My Story...

My name is Calie Shackleford, and I am the founder of Broccoli Cupcake and the organizer for the Womens Wellness Weekend 2010 Conference. This journey all started with my personal struggles after the birth of my two children. A historically healthy woman, I found myself struggling with unusual symptoms. I experienced weight gain, anxiety, bouts of depression, mood swings, chronic fatigue, hormone imbalances, sudden onset of allergies, difficulty breathing and chronic upper respiratory infections, among other symptoms and challenges. I felt like my body was no longer my own. I never knew what to expect from one day to the next and I was frustrated and fearful all of the time.

Rock bottom for me was when the anxiety became something I lived with daily. I could see the impact it was having on my family and my life and I realized  I’m not healthy, and I’m not happy and I refuse to live this way.  So began my journey to find a complete picture of health and hopefully a little more happiness.  For me (and my family), this meant a lifestyle change.  I sought out experts to assist me in achieving health on every level. This included a chiropractor and nutrition coach, a counselor to help me work through my emotions and anxiety, and several other specialists along the way.

A funny thing happens when you change your life…people notice. Suddenly I found friends, family and acquaintances were coming to me with their own struggles seeking advice and insight on what worked for us. As I saw the number of women and families struggling with similar symptoms I felt compelled to share my journey and thus began Broccoli Cupcake. What started as a blog, an online journal of our family’s journey, became a dream to help more women live a well life.

The blog attracted so many readers who were on a similar journey that I realized this is an issue that touches the lives of nearly every woman and family. It seemed so simple. Why not gather all of the amazing women who had helped me to share their knowledge and experiences. From this simple idea, Womens Wellness Weekend 2010 has developed. With powerful keynote speakers, power-packed workshops and opportunities to power up on nutrition, fitness, emotional and spiritual health, I have no doubt that the Women's Wellness Weekend will inspire a health change in hundreds of aspiring “well women” across Middle Tennessee.

More About Me

I’m a wife and working mom with two boys under the age of 4.  I’m passionate about all things health, fitness and mommy related. I’m a published writer, a communications professional and a certified group fitness instructor.  I love learning about anything that can help me to live a healthier lifestyle and work every day to pass this passion on to my boys.  That being said, it’s important to point out that I also love family, friends, food and fun.  So yes, we have pizza Friday’s at our house (sometimes it’s a healthy made at home recipe and sometimes its Dominos) and we eat cake and ice cream at birthday parties.  I think life is all about finding the balance that works for you.