Hello, I'm Tami, a Registered Dietitian who transitioned into the role of an Inner Child Healer. After almost 30 years of struggling with my relationship with food, exercise, and my body, I had an aha moment—it was never about the food! Food was just my way of coping, and my body was a reflection of my self-worth. After searching outside of myself for ways to “fix” myself, I finally connected the dots that I needed to go within. That's when I discovered my unhealed childhood wounds and that's when my entire life's story started to make sense.
The turning point in my healing journey happened when I reconnected with my Inner Child, or as I lovingly call her, Little Tam Tam. That reunion showed me the important work that needed my time and attention. The impact that healing my childhood wounds has had goes way beyond my health and physical transformation. It has influenced how I parent my two children, how I connect within relationships, and how I intuitively coach and work with people.
Healing helped me flip the script in how I take care of myself and show up in the world, not just for everyone else but for that little girl inside me.
" One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else's survival guide. " - Brene Brown
As the youngest of four girls, I stood out by being goofy, funny, and very animated. However, in Kindergarten, a childhood friend's mom called me "OBNOXIOUS," one afternoon while playing with her daughter and this made me question if it was okay to be me. This is when I met my "Inner People-Pleaser” and started being who I thought people wanted me to be
Despite not being overweight or being bullied in 3rd grade, I started doing workout videos to change my appearance. I was already telling myself the story that I wasn't good enough, pretty enough, or skinny enough and that the only way to feel better about myself was to look different. This is when I stopped being friends with my body and was introduced to the worst kind of friend, "Body Dysmorphia."
As a spirited athletic kid, celebrating a soccer goal in middle school felt like a natural expression of joy with my team. However, my 7th Grade P.E. Teacher made me question my joyful expression when he said, "It looks like we have a 'Hot Dog' on our hands!" That embarrassing experience introduced me to my "Inner Underachiever," leading me to believe it was safer to play small, blend in, avoid shining too brightly, and never celebrate personal achievements.
I remember standing in the hallway during my sophomore year when a boy from the grade above called me "A Whale." This hurtful comment introduced me to my "Restrictive Parts," who persuaded me that the only way to feel worthy was to lose weight by restricting what I ate and then excessively exercising to burn it all off. This is when I learned to base my worth on my weight.
When restricting food and over-exercising were no longer working to suppress my emotions, my "Rebellious Parts" stepped in and convinced me that emotional binge eating was a better solution—urging me to adopt the motto "Don't Feel - Just Eat!" Under that influence, I surpassed the infamous "Freshmen 15" and plunged into the "Junior 40." As an Exercise & Sport Science Major, this made me feel like such a fraud and made me want to be invisible.
After accepting the truth that exercise alone couldn't resolve my emotional eating and weight issues, I shifted my focus to nutrition, convinced that obtaining a Master's Degree in Nutrition would be the solution. Unfortunately, my pursuit of an external "savior" just led to a lot of student loans and even more self-hate. Despite investing in my education to "know better," I found myself far from better.
While getting ready for my daughter's 2nd birthday party, I struggled to find an outfit that didn't make me feel "fat." Tears of self-hate and disgust streamed down my face as clothes that didn't fit covered my bed. Despite vowing to never become the mom who hid herself because of her weight, there I was - hiding - being far from present for my daughter. This marked my "rock-bottom" moment.
My wake-up call came at my daughter's 2nd birthday party. The very next day, I embraced a 30-day nutritional weight loss and cleansing system, determined to get out of my own way. Surpassing my expectations, I shed 5 lbs in the first week and 12 lbs within 30 days, feeling better than ever. Initially, I attributed it to magical shakes and intermittent fasting, but I now realize it was about much more. Without knowing, I was healing my childhood wounds because I finally felt worthy of feeling good. These nutrition tools made it easy to show up for myself more consistently, and since October 2015, I've never looked back, have put on 15 lbs of muscle, and have never felt better.
After my Dietetic Internship, I realized my initial job was not the right fit. Taking a leap of faith, I left that full-time position for a 3-month, 14-hour-per-week maternity leave coverage to get my foot in the door at a major healthcare system in my state. Trusting my intuition paid off because it led to seven years of valuable experience. However, in 2016, I was put in a position that forced me to choose between working more or spending more time with my daughter. That is when I found the courage to go out on my own and trust that there was a greater plan.
On May 24, 2017, we received a phone call that dropped me to my knees in tears, altering my family's life forever. The "Robin Williams" of his hometown, my father-in-law, ended his time on earth. The “gift” wrapped in this incredibly painful package was discovering my spirituality and my "Non-Negotiables." This was the first time in my life that I found a way to care for myself too, rather than abandon myself while taking care of everyone else around me.
After completing my first online mindset program in March 2020, I looked forward to running it again, only for Covid to disrupt those plans. As the fear of stress eating and weight gain during lockdown became a reality, I trusted my intuition and created Fiercely Focused—a 6-week Nutrition & Body Kindness program. This program empowered over 250 women to rediscover self-love and care for their bodies through nutrition and kindness.
Noticing a concerning trend among Fiercely Focused Graduates, despite their significant transformations, I couldn't shake the feeling that a return to old self-sabotaging patterns was just a matter of time. Determined to address this, I expanded my toolkit to include Inner Child Work and Intuitive Energy Healing. This led to the creation of Nutrition for the Soul, a 12-week program dedicated to addressing and healing childhood wounds that trigger self-sabotaging behaviors and block people from reaching their goals and true potential.
Although I loved every part of Nutrition for the Soul, I recognized that expecting “magical” healing of childhood wounds in just 12 weeks was unrealistic. So, I stepped back to reassess again because I value the time and energy that healing requires. While this program remains the foundation of my work, my commitment to honoring the healing process has guided me to work with individuals one-on-one, to lead Inner Child Play Shops, and to share stories and educate through public speaking, my Tami Talks Podcast, and my YouTube Channel - Unscripted Healing.
It's so obvious to me now that my life story was all a part of the larger story to guide me to my life's true purpose - Inner Child Healing. The childhood wounds that I was given were not obstacles, but rather lessons in self-healing that I needed to learn so I could help others do the same.
Despite having a "pretty good childhood," I checked many of the "classic CPTSD boxes" such as emotional dysregulation, dissociation, inability to establish healthy boundaries, distorted self-image, and feelings of unworthiness. So, every aspect of how I help people is grounded in my own healing experience because I've had to do the work myself. Initially, I believed this applied solely to "diet and exercise," only to realize they were simply "band-aids" for deeper childhood wounds. I now know that all of my personal and professional experiences were meant to lead me here - to help people get to the real underlying issues as to why they stay stuck despite “knowing better.”
I don't follow a textbook approach when connecting and helping people. Unlike traditional professionals such as dietitians, personal trainers, coaches, or therapists, I leverage my strengths— my Intuition and the ability to read energy.
I see beyond and beneath your words. I sense where repressed emotions block you and understand how your body tries to communicate with you through symptoms like weight gain, high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety, digestive issues, and injuries.
I connect with your Inner Child and feel the wounds held onto since childhood and can see and feel so deeply how they are impacting you in your everyday life. No meal plan or workout will ever connect the dots for you in this way and I know because I tried that approach myself for YEARS!
When I'm not helping others heal their Inner Child, you can find me reparenting my Inner Child through joyful, playful, moments with my kids and when taking care of my body at the gym and my soul while out on my paddleboard!
" When the Little Girl is Healed - The Woman Will Show Up "
After years of outsourcing my self-worth and esteem, I am now unapologetically playing the role of both - The Beauty AND The Beast!
Attend Inner Child Play Shops
Join Tami & her Inner Child as they take you on a journey to reconnect with your Inner Child. These Play Shops are designed to help you turn your childhood wounds into wisdom so you can become the hero of your own story!Hire Tami as a Speaker
Inner Child work is woven into everything we do, think, and feel and Tami’s Inner Child is determined to help inspire, motivate, and empower kids and adults to fully embrace themselves and their true potential.Tune in as Tami Talks
There is so much healing that happens through real-life storytelling and “Tami Talks” creates a safe space for people to share their stories and connect the dots back to their childhood. It also creates an opportunity for YOU, the listener, to find yourself (and your Inner Child) within the stories.