Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi McIntosh.
Hi Kristi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I graduated college, I was not sure what job I wanted but knew I wanted to be in the fashion industry. I took an hourly job at Neiman Marcus to try and figure out what I wanted to do. I was making a very small hourly wage plus commissions in Fort Worth. At the time, it was a slower store, but I enjoyed it and definitely spent more than I earned! The highlight of this is I met my husband there. He was coming to have lunch with his sister and “spotted me” on the escalator. We dated immediately as in we had drinks the next night and married 5 years later. I spent one year at Neiman’s before moving on to other opportunities. I had several management positions at Abercrombie & Fitch in all 3 Dallas locations, Calvin Klein in Highland Park, and Holland & Holland apparel (a subsidiary of Chanel at the time it was a store inside Saks Fifth Avenue) My next step was to work at Bombay Company. I was ready to work nonretail hours and start something new. I advanced from an assistant to an associate buyer within a year. I was there for over 2 years and learned so much! I learned everything from developing products to negotiating, to planning for weekly meetings with the executives to discuss sales and of course, traveling internationally to see and develop products. Right about the time I was offered a Christmas buyer position I realized it wasn’t the path I wanted to take-I actually had already considered resigning. I was fortunate to be able to resign and take time off. Kevin & I had been married a year, and I wanted to take some time before starting a family soon. Within 10 months, I was pregnant. We had 2 beautiful children 25 months apart-Thomas & Mia. I enjoyed “staying at home” full time until my youngest was in 1st, I decided to pursue my passion of nutrition. How did I get from retail to nutrition? When my daughter was born, she developed colic at 2 weeks…I tried everything to help her for 3 weeks. Then I read an article how dairy can cause colic. I took it out of my diet as I was breastfeeding, and miraculously, she was great! I found it so crazy that one food could do that-and I actually felt better dairy free as well. When she was turning 1, I told our pedetrician I wanted her tested for a milk allergy before we tried it -Mom’s intuition-and she tested 100 percent allergic-as in I had to carry an Epipen. Thankfully after a year, she outgrew it. Around that time, I wasn’t feeling good. Just really low energy, pale and not myself. It actually scared me to the point of tears several times. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease at 28 and thought maybe that was it but it wasn’t. I remember my doctor in Dallas looking at me, saying, “I’ve run all the tests I can run, and I can’t find anything. You look sick, and I’m not denying your symptoms-go see an endocrinologist. I did, and he asked if I was gluten-free. I said 80 percent he said, “Go 100 for 6 weeks”. I did and felt like a new human! At first, I was like, “Is this psychosomatic? And I by accident, ate some Mexican food that contained soy sauce which contains gluten. All my symptoms came back, and the stomach aches for 4 days. After going through this, I had to share with others to feel better… we always hear food is so important-but until I went through this I honestly could have imagined. I studied for a year online at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition and got my diploma to be a certified health coach. I absolutely loved the education. It really embodied health as whole as well not just nutrition. I remember one of teachers said, “You can eat kale all day, but if you are super stressed out, it doesn’t matter.” This also resonated with me as I’ve been practicing yoga for decades and even more so after starting a family. I had been going to private classes and group classes several times a week since my daughter was 2. It truly was and is a big part of my journey. Yoga helps me to stay present, to allow emotions to literally move through me in a healthy way, and to be still enough to stop all “chatter.” And truly be present and calm. I love the physical benefits, but the mental ones are by far so amazing.
Before I graduated from IIN, I was able to start practicing as a health coach at 6 m. I was super grateful I had several friends who wanted me to be their health coach, and my endocrinologist Dr. Chris Bajaj, asked if he could refer me. That was such an honor! I have been referred by him for 7 years now and a few functional medicine doctors. I also was able to get my yoga certification online in 2020. That was a silver lining of 2020. You could get yoga teacher training online. That was also magical. I have been teaching private classes at Be Here Yoga in Southlake for almost 2.5 years. My last career addition was to start working with one of my best friends, Kate Wagoner, doing “wellness days.” We incorporate yoga, healthy food, and an additional activity to give women a half day of self-care and relaxation in a beautiful community environment. We plan them from 9-2 usually so women can feel like they “get away” and feel restored but still have time in their day to do things they need to do. Kate is extremely creative and makes a beautiful space for this day of course, I teach yoga, and we do the rest together. We’ve been doing this for a year now and plan to have retreats in upcoming years in addition to our days. We also are in the process of finishing creating a delicious protein bar that tastes more like a blondie than a protein bar and has 22 grams of protein. We’ve been in the kitchen for 6 months for that. It’s also gluten-free and dairy-free. We are excited to see this flourish!
I feel incredibly grateful for the life I have for my husband, children, family, and friends, and work part-time at things I love to do! I wouldn’t change anything. I’m just so excited to see where the road leads me next!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kristii McIntosh Wellness and K& K Wellness?
I think I already said too much😂 I feel what sets me apart is I truly care about people. I want people to feel good. So many come to me who have tried everything but still don’t feel well. Nothing is more rewarding professionally than hearing someone feels great after working with them. I’m thankful to have many stories like that!
I also have been told what sets me apart is I walk the walk. I eat what I tell people to eat I practice yoga-I do all I can to stay healthy mentally and physically. I believe God gave us our bodies, and it’s our personal responsibility to take care of them as much as we can. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love our area! We have so much to do inside & outside! The people here are the friendliest I’ve ever met in any state and I have amazing friends here. I definitely think the people in our area set us apart from other areas in the U.S. We also have great restaurants that offer lots of gluten-free options!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kristimcintoshwellness.com
- Instagram: Kristi_mcintosh_wellness
Image Credits
Amy Twomey Photography
