Story

Meet Nory Pouncil
Self-Trust Coach & Founder of norypouncil.com

Nory Pouncil's Story

Hi, I’m Nory, and I’d love you tell you a little bit about my story.

I was born in Honduras to a large Garifuna family. My mother had three children; I’m the second. Five years after I was born, mother decided to leave Honduras and move to New York City in search of the American Dream.

She was a single parent and couldn’t bring my brother and I with her.

My brother moved in with one of our aunts, and I went to live with my grandma.

My grandma lived in a village, called Santa Rosa de Aguan on the coast of Honduras. There’s no running water, no roads, the power goes out at least once per week, and the school was a 20-minute walk away (each way).

I grew up raising chickens, growing yucca, climbing mango trees, playing hide and seek (or as we call it Cantaro) and dancing punta with the sand & ocean.

From the early age of 6, I remember spending countless hours in the kitchen, cooking with my aunts and learning all about herbs and spices. They wanted to prepare me for the future by passing on the tools/lessons from their personal survival kit.

I love spending time with with my Tias in the kitchen because food is a big deal to us, and we look for any excuse to gather the family and break bread.

By American standards, we were beyond poor, but now I see how wealthy and abundant our life was.

Here's I am holding onto Mom in the village where I grew up.

Wait, did I gain 20 pounds?

Three weeks before my 10th birthday I moved from Aguan to the Bronx.

I was excited to live with my mom and explore the new city, I had heard so much about NYC and couldn’t wait to see it.

I imagined it was going to be just like Aguan, but better.

Nothing prepared me for what happened.

I went from being able to play freely, to being confined to a one bedroom apartment. Mom, who was now pregnant with my little sister, warned me not to talk to anyone without her permission, which didn’t matter because I spoke zero English.

The only upside was that mom loved to entertain, so she had people over all the time.

The days when she expected company, we would go to the supermarket and bring all sorts of foods to cook.

I felt like I was in Aguan all over again.

I’ve always had a small body frame. That was until I moved to the United States.

Within months of living in the Bronx, NY, I put on weight like never before. Most of my family was happy to “finally see some meat on my bones.”

And I was oblivious to what was going on.

Looking back at it now, I see why I gained the weight.

Because, my mother rarely cooked for nutrition, the woman cooked for flavor.

As I reflect on that, I see that mother was manifesting her love for me in the only way she knew how and the food was at the center of it.

By the time I hit 8th grade I was a bit self-conscious about my shape but I managed to keep the weight in check for most of my younger years.

Enter 2010.

Visiting family after graduating in 2010. 20 Pounds heavier.

2010 was supposed to be My Year!

I was graduating with two bachelors from the Rochester Institute of Technology and was looking forward to taking over the world.

At least that’s what I knew would happen once I walked the stage.

There was one tiny problem, after spending six months looking for work, I had nothing. Here I was ready to take my twenties by storm after doing what “I was supposed to do” and felt like a failure.

So I  frantically looked for some comfort, and a sense of control: I turned to what was familiar, what felt like home; Food.

Before I knew it by the time I walked the stage I felt depressed, frustrated, lost, stuck and it turns out I was 20 pounds heavier.

First wake up call

After graduation, I went home to see my family. Originally this trip was supposed to be a celebration, although I felt that there wasn’t much to celebrate.

Since I was unemployed, I decided to stay in Honduras for one year. This will go on to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

It turns out I had no idea how much weight I put on. Full transparency, I knew I didn’t fit my favorite jeans, but I figured it was just bloating.

You know who noticed?

My family!

They didn’t hold back on letting me know I had “let myself go.”

Two of my cousins, a nutritionist, and professional volleyball player offered to help me.

So I went to work,

I focused on walking every day for 30 minutes, eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting fast foods and fried foods from my diet, and I became obsessed with meal prep.

Before I knew it, I saw results.

I felt energetic, lighter, and began to love the woman I saw in the mirror.

The Relapse

After taking control of my physical health and basically falling in love with my now husband, I decided to return to the US.

I knew the quality of the food was different but felt equipped because I knew what to do.

Then,

It got cold.

If you’ve never been to Honduras, it is deliciously warm all year round, which was a significant change once I moved back.

I struggled to keep my active lifestyle because it was cold outside and I couldn’t afford a gym membership yet.

This was before Instagram was popular and before I knew you could find everything on youtube.

Pair that with happy hours, and overprized dinners in NYC, and you end up 20 pounds heavier, again.

At my heaviest after my move back to NYC in 2012.
At a friend's wedding in 2017.
If at first you don't succeed

When I looked at the photo of my relapse I was shocked. I remember uploading a bunch of pictures to Facebook, and this was one of them.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

How did this happen? When? How could I allow my health to get to that point?

Once I was done with my pity party, I remembered I had the keys, and all I had to do was work.

So I started over, again!

This time I adjusted to my new lifestyle. I got over the cold and signed up for a gym membership. I became addicted to running and ended up running, too many 5Ks to count, 10+ half marathons, and two marathons, including the NYC Marathon.

I was able to not only lose those 20 pounds; I kept them off for five years.

My second wake up call

Until this point, my healing was focused on my physical health. I knew there was more to being healthy but controlling my weight was my number one priority.

All of that would soon change.

In 2016, my favorite uncle, Califa, was murdered in Honduras. I remember my mothers call, sharing news that would change my life forever.

Within hours I booked the first flight from DC to San Pedro Sula. 

When I landed, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. Califa would always pick me up from the airport when I came home. He was the first person to welcome me to the country and the last to say goodbye.

After a week of funeral activities, I was back in the office.

This began my eight month battle with depression.

Tio Califa and I in Honduras.

Ever felt like the world was crumbling on top of you?

Like no matter how hard you try, the act of waking up in the morning feels like you’re a fish out of water trying to breathe?

Have you ever felt paralyzed by anxiety?

That’s how I felt every single day for eight months.

One day my husband sat down with me and told me: “This is not what you’re uncle would have wanted for you.”

And for the first time after his death,

I asked myself “What would Califa want for me?”

What brings you joy? What fills your spirit? What makes you happy?

Every time I spoke to my uncle he would always tell me:

“I want you to do what brings you joy, what fills your spirit, what makes you happy. Don’t let society dictate your life.”

After my husband sat with me, I thought about the words of my uncle and realized I had no idea how to answer those questions.

I had become so fixated with looking a certain way, and surviving that life was passing me by.

So I decided to go on a journey to figure it out.

The shift

I didn’t know what made me happy or what filled my spirit, so I began by identifying all the things that did not make me happy and did not bring me joy.

I knew I wanted a new job, I was over the cold and wanted to be close to the beach. I knew I wanted to control my time and be able to see my family whenever I wanted to.

I knew I wanted to get to know myself and develop a loving relationship with me, all of me.

So I put out all my desires to the Universe, and the Universe blew my mind.

After being in DC for three years, living in a gorgeous highrise apartment, making the most money both husband and I had ever made,

We packed our one bedroom apartment and moved to St. Petersburg, FL.

Because, we stop letting society control our lives and began writing our own story. 

Enjoying the beach in Florida

Coaching and Consulting

After my relapse in 2012, I committed to taking care of my physical health.

Before I knew it, friends and family were asking for advice on how to not only lose weight, but also achieve long lasting results.

I began sharing the lessons my cousins taught me and a few other gems I learned along the way. I even started meeting with some friends a few times a week at parks to workout.

That’s how norypouncil.com (formely known iamhealthyfit.com) came to life.

For almost ten years, I’ve helped hundreds of people become healthier by focusing on taking control of their emotional eating. They’ve not only felt better, they lost weight, they learned how to meal prep and learned how to use food as a form of self-care.

But the truth is,

The death of Califa taught me that there’s more to your health than your body. Your physical health is directly connected to your mental health and emotional stability, they all work together to help you become the best version of yourself.

No amount of exercise and clean eating can prepare you for the pain you feel when the people you love pass away.

The early beginnings of iAmHealthyFit working out at a park in NYC

Enter the Self-Trust System.

Through my coaching practice, I’ve been able to help women struggling from depression and anxiety overcome hurt, pain, disappointments, self-doubt and take control of their lives.

The women I work with have found inner peace, developed a laser focus on their priorities, and become more patient. They are able to see beyond their own self-limiting beliefs and improved their mental & spiritual stability.

This is for you if:

You’re ready to try something different because you need things to change or if you feel like something is missing and your life has no meaning or purpose.

You’re ready to get to the root of your pain so you can release your emotional baggage and make room in your life to be happy.

This program is the manifestation of many failed attempts at self-care and self-love, is the result of all the lessons I’ve learned from my clients and mentors I’ve worked with in the past.

This program is your way out, for good.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing you take control of your life, address and release years of trauma and hidden pain from past events.

Because,

There’s more to life than waiting to die.

Even when you feel stuck in the dark, I’m here to tell you that there is light,

You don’t have to wait to reach the end of the tunnel; you can access it right now.

Husband and I at the Saturday Morning Market in St. Pete, FL.