We recently connected with Elisa Kosonen and have shared our conversation below.
Elisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)
One of the most impactful pieces of advice I’ve ever given a client was this: Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it’s normal.
So many of the women I work with have been conditioned to believe that midlife just means exhaustion, irritability, poor sleep, and feeling off in their bodies. That it’s all inevitable, and they just have to push through.
One client came to me deep in that space. With young kids, work, aging parents, and a million daily demands, she’d placed herself at the very bottom of the priority list for years. By the time she hit her 40s, perimenopause had added another layer—night sweats, mood swings, low motivation, poor sleep. She was tired, wired, and felt like she was going through the motions of her life without really being present for any of it.
We worked together to create a plan that supported her physiology and her lifestyle, focusing on nourishment, sleep, and helping her body regulate again. She told me she was afraid it would be too complex or that she’d fail, but instead, she found the process to be simple, thoughtful, and deeply supportive. In just a few weeks, her sleep improved. The night sweats began to fade. Her energy returned. And maybe most importantly, she started to feel like herself again.
She had believed she was stuck.
That’s the work I’m most proud of. Helping women stop settling for survival mode and start creating a version of health that feels like coming home.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Elisa Kosonen, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Health Coach, and at the heart of my work is a mission to help busy, ambitious people—especially women in midlife—reclaim their energy, overcome health challenges, and feel amazing in their bodies again.
But to be honest, I didn’t start out in wellness. My first big dream was to become a orthopedic surgeon. I studied Kinesiology, was deeply into sports and science, but somehow—through a twist of fate and a love of creativity and journalism—I landed in the fashion industry instead. I spent years in cities like London, New York, and Toronto producing editorial shoots, writing about trends, and living that go-go-go lifestyle. It was thrilling, but also depleting. My days were powered by caffeine and crash diets, and behind the scenes, I was silently struggling—with body image, burnout, and grief after losing several close family members.
Eventually, I hit a wall. I kept asking myself, “What am I missing? Why do I feel this way even when I’m doing ‘all the right things’?” That question led me to dig deep into wellness—beyond fads and food rules—and to study natural nutrition. Three months into the program, everything clicked. I began to see the whole picture: how gut health, hormones, stress, and lifestyle are all deeply connected. And how so many women, like me, were doing their best—but felt stuck, overwhelmed, or just plain exhausted.
That’s when I created the 14 Carrots Method, a framework to help women break free from burnout and dieting, find clarity in the chaos of nutrition advice, and build joyful, sustainable habits that actually work in real life. I blend science-backed strategies with holistic tools and deep personalization, because no two women are the same—and your wellness path shouldn’t be, either.
What I offer isn’t just about food—it’s about freedom. Freedom to enjoy your favorite meals, trust your body, and finally feel vibrant again. I work with women who are tired of burning the candle at both ends, frustrated by symptoms they can’t explain, and ready to take charge of their health in a way that feels empowering, not overwhelming.
I’m most proud of the transformation I’ve seen in my clients—not just in their energy or digestion, but in their confidence. I’ve helped women sleep better, stop obsessing over food, and feel good in their skin again… sometimes for the first time in decades.
What sets me apart is that I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to feel lost in your health journey, to chase every detox, to want so badly to feel like yourself again. And I also know the deep relief and joy that comes from finally feeling like you’re on the right track—with a plan that honors your unique body, your busy life, and your bigger dreams.
If you’re looking for someone who’s equal parts science and soul, who will meet you where you are and help you rise from there—I’d love to hear from you. I dance around the kitchen almost daily and believe that your health journey should be filled with joy, not judgment.
My work is really about helping you shine—from the inside out.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the idea that my worth was tied to how productive I was. That being busy and accomplished was the only way to be valuable.
I grew up in my mom’s office—she was an incredible entrepreneur and career counsellor—and from a young age, I was inspired to build something meaningful. I loved work. I still do. But I also had this deeply creative side that didn’t always know where it fit. When I found fashion, it felt like the perfect outlet. Until the constant hustle started to drain me. I was always “on,” always trying to prove myself through doing more. But it was never enough.
What I eventually realized—through burnout, loss, and a daily meditation practice—is that life isn’t meant to be compartmentalized. It’s not about work/life balance, it’s about integration. Flow. Being fully yourself in all parts of life. Meditation taught me to slow down, to ride the waves, and to see every moment as valuable. Not just the ones where I was achieving something.
Now, I live with more presence and purpose, and I help my clients do the same. Especially those stuck in overdrive, disconnected from their bodies and burned out by the pace of their lives. We’re not machines. We’re human. And the beautiful thing is, we can unlearn that constant urgency and find our way back to rest, softness, and deeper rhythms that actually sustain us.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My career in fashion taught me how to pivot constantly. As a marketing executive, I was always looking for the lesson in what didn’t work, and how to optimize, evolve, and stay creative under pressure. That mindset—resilient, curious, willing to try again—carried me through one of the biggest pivots of my life.
Right as I was preparing to step away from fashion and explore something new, the world shut down. COVID hit. Suddenly, everything changed. Like so many others, I had to shift quickly just to stay afloat. I moved into yoga and fitness marketing. The role was still rooted in storytelling and strategy, but now in an industry that was more aligned with where I wanted to go.
I was very lucky that time gave me space to ask better questions: What do I really want my life to feel like? What kind of impact do I want to make?
Those “in-between” years were where I started to heal—my body, my relationship with food, my energy—and helped me uncover what I’d been craving all along: work that supported well-being from the inside out. A few weeks before my 40th birthday, I enrolled in nutrition school, and everything clicked.
Sometimes pivots don’t look like giant leaps. They look like a series of small decisions. Each one brought me closer to myself. And now, I get to help other women do the same: listen in, shift slowly, and create vibrant health that supports every chapter ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fourteencarrots.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/14carrotsmethod/
Image Credits
Lauren Zbarsky