Meet Your Coach,
Daniella
I’m your health coach here at Soul Shine by D and I’m here to help you come up with a healthy lifestyle that gives you energy and helps you shine brighter in all areas of your life.
I love working with young mamas and busy babes who tend to give more of themselves to their work, family and friends. You need care too, girlfriend! The easiest way to be there for other people is to fill your cup first so you’re feeling your very best and avoiding burnout.
I’ve always been the type of girl that was involved in EVERYTHING - even since high school (Cheerleading, Prom Committee, Community Service, Part-Time Job, etc). I wouldn’t say that I need to be the center of attention, but I do get serious FOMO (fear of missing out) if I’m not participating in some way.
While this kept me active in my early years, after graduating from college I lived a much more sedentary lifestyle - worked a desk job, relaxed on the couch with Netflix, had more drinks at the bar than on the dancefloor. Before I knew it, I weighed heavier than I ever had in my life and barely recognized myself in the mirror.
I remember getting ready for a holiday party and looking in my closet only to find the same 2 oversized shirts I’d been wearing EVERYWHERE. I was upset and frustrated and immediately thought - I hope no one notices me tonight
WHAT? WHO IS THIS WOMAN I’VE BECOME?!
After months of hiding my body in baggy clothes, behind someone’s arm in a picture, or in the dark with my boyfriend I decided enough is enough. I was done with hiding and wanted to feel like myself again.
I started researching what to do to lose weight and create a healthier lifestyle. Through learning how to cook better, incorporating daily movement that didn't feel like a chore, and more self-care, I slowly started to feel more energized and confident. The more I took care of my body, the more I started to shine again and show off my personality in those situations where I used to shrink it.
Investing time and care in myself already made me feel so much better about myself - even before hitting that goal weight I thought was so important.
Women in my life started asking me how I did it, saying they could never do the same. I knew then that I needed to help other women feel capable of taking care of themselves, the way that I did.
I learned that many of us have never been taught how to eat properly to nourish our bodies. Many of the diets we grew up eating are overfilled with chemicals and inflammatory ingredients that our bodies don’t ever digest properly. Even though I was raised on what I (and my parents) believed was a healthy diet, still included food cooked and fried in highly processed oils. If we don’t know better, we can’t do better.
I’ve made it my mission to help young mothers take better care of themselves through better nutrition, movement, and easy-to-maintain healthy habits so that they can take better care of their babies. I want the next generation to not have to rewire their eating habits to be healthier, they’ll already know it from their mama’s.
Together, we’re going to lengthen our lives and increase our energy so that we have more to give to our families and to ourselves. Together we’ll set the example for our little ones to follow.
“One of the hardest pieces of weight loss for me has always been the mindset around it. It felt like everything was either so restricting or a chore… Daniella helped me shift my focus towards making small sustainable changes. Working with her has helped me adjust in ways that fit my lifestyle and lose weight along with it. Finally seeing change has done so much for my motivation!”
– KAYLA
Fun Facts
Let’s be friends! Here are some fun facts about me.
My family is originally from the Dominian Republic and I grew up fluent in Spanglish.
I am the mama to a french bulldog named Dash and my baby boy Nico.
I live in a beach town in CT, and can’t imagine living far from any coast.
Pizza is my favorite - even not great pizza. I’ll still eat it, just add wine.
I honestly love food and being in the kitchen trying new recipes.. Cooking is my family’s love language (and dancing - usually dancing in the kitchen)
