Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Borzor.
Hi Danielle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi! I’m Danielle Borzor, and my nutrition journey began in November 2012. My youngest daughter Livvy, at the age of two years old, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Nothing in the world, even my physician assistant degree, could have prepared me for this life-altering disease. As my emotions raged inside me, knowing I had to balance motherhood, full time wife, full time PA and now, being someone’s pancreas, I became completely overwhelmed. Feeling out of control, I felt the need to gain balance in both my life and my family’s life. My only real answers came from understanding how food, emotions, exercise, stress, and sleep can affect our bodies. I began to learn everything I could about carbohydrates, fats, proteins, simple sugars, all kinds of things I had forgotten since graduating from PA school in 1998. I started to scour glycemic indexes to understand how a variety of foods can immediately affect blood sugars. I spent countless hours reading until my eyes hurt, to learn how to be a pancreas. I learned to give insulin, something I had given a thousand times in my career, but never to my two-year-old. I was petrified, but with time, I learned that this could be managed successfully. Through daily research and practice, diabetes could be managed, and my daughter could remain a kid. I began to share my story and the information I had learned about food with others. I became a “macro” expert. My husband joined me on the “macro” band-wagon, and to this day, we count our carbs, fats, and proteins. For our family and us it works. Friends and family have come to me for advice regarding foods to eat and how food could affect them. I have included more nutrition counseling when treating patients in the office, stressing that if we treat our bodies well, the body will respond efficiently and effectively. Funny how I learned so much but couldn’t get it right for myself. I struggled with my body image during the years, never quite being where I wanted to be. I look back at pictures and think, “who is that? She looks like me, but thicker.” It was a daily struggle, and I thought I was using all of my new knowledge correctly.
I decided to try another avenue. I became certified in nutrition because my PA degree wasn’t enough. I needed to give credibility and validity to all of the information inside my head and to figure out if I was using it properly for myself. I’m the guinea pig for everything. I wanted to know the best way to help all generations with both nutrition and balancing exercise, so I became a Certified Strength Coach. Much of my time has also been spent in understanding and utilizing alternative medicine, including probiotics, essential oils, and supplements. I became a certified CBD professional.
I began to apply the principles I learned from my new certifications to my daily life and I immediately saw changes. I learned to exercise better and to manage my food intake around daily work-outs. I became my own personal detective, learning to listen to my body’s cues that told me when to eat, when not to eat, and most importantly when to rest. In September 2019, I took the final leap and I created my business. JuLivWell, named after both of my daughters, Julia and Livvy, with a motto of “YOU CAN LIVE WELL.” In wanting to give back to the community, I want to share all of my knowledge and experience with the public. I want to walk alongside you as your coach and on this personal journey to help you feel better and live well. “YOU CAN LIVE WELL.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I officially “launched” during a pandemic. I started back in September 2019, a client here or there. I am getting my feet wet. Websites up and running. No idea what I was doing from a business standpoint. I’ve been a physician assistant for 22 years. Coaching a client, similar to counseling a patient, I can do all day, every day…. but the business, I was clueless. I still feel clueless. So after making a tough but necessary decision, I stepped away from clinical practice in June 2020 and I jumped into JuLivWELL with two feet….during a pandemic. I was terrified at first, but that’s what has kept me going. I am also blessed to be supported by an incredible husband and family that believe in me and what I am doing to help others. So from medicine, to “target markets,” to “social media campaigns,” to “marketing,” and “unique seller’s proposition,” and the list goes on…. I am learning it all in stride. One of the most incredible things I have learned is to be patient. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” I tell my clients all of the time, that the process of a healthy lifestyle is a marathon, not a sprint. I have learned to take my own advice.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently, I am the founder and CEO of JuLivWELL Nutrition and Wellness Coaching, and I coach clients to help them create a healthy life or lifestyle and stop the yo-yo dieting. I want people to realize that we need to focus on getting healthy rather than “losing weight.” What I have found to happen is that lots of people are very successful at losing weight, but keeping it off after they are done a “weight-loss” program, is difficult. I specialize in one to one, habit-based nutrition coaching. I help people make better choices, not just for the foods that they eat, but also for their everyday lives. So much of what I teach is applicable not only to our food plate but to our proverbial daily-life plate as well. Something that I hear from people all of the time is that they need someone to help keep them accountable. They have tried so many programs but are missing someone to offer help, guidance, and support to get through their daily lives. When it’s 8 pm and they are staring into the refrigerator to snack on something, they can text me and say “help.” I provide the accountability that people are looking for. I text, email, call, use Facebook Messenger, whatever platform works to reach out daily in some way.
My clients are successful, knowing that someone is there to walk this journey with them daily. I am most proud of the success of my clients. When someone tells me they “feel better,” or “this is the best I’ve felt in years,” or “I’ve lost weight and I’ve kept it off,” it makes me so happy. I love sharing this experience with them. They get to realize it’s not just a number on the scale, but they are figuring out that this healthy lifestyle really does work. I am different from any other nutrition coach because I am a physician assistant. And although I do not practice medicine in my coaching business, the medical background has provided me with vast knowledge to understand the differences and challenges people face every day, especially when they are struggling with weight and the medical conditions that can go along with being overweight.
What matters most to you?
My family. I love my husband, our two girls and yes, our dogs. I want to spend time with them, have meals with them, and just the everyday things excite me. I like helping my kids with their homework. I love that my husband is supportive of me and I of him and we balance each other out when it comes to work and family business. I am grateful that my children recite what I talk about and PRACTICE what I coach to clients. And yes, sometimes this backfires when a coaching habit is used against me. For example, I teach a habit, 80% full, which means eat until satisfied, not stuffed. One of my daughters will inevitably look at me at the dinner table and say, “I’m 80% full.” Which is always a fun discussion depending upon how much she really ate. And because of my love for my family, I want them to be healthy too. I want my children to grow up and live a healthy life. I want them to recognize good food choices and, when faced with challenging ones, to know how to handle them.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@julivwell.com
- Website: https://julivwell.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julivwell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julivwell
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYGlUnsEv-PTFAH5cZqNlbA/featured?view_as=subscriber
