i didn’t wake up this way (my tiny steps to a healthier life)

There’s something about January that makes people feel like we have to flip a switch overnight.

New year. New routine. New body. New habits. New everything. But if you’re anything like me, I didn’t change my life in one big dramatic moment.

I changed it in tiny steps.

• One decision at a time.

• One habit at a time.

• One “okay, I’m ready” moment stacked on top of the next.

And honestly, I didn’t start this journey because I wanted abs or a glow up. I started because I was tired of living in pain.

I’m an almost 45-year-old woman, and migraines have been part of my story for a long time. But as I got older, they became more intense and way more frequent, until it felt like they were calling the shots.

And I let them.

Not just physically, either. Mentally too. I want to be careful how I say this because pain is real. Migraines are real. Chronic illness is real. But I also believe this: your mindset can be part of the problem or part of the solution. At that time in my life, I put so much emphasis on my migraines that they started to shape everything.

• My mood

• My energy

• How I showed up

• How I treated myself

• How I treated other people

They became my excuse, my identity, and my constant companion. And when you’re stuck in that loop, it’s hard to imagine life any other way.

2011: the first tiny step

Around 2011, I hit a point where I wasn’t happy with myself.

Not just how I looked, but how I felt.

• How I was carrying myself.

• How I was showing up in my own life.

So I did one thing that felt doable. I started exercising consistently. And yes, I felt better. I had more energy. I started feeling proud of myself again. But the headaches were still there.

By 2012, I had done it all.

I was seeing doctors regularly. I had tests done. I was taking over-the-counter meds constantly, and prescriptions too. And none of it was actually solving the problem. If anything, it felt like the medicine was just creating new problems on top of the old ones.

So I made a decision.

I started changing my life. Not in one clean, perfect swoop, but in real life, messy, incremental steps.

I started shifting:

• Who I spent my time with

• How I spoke to myself

• How I fueled my body

• How often I moved

• How much I pushed myself physically

• How much gratitude I practiced daily

Because the truth is, all of these things matter. They have levels, yes. But even at the surface level, they matter. And the deeper I went, the more it all connected. The moment it all clicked Somewhere along the way, I realized something that still blows my mind to this day.

My migraines stopped.

• Not because I found the perfect pill.

• Not because I found the perfect doctor.

• Not because I got lucky.

They stopped because I changed my habits. I stopped living on Advil, Motrin, Excedrin, all of it. And listen, I’ve taken enough of those pills that I’m pretty sure some are still stuck in my liver somewhere.

But instead of reaching for meds daily, I started reaching for:

• Nutrient-dense meals

• Consistent movement

• Hard workouts

• Better sleep

• Better thoughts

• Better boundaries

And that’s the part people don’t always want to hear, because it’s not fast. It’s not flashy. And it requires ownership.

But it works.

My final migraine doctor (and the day I stopped outsourcing my health). I’ll never forget the last doctor I saw for my migraines. She told me that if I didn’t want to take a daily “preventative” medication, then I didn’t want to get better.

That was it.

No questions about:

• What I was eating

• How stressed I was

• How much I was sleeping

• How much I was moving

• What my daily life actually looked like

And that was the last time I ever went to a doctor for migraines. Now let me be clear: I’m not anti-doctor. I’m not anti-medicine. Medicine has a place. Doctors have a place. But so do lifestyle changes. And no one should be made to feel powerless in their own body. The truth about how bad it was. Before my lifestyle shift, I was getting migraines 4 to 5 times a week.

• The kind that make you want to cry.

• The kind where light and noise feel like someone is punching you in the face.

And what makes it even crazier is that I was a chef working in busy kitchens.

• Hot.

• Loud.

• Fast.

• Volatile.

On my feet for 12 to 14 hours a day. Light and loud noise wasn’t just part of my environment. It was my entire life.

Where I am now:

Today, I don’t get migraines like that anymore. Every now and again I’ll get a headache or a mild migraine, and it’s almost always tied to my menstrual cycle. But now I can actually recognize it. I understand my triggers. And I have tools.

I’m not afraid of it anymore.

How this became my business. Once I finally got a handle on it for myself, something shifted in me. I started caring more about the people around me. I started paying attention to what other people were struggling with.

• What they were eating.

• How they were living.

• How tired they were.

• How stuck they felt.

And that’s when it became so clear: healthier habits lead to a healthier life.

I became more intentional about everything.

• Eating more vegetables

• Getting my steps in

• Lifting heavy

• Choosing better ingredients

• Caring what goes into my body

• Caring what goes into my mind

And that’s also when Tiny Onion really started to take shape. Because this wasn’t a “business plan” story. This was a “I lived it” story. And for anyone who knows me post-2012, this is just who I am now. But the evolution gets lost sometimes. I didn’t wake up this way. It’s been a long road. Not the easiest by any regard, but definitely a beautiful one. And if you’re in a season where you’re trying to feel better, do better, be better, just start with one tiny step.

It’s a beautiful day to take one.