About Rita Mastrangelo -
How My Journey Began

By the time I was 40, I was on my second marriage with two wonderful boys. It was then that I noticed my body wasn’t responding the way it used to. My pregnancies weren’t ideal.  I gained 70 lbs. during my pregnancy with Matthew.  He was a preemie and weighed 4lbs...  I had severe complications and we were both hospitalized.  Jordan came 4 years later, I still gained weight but with fewer complications.  I did manage to lose weight, but like many moms, losing those last 10 pounds was the struggle. On top of that, I wasn’t getting a good night's sleep and was always waking up and was always sweating.  I was constantly bloated with either diarrhea or constipation. I was always hesitant to go out for dinners because I didn’t know if I would get an upset stomach. You know, the one that causes you to sweat and be cold at the same time.  I always needed a bathroom nearby.  I had chronic gut issues.  

Despite all these struggles, however, I thought I was doing the right things to get back on track. I was counting calories, had numerous nutrition coaches and personal trainers, but I was on a constant roller coaster. Everything became a struggle.  I would lose weight but the mid-section inflammation was still there. And despite appearing thin, I would never get into a bikini.    

That all changed in 2015 during my first chiropractic session with Dr. Stephanie Canestraro. To this day I can’t thank her enough.  I am blessed we crossed paths.  My previous chiropractor had retired and Stephanie was highly recommended.  She started treating me on a weekly basis.  As it usually happens during treatments, you get talking about life and after many sessions, I shared my challenges on weight control issues and all the symptoms I had that wouldn’t go away.  She introduced the concept of Functional Medicine and the importance of a healthy gut.   

I was intrigued.  This was all so new to me but I started to see the connection.  So I jumped on this advice, started learning about the discipline, and made concerted diet and cooking habits.  She also suggested doing functional lab testing to dive deeper into the root cause of my symptoms.  I had leaky gut, parasites, yeast overgrowth, bacteria issues, food sensitives, cell energy deficiencies.  It appeared I had it all.  But, with an individualized protocol, I started feeling better.  I became more interested in what I ate and became more in tune with my body. Symptoms started disappearing.  I was feeling better both mentally and physically.  Soon after we started the same journey for Jordan as well.   

My friends and colleagues started noticing my dedication to a healthy living lifestyle and they started reaching out for help too! I decided to learn more about the health and wellness space, received my Precision Nutrition certificate, and slowly began taking clients.  My focus at the time was on macros and calorie counting.  But eventually, I noticed some clients still struggled with weight loss and mindset shifts.  I realized for most, this was simply not enough so I stopped coaching altogether.  While figuring things out, I continued on with my education and entered into the world of Functional Nutrition.  I learned so much about body functions and what foods heal the body and in February 2020, I was a Certified Functional Nutrition health coach.   

My clientele then became those who needed help understanding how food is medicine and how it could help heal illnesses and by default lose weight and feel better.  As I was starting to use food as medicine, Jordan starting coming to life.  He was a picky eater but blessed with my knowledge and strategies taught to me, I was able to change his eating habits.   

By then parents from the autism community started reaching out for help as well.  But I still wanted more.  I wanted to dig deeper and be able to connect it all together.  I wanted to understand functional lab testing and correlate it back with symptoms.  I wanted to gain knowledge in reading lab reports.  Becoming a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner was what made everything complete.  Through nutrition and gut health everyone can regain their health.   

I realized diet alone cannot relieve symptoms if your body has metabolic dysfunctions. While exercise is equally important if you don’t address the real root cause, it’s impossible to heal your body.  

So now I enjoy helping others understand that same connection so they too can feel vibrant energetic as they try to enjoy life symptom-free.

If you are feeling like you are chasing symptoms and tired of jumping from doctor to doctor only to hear your lab results are normal, reach out.

Let me help you reclaim your health.