Hello! I’m Abby Hand, Preconception Health Consultant, and soon-to-be published author. I help couples over 35 improve their health before trying to conceive (TTC). My process uses positive lifestyle change and health optimization grounded in current research, traditional medicine, and natural philosophies. I also incorporate biometric tracking, epigenetic data, and other valuable tools into a complex systems approach to coaching. What makes my practice extra unique is that I draw on my own autoimmune disease and pregnancy experiences to empower folks and help them navigate perinatal and chronic disease care. Preconception health is my passion and I strongly believe optimizing the health of both parents prior to conception helps build strong families and communities, creating a healthier, more resilient world.

While my own experiences inform how I work with clients, I also have an extensive formal and informal educational background. I earned my undergraduate degree from Vassar College (Geology, with a focus on Environmental Studies) and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas (with a focus on maternal health). I’ve also worked in the medical field for over 15 years, including as a nurse in Labor & Delivery, Functional Medicine, and in Precision Medicine. On top of that, I’m an Apeiron Certified Epigenetic Coach, and a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, and am currently working on my Women’s Herbal Educator certification.

Most importantly though, I’m the mom of an amazing little boy and partner to an incredible husband. Our family (including three dogs), splits our time between Austin and the Texas Hill Country, where we hone our skills of self-sufficiency and work to restore the health of our land. We believe personal health cannot be truly obtained without also addressing environmental health. I’m happiest when I’m tromping around in the woods looking at plants with my guys.

National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

I believe taking good care of ourselves is integral to positive change in the world, and my passion is helping busy people prioritize their needs so that they can feel alive, connected, and confident to take on all that we collectively face.

The goal of health and wellness coaching is to help you tap into what matters most to you and find personalized strategies to improve your health and wellbeing, however you define it.

I am intuitive, compassionate, and driven to help you achieve your goals.

I am a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach and completed my training through the University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine.

https://www.aliciaduprewellness.com/ (Original website is offline. Left for archival purposes.)

**Functional Plant-Based Chef and Food Doctor

**Update for 2022

Avril is now pursuing her passions in a new direction and is no longer available for food or health coaching. We hope to share updates on her new project in the future.

Feel free to get in touch with us for alternative options.

Avril Amaya is a multi-passionate ‘food doctor‘, plant-based chef and educator, health and nutrition coach, lover of Nature and animals, and poet/singer/dancer.

She has been practicing and sharing food-as-medicine for over six years, working with individuals, teaching workshops to groups, and chefing/teaching at international retreats. She began her personal chef and health-consulting service in 2013 in Miami to assist people with healing, in addition to co-running a popular vegan pop-up restaurant there for a year.

After traveling the world for a decade, studying with masters in yoga, meditation, permaculture, Qi Gong, Thai massage, and Reiki, and healing herself from constant illness and a life revolving around doctor visits, she has found vibrant well-being and is passionate about spreading health and happiness, through deep connection to Self and Nature, and with the support of real foods and plant-based nutrition.
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Equipped with a Harvard degree and a high-speed blender, Avril passionately shares the benefits of a fruit-and-vegetable-based lifestyle in Austin and beyond.

Colleen Flynn is a Functional Nutritionist and the founder and owner of Nutritional Zest, LLC, a private nutrition practice based in Austin, Texas, where she was recently voted one of the top three nutritionists in the area by Austin Fit Magazine. She is also an instructor at Restorative Wellness Solutions, a program that bridges a multitude of functional nutrition approaches to elevate practitioners’ ability to solve the most challenging client symptom presentations.

She is a whole food and wellness enthusiast who is passionate about the body’s innate intelligence to respond to well-crafted holistic health practices. She excels in helping women and men reconnect with their bodies while empowering them to nourish themselves in an enjoyable, sustainable way, and to thrive through implementing wellness routines that suit their unique needs. Specializing in gut health, digestive disorders, energy regulation, and the mindset necessary for lasting health and habit change, Colleen utilizes the principles of functional nutrition to dig deeper into her clients’ chronic health complaints to discover the root cause and to create detailed protocols to bring them back into balance.

Colleen’s interest in holistic nutrition and her journey to become a Functional Nutritionist began with the reversal of her own health issues through various nutrition and wellness practices. What started as a personal calling evolved into a mission to empower others to take control of their own well-being.

Dude is a lifelong health and wellness enthusiast and amateur athlete.  Before a brief cross country season in college, Dude was a 2x state champion in the mile, the two mile, and the mile relay. After his first marathon, Dude became interested in Ultramarathons and his endurance career peaked in 2006 when he ran 16 ultramarathons in one year.  Dude has also done some fairly extreme self-supported distance challenges, including two double crossings of the grand canyon, and a 143 mile 3 day adventure in the High Sierra in California. He has also summited the 3rd highest peak in North America, and many smaller mountains.

Like many people in today’s society, by mid-life Dude found himself drifting away from being active as the pursuits of career and family consumed so much time and attention.  By 2012, Dude was 50 lbs overweight with aches and pains all over, culminating in a back injury that left him debilitated on the floor, unable to move.

The injured back was a wake up call that led Dude on a personal journey back to health and wellness. He lost 50 lbs, started running again, placed 3rd in the Speedgolf World Championships, and earned a Health Coaching certification from the Primal Health Coach Institute.

Dude now coaches people how to regain their health after a lifetime of office work and modern lifestyle that keeps us sedentary, indoors, and eating processed foods.  Dude has made the journey himself and has tremendous passion for people who find it difficult to extract themselves from the modern traps that keep us unhealthy. His mission is to find these people and guide them back to health and vitality.