My life was planned out at a very early age. By age 13, I knew I wanted to work in advertising. I was going to move to New York City after graduating from Penn State to work in a top agency, and in a few years open my own advertising agency. The End.

So then why are you reading a website about Mandy Enright, the dietitian and corporate wellness expert? Well, life actually did go according to plan, but then it fell short. After climbing the ranks from Super Intern to Group Supervisor in the advertising world, I realized something important: I was MISERABLE. Despite a shoe collection I continue to envy to this day, my stress levels were through the roof, my health was in a bad place, and I was not a pleasant person to be around. I was a mess, and finding fitness and nutrition literally saved my life.

To combat stress and find a hobby outside of work, I started taking classes at a local kickboxing gym. I soon wanted to be awesome at kickboxing, so I hired the head trainer to teach me his ways. When he opened a new location of the kickboxing gym, he asked me to teach. And I laughed and said, “No way! I’m an Advertising Executive, not a fitness trainer.” But then, I figured, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Soon after, I was asked to coach a nutrition and fitness program at the gym and I started to feel the warm glow of helping people and the thrill of possibility: “What if? Maybe? Could I do THIS with my life?”

I was scared to leave the comfort and pay of my career for something new. I hemmed and hawed. A re-torn ACL and surgery finally made the decision for me. While recovering in bed, I formed a plan to learn everything about healthy living I could, from the fitness side and from the nutrition side. Four challenging years brought me a 4.0 GPA, a nutrition degree, and an RDN credential. My ACL recovery also drew me to my next big passion, yoga, and I began see how its focus on the mind-body connection dovetailed perfectly with my new role as a dietitian.

Throughout it all, I never forgot where I came from. I still love advertising and communications, and my brain continues to be wired for thinking of strategic approaches to promote brands. I gravitate towards communication and writing opportunities because that’s part of who I am.

Along with my newfound nutrition and fitness expertise, I now have a hero’s complex of wanting to save those I left behind. I feel it is my duty to go back and educate those working in Corporate America about how you can in fact be healthy working a demanding job and make YOURSELF a priority. I took the long and winding way to well-being, but I built a straight path for you.