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Annette Licitra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Annette, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
A few of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken in my adult life were leaving my corporate finance position after nearly 15 years to start my own business, and at the same time, making some drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle.
This happened for a few different reasons. I was not passionate about the corporate life or the positions that I held, and I was super stressed out. I was very tired, fatigued, and my stomach was in knots more days than not. I was starting to feel and see the emotional stress manifest as physical discomfort, and honestly, it scared me. I didn’t want to live this way for the rest of my life.
Being in work positions that I wasn’t in alignment with was crushing my soul. And it showed up in my physical health. I had stomach aches since I was younger, but they worsened as I aged. After years of experiencing these issues, I knew that the digestive distress was being exacerbated from the imbalance surrounding my work life and I had to do something about it.
I also found out that many of the foods and drinks I was consuming were really bothering me, so I knew I had to make some drastic changes to my lifestyle otherwise my health was only going to get worse. I couldn’t afford that, and I definitely was tired of not feeling well!
I knew changes had to be made and letting go of my corporate job was one of the top items on the list. It was eating me up inside, and I needed to find something that was in better alignment with how I wanted to show up in the world. This was a huge shift in my life because corporate was all I knew right after I graduated college and the pay was very difficult to leave.
In addition, my health was suffering, so to find out what was happening, I felt that I needed to draw a line in the sand and dedicate time to dig deeper on these health issues through holistic and natural healing approaches. Right before I left the corporate world for good, I began making nutrition changes. It was a challenge, but as I was experiencing positive changes with my health, a glimmer of hope washed over me, and a fire was ignited in my soul…I was realizing that I wanted to help others in their healing process through nutrition, delicious food, and an overall holistic healing approach!
So, after nearly 15 years of being in corporate, and having a comfortable and safe salary, I walked out of my corporate job to begin my culinary degree and health coaching certification. I’ve since graduated with both and haven’t looked back. I’m now the founder of my own business, Passionette Palate, where I’m a Digestive Health Coach, Plant-Based Chef, Wellness Speaker, and Author. But most importantly, I’m so much happier as I’m following the desires of my heart, and my soul feels so much more aligned to how I want to show up in this world – transforming others’ lives through nutrition, medicinal plants, and all things wellness.
Annette, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Annette Licitra, wellness speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Passionette Palate. As a Digestive Health + Cleanse Coach and Plant-Based Chef, I transform the lives of busy professionals who are sick and tired of the nightmarish cycle of digestive issues, chronic inflammation and low energy. I do this through my short, whole food cleanses and Digestive Health Coaching Course so that they can operate at their peak performance level at work and still have fuel in the tank for their family and social life.
My passions are plenty, but one matter that I’m most passionate about is providing encouragement, support and nourishing recipes to you as you invest in your health so that your body will shine for you. The nourishment that goes on your plate is very important because that’s what helps strengthen the body or causes it to break down. However, the shift in your mindset is the most important as that’s the sole driver for your overall health.
I’ve had to learn that the hard way. For as long as I can remember, I had been challenged with digestive issues, which I’d always chalked up to a ‘nervous stomach’. However, I knew in my gut (yes, pun intended!) that something was amiss, but couldn’t figure out what to associate it with other than nerves. Fast forward to 2002, when I learned through conventional allopathic medicine that I had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is characterized as a chronic digestive disorder.
As I moved into early adulthood, my list of symptoms grew to include recurrent urinary tract infections, premenstrual symptoms (PMS), rosacea, melasma, cystic acne, interstitial cystitis (IC), fatigue, brain fog, pelvic pain, weight gain, bloating and thinning hair. Unfortunately, I believed that I would have to live with all of these for the rest of my life. Thankfully, I didn’t fall into a depression, but I sure can see how some people might; it’s frustrating to be battling these day after day, week after week, year after year…you get the picture!
An innate sense grew over me, and I felt I knew my body better than what was trying to take over, so I began doing serious research on natural healing in 2014. I learned that all of these symptoms are related to one another. They’re a result of nutrient deficiencies, leaky gut, a severe intolerance to wheat and gluten, an overload of toxins in my body, and my mindset. After getting extensive blood work done through a Functional Medicine doctor, and working with other holistic wellness authorities, I have been fortunate to learn so much more about treating the body and mind as a whole.
Adding in delicious medicinal foods, holistic healing approaches, cleansing techniques, and most importantly, strengthening my walk with God was the best thing I’ve ever done. In addition, I found it highly beneficial to leave my corporate job, remove items such as gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, minimize my refined sugar and animal protein consumption, and rest. All of this has led me to making a life-long commitment to a healthier lifestyle. I have experienced improved health, and no longer feel controlled by chronic digestive issues. I’ve lost 12 lbs, my fatigue and brain fog have diminished, my skin has cleared up, and other ailments have begun healing.
Experiencing the positive changes with my own health inspired me to make a career shift from corporate finance to nutrition. In my practice, I support and encourage others in health behavior change. I believe that health & food go hand-in-hand, so after transitioning out of corporate, I received my degree from Culinary school and decided to couple that with my health coaching certification.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Yes, I would absolutely choose holistic nutrition and wellness! I have found it to be such a lifesaver and it has brought me so much awareness about how this world system runs, and most importantly, how to be a better steward of my body to treat it the best I can.
Further, I plan to continue learning so much more about plant medicine, permaculture, and how to forage from the amazing Earth that God has blessed us with so that I can 1) support myself and my family 2) help people find true healing 3) pass my knowledge to others so they don’t have to rely on a broken chronic illness medical model 4) take care of our environment.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Living out what I help others with. Being the example…living my “brand” is paramount to help build my reputation within my market because I speak from experience, and I feel that helps build trust in the solutions that I’m providing to others.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://passionettepalate.com/pages/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passionettepalate/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Passionette-Palate/100063675188050/
- Linkedin: Annette Licitra
Image Credits
Megan Holly Artist