How did I end up as a Health Coach? 

“If you don’t make any changes to your diet soon, you’ll need to take pills to lower your cholesterol”.

This is what my doctor had told me in 2011 after reviewing some blood tests I had done for my annual check-up.

You can imagine how shocked I was to hear this at the age of 24.

At the time, I had just started my career as a hospital pharmacist, and I thought of my terminally ill patients who took over 20 pills a day just to stay alive.

A vision of me becoming one of them some day popped into my head. And in that instance, I told myself “HELL NO. I’m not going down that route.”

I was not going to take pills for something that could be managed through diet and lifestyle.

Embarrassingly enough, until my diagnosis, I had never made the link between the very processed foods I was eating and the impact it had on my body…. But it's never to late to learn, right?

As I made small but consistent changes to my diet, some unexpected but pleasant results started happening. My morning brain fog began to lift, the afternoon slump at work disappeared and I no longer came home exhausted and dying to take a nap.

To add to this, my eczema and acne (that required years of medicated creams, antibiotics and the birth control pill) and heartburn (that required antacids) got significantly better once I changed my eating habits.

And yes, my cholesterol levels eventually got back to normal. Woohoo! 

When I saw how much better I felt after changing my nutrition and my ability to get off my medication for eczema, acne and heartburn, I knew I had to help others discover what their life could look and feel like once they begin to eat foods that fuel their bodies.

What started out as a self-centered desire (how can I stay healthy) became so much more: how can I help others to stay healthy?

This question has led me to study holistic nutrition (a naturopathic branch of nutrition) and to become a health coach.  And because I'm an eternal student, I also went on to get certified as a life coach as mindset is a big part of the habit-change process.

Combining my 12 years experience as a pharmacist with my knowledge of holistic nutrition, I now help women with metabolic syndrome (prediabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) and conditions related to their menstrual cycle (ex. PCOS, painful periods).

You can learn about my 1:1 health coaching services here.

Oh yeah, I also support healthcare professionals!

As I was helping my clients regain their health through lifestyle habits, it dawned on me how little support healthcare professionals receive to care for their own health.

It's a known fact that there's a high rate of exhaustion and burnout in our field of work, and yet not enough is being done to address this.

But here's the truth: our healthcare system can only provide a level of care to the limits of the people working inside of it.

If our healthcare providers are burn-out and depleted, our system will crumble.

But on the flip side, if our healthcare professionals feel supported, well-rested and replenished, they can show up with more compassion and attentiveness, which of course benefits the patients.

It's a WIN/WIN situation for everyone.

As I had the tools to support healthcare professionals with their mental and emotional well-being and have personally experienced exhaustion in my pharmacist career, I decided to lend a helping hand to my colleagues by hosting a wellness podcast for healthcare professionals, offering 1:1 life coaching services and by giving talks to share tools with them.

Credentials (The "Serious" Bio ;))

Julie Doan graduated from the University of Montreal, and obtained her Bachelor of Pharmacy in 2010. She then pursued her Master's Degree in Advanced Pharmacotherapy in 2011.

Between 2011 and 2018, she has developed an expertise in diabetes, kidney failure and patient-centered coaching at a McGill University-affiliated hospital center. 

She now works as a online consultant for a telemedicine company offering pharmacy services to hospital and doctors in remote areas of Canada.

Aside from her Pharmacy studies, she also completed the following certifications to become a health and life coach:

• January 2018: Applied Nutrition Certificate (Health Coaching)
• June 2019: Certified Diabetes Educator (with the Canadian Diabetes Educator Certification Board)
• April 2020: Precision Nutrition Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certificate
• Sept 2020 - July 2021: Life Coaching certification with Mind Rebel Academy, an International Coaching Federation approved school
• August-December 2021: Mindfulness training for healthcare professionals with Dr. Sophie Maffolini
• March-May 2022: Functional Women's Academy with Ashe Milkovic, NTP
• March 2023: Associate Certified Coach, with the International Coaching Federation

The Less Serious Bio

Now that you know a bit more about my story, let me share a sillier side of myself :)

In my free time, I can usually be found:

-Reading self-development books. I've been into personal growth since the age of 15 (that definitely helped me navigate teenage-hood!)

-Dancing to 2000-2010s hit songs in my living room

-Tending to my 20+ plant babies. I use to give them names, but then I couldn't remember the name of all my children... so I stopped.

-Doing woo-stuff. I'm super into spirituality, the Universe, Divine Feminine, and all the things that don't make sense to my rational and scientific brain but that feel so right. Call it embracing duality.

-Hosting dinners or planning my next adventure

I live with my husband Pete in Montreal, Quebec, and I’m a stepmom to a very sweet 14 year-old.

While I'm sometimes mistaken for a 25 year old... trust me, I'm in my mid-thirties. ;)

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Disclaimer: The information on this website is for educational purposes only. It is not medical nor professional advice. Please consult your doctor or other health professional before implementing any information found on this website. In addition, I do not claim that I am giving nutrition information as a dietitian nor as a nutritionist. Click here to view the full disclaimer.