We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cathy Hernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cathy below.
Cathy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
It all began at the age of 30. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I got the phone call that my mom had suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. I was working at an elementary school in Round Rock, Texas at the time and the only thing I could think of was getting to El Paso as soon as possible. I called my cousin, Sandra and asked her to drive 9 hours with me to get to El Paso. My husband, Albert and my two children, Vinny and Faith, met me in El Paso the next day.
When I got to the hospital, they had already performed a heart catheter to see which, if any, arteries were clogged. What they found was a clogged artery that was extremely close to the main artery and if they unclogged it, there was a possibility that it would affect the main artery and cause a massive heart attack. The only other option was to perform open heart surgery. I felt my heart sink to the floor, I was beyond worried. I didn’t want her to have open heart surgery, I was terrified!
She consented to surgery and went under. Her chest, including the breastbone, was cut open to expose her heart. The incision was about 10 inches long. Thank God, she made it out okay with no issues. While in recovery, I sat with her for hours at a time. It was heart wrenching to see the amount of pain she was in. They gave her a teddy bear called “Cough-a-lot” so that she could hold it close to her chest and cough. She needed to cough for her lungs to stay clear of liquid. It was then that my entire life changed.
Cathy , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Following my mom’s heart attack, I wanted to create a business that would help others avoid metabolic syndromes. It was an extremely scary time in my life. I created Reset Health Coaching to coach people into better health. I offer all types of services, nutrition coaching, pre-diabetes classes, autoimmune nutrition, to name a few. I am a Certified Nutrition Consultant – Master Level, Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant, Certified Weight Management Specialist and Certified Sports Nutritionist. What I believe sets me apart from others is that I am a plant-based specialist and truly believe that food is better than medicine. Healing our bodies from the inside first is key. Our bodies know how to fix themselves if we give them the right tools.
I am most proud when clients get a clean bill of health from their doctor and are told to remove their medication.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One of the hardest things I had to learn when I became a nutritionist is that not all food is created equal. Our society has completely altered the way food is supposed to be. Looking back at how I used to eat and thinking anything I ate was food, so it must be healthy regardless of how it was prepared. Not realizing that it was causing more harm than good, was completely eye opening. I meet people every day that really don’t know what they are putting in their mouth is either poison or the strongest medicine they could imagine.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
My passion is law and I have wanted to be an attorney since I was in middle school. I chose a different path but don’t regret it at all. If I was an attorney, I would represent the people and fight to remove food coloring, food additives (titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, azodicarbonamide, propylparaben), artificial colors and preservatives from food. Who knows, I may still go to law school, it’s never too late. In short, I would absolutely choose the same profession. Not only have I helped many people regain their health, but little did I know that I would be helping my daughter in the long run deal with autoimmune issues. We found out a couple years ago through blood work that her levels were elevated for autoimmune. If it would not have been for my knowledge of nutrition, she would have probably been on medication. Since we had already made life food changes, she was able to maintain her health as a young strong athlete. She is thriving and doing what most autoimmune clients can’t do. Once we learned about these autoimmune issues, we tweaked her diet even more. I thank God every day for giving me the tenacity to become a nutritionist. If anything came out of being a nutritionist, it is for this very reason, helping my family and others live healthier lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: resethealthcoaching.com
- Instagram: @resethealthcoaching
- Facebook: Facebook.com/HealthResetCoaching/