About It

THIS is what sobriety is all about! When I first got sober I felt like it was the end of too much but I quickly learned that it was my biggest beginning yet. Sobriety Is what allows us to show up fully in the present moment over & over again. As we learned in addiction - what we choose to put in our bodies can hinder our ability to be here now; where all the nourishment of life exist.

Recovery, just like addiction, is a many layered thing. My goal is to help people heal on a biological level so they have a solid foundation to work from as they embark on healing the psychological, social & spiritual aspects of their lives. These are of course - all intertwined. This approach aims to bring things into balance on the inside so that it will be reflected & experienced in the world around us. .

A little bit about my own recovery journey ...

After years in the restaurant industry, catering on film sets & being a private chef - I was burnt out, epically hungover & my life was truly unmanageable if not completely miserable. My body felt like crap. I was tired all the time. My anxiety was running the show. My relationships were painful, chaotic & lacked true connection. I had finally had enough. I could no longer go on abandoning myself. I got sober & found a job as a chef at an addiction treatment center here in Austin, Tx. This turned out to be the most meaningful & fulfilling job I had ever had. It changed the trajectory of my life. Being at the treatment center day after day allowed me to see people come out of the fog of addiction & back into themselves. It was truly powerful & a total privilege to witness. I was also witness to what everyone ate throughout the day & saw how it effected them in their recovery. For better or worse.

There was a direct & obvious correlation between a persons food choices & their mood. It effected their openness to change, ability to connect, to feel calm, patient & present. Not only with others but themselves too. I realized that nutrition was equally important (if not a precursor) to all the other ways the treatment center was showing their clients to care for & connect with themselves. They offered exercise, meditation, therapy, art, music & a lot of these new practices truly resonated with the clients but I had to wonder.. how many of them would stick with these new practices outside of treatment? It was hard to say.

The one thing I knew for sure was that each & every one of them would continue eating once they were away from our care. I also saw that how a person does one thing is how they will do everything. I began to view food as a daily opportunity to not only heal our addicted bodies but a way to learn how to creat new habits, build confidence & regain one’s own trust.

One bite at a time.

This inspired me to enroll at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I wanted to learn more about healing foods, intuitive eating & our body/mind connection. I wanted a better understanding of what our bodies need in recovery, which is such a heavy time of transformation. The experience turned out to be revolutionary. 

During my training, I studied multiple dietary theories, practical lifestyle management techniques & positive psychological motivation with some of the world’s top health & wellness experts. This is where the seed for Savoring Sobriety was first planted. It continues to grow every day through my own recovery.

xo - Bonnie Rue