In today’s podcast we spoke to Debbie Portell Morris. She is the owner of Integrity Training Systems which focuses on personal training and nutrition. She started the company over ten and a half years ago. Debbie thought her path after college was to become a financial planner. Working long hours, she came home one evening and passed out in her garage. She was taken to a hospital and spent the next two years and twenty-two different doctors later to come up with the diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. She had signs that her health was declining but ignored them believing it was the hard work she was putting into her job. Debbie then took it upon herself to do an elimination diet where she would try different foods to see which ones made her feel okay and those that didn’t. From there she really began studying nutrition, which landed her where she is today.

In addition to owning Integrity, Debbie and her husband, John, of ten years also own Sophie’s Bakery. When they first got together his daughter was a year and a half old. By the time she was three she had chronic allergies, eczema, and other gut issues that pediatricians could not explain, and by the time she was five it turned excessive. This is when Debbie started changing her food. She removed all dairy and gluten which seemed to help. Not wanting Sophie to miss out on treats at school she began baking and sharing her treats with people at the gym. The demand for her baked goods became too much for her to do on her days off so she turned it into a delivery or pickup bakery business.

Being in the fitness field for over twenty-five years Debbie’s advice to anyone is to get up and move even if it’s ten minutes here and there. Take time to breathe through stretching or a few yoga moves. Hydrate and balance your food and most importantly make sure you rest. All of these things in combination can help you lead a healthy and happy life.

Key Takeaways

“The food, I think, is the catalyst to the change in the beginning. So if you can put the emphasis on the quality nutrition first, you will supply yourself with the desire and with the energy that you need to make a commitment to more movement.”- Debbie Portell Morris

“If we really look at the caring matrix we have to take care of ourselves first and then our employees and our families and then we can go change the community and then we can go change the world.”-Tabetha Sheaver

Contact Information

Integritytrainingsystems.com

636-299-2208

Sophiesbakery.com