Linda Oechsle, MS, CDN, NBC-HWC

Integrative health coach and nutritionist with a passion for using food & lifestyle change to foster well-being.

Hi, I’m Linda. Welcome to Loxly Wellness. If you’re dealing with a chronic illness and are always tired or frequently sad, I can help. If you suspect that there are changes you could make in your diet or lifestyle that would give you more energy and help you to feel better, but you don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re eager to make some of those changes but need some support or guidance, let’s work together!

I’m a national board-certified health & wellness coach as well as a certified dietitian/nutritionist, and it’s my goal to help you experience more energy and better moods so that you can live a life full of health, vitality, and happiness. I started Loxly Wellness because I’m passionate about empowering women to reclaim their lives through diet and lifestyle changes.

I believe that the power to transform our health lies within each of us, but sometimes we need a partner or coach to help facilitate the process of change and help us reach our goals. I would love to help you feel better than ever!

Linda’s Journey

I was 23 and had just finished my first year of law school when I suddenly experienced swollen and painful joints in my hands and feet. I thought I had just overdone it while moving out of my dorm room, but within a few weeks I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.  

In addition to severe fatigue and daily pain from the RA, I also experienced a major blow to my self-image. Having been a competitive junior and Division I college tennis player, I was used to thinking of myself as healthy and strong. But within months of my RA diagnosis, I found myself limping and struggling to take notes in my classes due to inflammation and joint pain.

I assumed that my feelings of sadness were an emotional response to my diagnosis and changed circumstances. I realize now that there likely was also a physiological reason for my mood—the very active inflammatory process in my body was resulting in a deficiency of serotonin, one of the “feel-good” chemicals in the body. It’s no wonder I often felt depressed.

A decade later, when I was in my early 30s and working as a legal aid lawyer, I faced some new health challenges: endometriosis and infertility. After a few difficult years, I eventually had two healthy babies, and then a new medication put my RA into remission. Life was good again!

I enjoyed being a full-time mom and experiencing what seemed like good health. Granted, I was not so good at self-care—I didn’t get enough sleep, my exercise was sporadic, and my diet needed some work (I was a lifelong carb addict who believed pancakes were a health food if you made them from scratch). But my RA was quiet, and that meant I was healthy, right? Well, no.

At the age of 43, I learned that I had thyroid cancer. Being diagnosed with cancer was a gut punch. It prompted me to take a hard look at my long history of health issues, and motivated me to be more proactive. I decided to do all I could to prevent any new health conditions, stay cancer-free, and be the healthy and strong person I knew I could be.  

I began to experiment with my diet, removing wheat first, then sugar, then processed foods. Before long these changes produced some wonderful results—I had more energy, my moods evened out and became more positive, and my frequent headaches disappeared. Clearly, nutrition was a powerful tool that helped me to feel better!  

The success I had with changing my diet inspired me to find new purpose and a second career in helping others to improve their health. Over the next several years I completed a master’s degree program in human nutrition, as well as training and certification in integrative health coaching.

As part of my training I had the opportunity to work with talented coaches on my own health goals. With their help I gradually incorporated meditation, yoga, and more exercise into my life. These changes were transformative for me; together with an anti-inflammatory diet, these practices helped me to feel well physically and mentally despite some major stressors over the following few years. 

In my experience, most people need only a little bit of help figuring out what to eat, but a lot of help actually changing their diet or other health behaviors. So I decided to focus my one-on-one work on coaching my clients around healthy behavior changes. I still offer nutrition guidance to my coaching clients who want it, as well as group nutrition education programs. This combination of services is how I feel I can be most effective in helping you transform your chronic illness into vibrant health and well-being.

What I Know

• There is so much I still don’t know! My own journey of trying to maximize my health is still in progress.

• I’m deeply committed to my clients; I go the extra mile to make sure they have the information, resources, and support they need to reach their health goals.

• I love being a facilitator of my clients’ personal/health transformations. It is truly a joy and a privilege for me to witness these changes.

What I Believe

• No one is defined by their diagnosis(es). Everyone deserves to live a life full of energy, vitality, and good health.

• The crisis of being diagnosed with a serious chronic condition can be an opportunity to take care of ourselves and live our best lives.

• Our physical and mental health are intimately connected, and the food we eat plays a huge role in both.

• Every meal and snack is an opportunity to improve our health and well-being, AND eating should be delicious, satisfying, and deeply enjoyable.  

• While our food choices are crucially important, nutrition is only one component of a vibrant and healthy life.

• Other areas of our lives that contribute to our health include mindful awareness, movement/exercise, rest, relationships, personal and professional development, our physical environment, spirituality, and our mind-body connection. 

• Each of us can make changes in these areas of our lives that can positively impact our health and well-being.

• Small changes can lead to BIG changes!

• It’s important to be kind to ourselves as we make changes to improve our health. Self-compassion helps us to feel better when we face challenges, AND it increases our chances of success.