Welcome,

I'm Lily

creator of

Nourished Sanctuary

I help women who've been devastated by diet culture

rebuild trust with their bodies,

end emotional eating,

and embrace Total Satiation.

Physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Through a grounded, desire-centered approach, I guide them to peace, clarity, and their true home within.

DISCOVER...

transcend diet culture,

end the inner war,

and come home to your whole Self.

JOIN ME

What makes me different?

Most in the health & wellness industry focus on building willpower to follow the standard advice...

I break that mold.

"Just eat everything in moderation."

"Just try harder!"

"Just eat less & move more."

"Just fight your appetite!"

...these are recipes for FAILURE.

Or maybe you've heard confusing messages like:

"There's no such thing as good and bad foods. All foods are equally healthy!"

"We can be totally healthy at ANY size! Weight doesn't matter."

"You should never deny yourself any food you want; it's healthy to eat cake for breakfast if you want it."

Messages of body-love bravado from influencers posting ads for their favorite energy drinks & potato chips...

Yeah. Those don't make much sense to me, either...

15-years of education, experience, & a lot of trail-and-error taught me there's a middle ground.

A better way to take care of our health, permanently lose weight, and (most importantly) feel at peace within.

I can't wait to share it with you...

EXPLORE MEMBERSHIP

How I went from tormented by food and hating my body to

TOTAL SATIATION

My Path

SPIRALING

Early traumas and emotional pain triggered a downward spiral of chronic dieting, anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, self-harm, and a smattering of substance abuse.

My relationship with food and my body was fraught, confusing, and punishing.

And yet... a quiet voice inside always believed there had to be a better way. A gentler way.

To be healthy & vital, and to feel

whole

and at peace.

FOOD: FOE to FRIEND

At 18, I went to culinary school in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and became enchanted with the alchemical magic of cooking.

But the hard-partying lifestyles of my mentors and friends was an invitation to hit rock bottom.

So I took my newfound connection to food, got sober, and went deeper—working in organic food grocers, experimenting with raw & plant-based diets, and getting intimate with whole foods that nourish instead of deplete.

It wasn't perfect. I struggled a lot.

But food began its slow transformation from enemy to ally.

SEEKING

For several years, wanderlust pulled me around the world—studying yoga and meditation in the mountains of California, cheffing at retreat centers in the forests of upstate New York, sailing amount the islands of Maine, studying bodywork as a Massage Therapist in rural Costa Rica, and working odd jobs in restaurants, organic gardens, and bike shops.

Every place offered new tools, new perspectives, and another step forward.

But I was still spiraling—up and down, sometimes daily.

I felt like an outsider in both the world I came from and the "wellness" world I longed to be a part of.

I could white-knuckle my way out of drinking and smoking, but chronic dieting and bulimia gripped me tight.

I knew how I "should" eat, I knew how I "should" take care of myself...

... but I couldn't willpower my way into peace.

ROOTING

Eventually, I landed on Moku 'o Keawe (the Big Island of Hawai'i)

For the first time,

I slowed down.

Stayed put.

And watched patterns repeat,

no longer hidden by fresh starts.

I finally saw how my relational wounds and food struggles were deeply intertwined and couldn't be healed through self-control.

I knew something had to change.

I knew that something was me...

...And I knew it needed to be now.

REACHING

I dove into learning:

plant-based nutrition,

fundamentals of metabolism,

hormone balance,

nervous system organization,

psychological healing,

relationship dynamics,

trauma resolution,

and every healing modality I could try.

I became a Lifestyle Intervention Specialist. I discovered Polyvagal Theory, Compassionate Inquiry, Interpersonal Neurobiology, and Attachment Theory. Each new layer supported my inner knowing that...

struggles with food

are never

just about food.

During these years, I also fell in love, renovated a house, got married, started my YouTube channel, easily lost 45 pounds, adopted a bunch of stray animals, and planted a mini food forest.

But beneath the progress was an unsettling truth:

I was still operating from unsustainable control.

Any trigger could bring old Parts roaring back:

urges to binge, substance cravings, unprocessed anger.

Weeks of consistent nourishment and self-compassion could be sabotaged in moments.

Because of my expertise in plant-based nutrition, folks would often ask me to coach them, to help them overcome their own struggles with food.

But I always refused,

because I knew I didn't have the tools I needed to truly be of service.

Yet...

RISING

In 2019, a cascade of life events—the Mauna Kea protection movement, my husband's head injury, and the pandemic—pushed me to pause. I stepped back from content creation and turned inward.

I enrolled in a trauma-informed, Tantra-based coaching certification that helped me reconnect to my body and Self.

Coaching opened the door to deep study of Internal Family Systems (IFS), which is the most powerful tool I've ever used, personally or professionally.

By the end of 2023, I was officially trained as a Level 2 Practitioner of IFS, specializing in Addictions and Eating Disorders with hundreds of sessions logged.

Through deeply healing Parts Work, I stopped trying to control myself and started befriending the Parts of me who had been fighting for love, safety, and belonging all along.

SANCTUARY

I started envisioning Nourished Sanctuary in 2020.

The next five years were dedicated to weaving together each essential element into a grounded, nourishing, comprehensive, and deeply supportive Course and Membership program (with optional 1:1 private coaching).

It's designed to meet you where you are and walk with you—gently, steadily—toward the life you deserve.