We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Granacki and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’m a 46 year old women with a cushy corporate job that has a 401k and complete financial security, but I’m miserable. I call this predicament the “golden handcuffs” problem –where you feel like you have to choose financial security over a career that you love. It took me a very long time to reject that statement, but here I am, embarking on a brand new career as a health coach, working for myself, and not knowing what the future will bring. I’m both excited and terrified but nothing ever comes of playing it safe. Risk is defined differently by each individual. In my case, I’m blowing up my entire life to see what is on the other side, but I think it will be worth it!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

I’m Julia Granacki, a certified Health and Wellness Coach and Pilates instructor. I provide compassionate, evidence based, no BS, lifestyle and nutrition guidance for busy, ambitious women and gender expansive people combatting the aggravating and often confusing physical and emotional changes that come with midlife. I believe that suffering through this time is optional. I believe that self-care is non-negotiable. I know that together, we can find ways to help you feel infinitely better than you do right now.

On an evening in March of 2020, I had just gotten home from working an 11-hour day at my corporate real estate job. I bent down to get something out of the kitchen cabinet, hit my head and burst into tears. It didn’t even hurt. Not really.

Dramatic, right? Maybe.

The truth was I was burnt out. My sleep was a disaster, I was overweight and fatigued all of the time despite the fact that I was working out consistently and eating right. I couldn’t figure out what was going on! I felt alone and totally out of control of my body.

I looked at my husband and said, “I’m done, I need a time-out so I can figure out what the heck I’m doing. I can’t keep this up anymore.”

One week later, our office shut down due to the pandemic and the decision was made that we were working from home indefinitely. Although not ideal circumstances, my time-out was handed to me.

A month later I stood in the deli line at the grocery store, masked up and gloved up and I had my first hot flash. One year later, filled with total disgust and frustration at the lack of information and attention given to perimenopause and menopause, I started a podcast about the subject. A few months after that, I decided to go back to school and get my health coaching certification, along with finishing up my Pilates apparatus training.

I hope that my experience and knowledge can help folks on their journey with midlife change, body bedlam and burnout. Whether it’s as specific as weight loss or as nebulous as fatigue, I’m here to support that journey, whatever it might be!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here in New York there are so many great museums, but I LOVE the Cloisters. Not many folks know to visit this museum because it’s in Washington Heights and situated in Fort Tryon Park, but it’s a gorgeous place to visit on a day with great weather.

In terms of food – throw a rock and you’ll hit a great place to eat. Sadly, quite a few of the places I love didn’t persevere through the pandemic, but if you’re into some old school NY, I’d suggest Spark’s Steak House (where an actual mob boss was gunned down in the 80’s) and La Grenouille, established in 1962, has some of the best French food you can get your hands on. If you’re looking for a hot spot with “atmosphere”, I’d suggest Cathedrale located in the Moxy East Village hotel which also has a great rooftop bar called, The Ready.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Website: https://www.juliagwellness.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia_granacki/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliagranacki

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliagwellness

Other: https://circlingthedrainpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Image Credits
Image credit: Michael Granacki

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.