B.A. in Health Sciences
Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) trained Integrated Nutrition Health Coach
IIN Specialty Training in Hormone Health & Gut Health as it pertains to hormone health
Whole Person Health Program with Institute of Integrative Nutrition
Detox Your Life Program with Institute of Integrative Nutrition
Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant from American Institute of Vedic Studies
Food & Herbs as Medicine Program with Andrea Beaman
Holistic Health Certification with Andrea Beaman
The Health Professional Academy Graduate
ERYT-500 Level Trained Yoga Instructor
Balanced Body Trained Pilates Instructor
Balanced Body Integrative Movement Specialist
Mary Howard Leppo lives in Lexington, Kentucky, USA with her husband and two shih tzus, Annie Belle & Heidi Sophia. Mary has a passion for helping women navigate the transition through perimenopause and embracing the next chapter of life. You may find Mary spending time with family & friends, cooking, nature loving through hiking & gardening, reading young adult dystopian novels, volunteering in the community and daydreaming about mountain getaways and international travels.
My Perimenopause Story: The Solution was NOT Another Diet.
I’ve struggled with weight most of my life since puberty. Periodically, I would find things that would work, but nothing lasted in the long term. I did find some lasting weight loss in my early 30’s, but as I got into my 40’s I noticed the weight was coming back despite eating healthy. More cardio, more weight/strength training, vegetarian diets, low fat, low carb, nothing worked. What worked in my 30’s no longer worked in my 40’s.
Additionally as I entered peri-menopause no supplements I took helped with hot flashes, brain fog, low sex drive, low energy, mood swings, and trouble sleeping. Ibuprofen was coming up short with period pain to the point where I could not eat and would consider calling off work. The stress this caused me was also not helpful plus the added stress of finding money to buy new clothes and the stigma of being overweight teaching yoga and pilates. A hysterectomy that was performed for adenocarcinoma, fixed the heavy and painful periods due to stage 1 endometriosis that I did not know I had, but all of the other symptoms remained. My doctors told me to just take ibuprofen, try supplements, exercise more and weight loss techniques that I knew already did not work. Knowing something had to change, I began reading lots of books on peri-menopause but nothing was really clicking or sinking in and I felt something was missing.
I learned the solution was not another diet! Instead I took a deep dive into discovering how my body was reacting to different foods. THIS is when things finally clicked. I started to see what foods and lifestyle choices were helping or aggravating my hormonal imbalances and once achieving that knowledge, I could help my body heal itself with food choices that were more appropriate, a renewed emphasis on better sleep, reducing stress and finding exercises that were right for my body that I enjoyed and looked forward to doing.
Now I rarely have hot flashes and when I do, they are quite mild. My mind is clear. I have much more energy! My sex drive has increased which my husband also now enjoys, and I lost weight (30 pounds!) and it stayed off, and best of all, my body and mind are less stressed and at ease. I have no doubt if I had discovered this sooner, my periods would be much more pleasant being painless and lighter. My clients, however, now get to enjoy this experience! As a bonus, my skin and hair have never looked healthier. I also cleared up some minor gut health issues I did not realize that I had, and my joint pain has improved!
If you are a busy, peri-menopausal woman, who is struggling with symptoms - I hear you. I've been there and it is no fun. If you would like help overcoming hormonal weight gain, pain, hot flashes, and to enjoy increased energy, reduced stress and revive and enjoy ecstatic relationships, then click the link below to get your FREE Starter Kit!
Starter Kit Includes
Hormone Imbalance Quiz
8 Tips To Balancing Hormones
7 Day Healthy Habit Tracker
I highly recommend Mary for health coaching and here’s why! By following her wellness coaching plan tailored to my needs, I was able to focus on my specific health concerns relating to Glucose, A1C, Cholesterol, Thyroid and hot flashes. My motivating factor was some not so good blood work at my regular checkup while I thought I was eating healthier than ever. My doctor was recommending cholesterol medicine so I decided to try Mary’s health coaching services. Under Mary’s guidance I was able to improve my blood work significantly in 3 months’ time and keep those improvements after 6 months. I lost 14 pounds. I dropped my Glucose level 10 points and got back in the normal zone. I dropped my A1C from 5.7 to 5.4 and went from the almost prediabetes range to normal range! I dropped my total cholesterol 61 points or 27.5% and no longer needed to start taking meds! My TSH level also dropped back into my normal zone. I also determined with Mary’s help what was causing my hot flashes and am able to control them now most nights which has helped my sleep tremendously. I have also been able to stop taking my BP medicine, my Meniere’s disease med, my steroid nasal spray and have cut my anti-acid med back 75%. It’s been an amazing journey and I am so thankful and grateful to have Mary by my side.
I am so happy that I found Mary when I did! I was having horrible period pain to the point that I had to miss work, which meant loss in pay. My hot flashes, especially at night were getting out of control. I had to drag myself out of bed every day and lived on coffee to get by. I was putting on weight and felt gross in my clothes, but just couldn’t bring myself to buying new clothes. While I was resistant to a new diet or making some changes, Mary worked with me on small steps at a time and helped me find out a few dietary culprits, gave me some stress management techniques, and the weight started coming off! My clothes are fitting me again like they once did and my hot flashes are much less frequent and my sleep has not been this restful in years! Mary is the real deal! If you have any doubts, I promise it will be easier than you think and the reward far exceeds the risks! I can’t thank Mary enough for her help. It changed my life!
As a busy career woman and mother of two active middle schoolers, the last thing I needed was more to dos…and health issues I could not get under control. I was miserable trying to navigate peri-menopause and frustrated that my health providers kept telling me everything was normal and to just take black cohash and ibuprofen & tylenol for symptoms. I felt so dismissed! Additionally, the constant telling me to lose weight and exercise more but no real guidance on what to do exactly other than “just eat a low fat diet.” I felt like a failure to my family when I was too tired or in too much pain to enjoy my kids and husband. The mood swings also did not help. I came to Mary desperate for help and so glad that I did! She worked with me and my specific situation with a very compassionate and patient heart. Through her tailored approach to my needs and her guidance, I am so excited to say that I rarely have period pain and if I do it is quite mild. I’m getting restful sleep on a regular basis, my stress levels are way down, my hot flashes are less frequent and mild, and I’m enjoying time with my husband once more and am no longer missing my kids’ activities due to pain and exhaustion! I could not recommend Mary more!
Have a question?
If you are tired of perimenopausal symptoms running your life and want less pain & stress, less frequent and severe hot flashes, more energy, less mood swings and better relationships, book a complimentary consultation.