Dr. Kim's Journey
I've struggled with my weight, body image and self esteem for what seems like my entire life. As a 6th grader I attended Weight Watchers meetings with my mom, my own Grandpa teased me about my weight when I was only 10 years old. It's been a life long journey that's still ongoing when it comes to my relationship with myself, my body, food and fitness. Even as an active kid in middle and high school I was still overweight - and I felt awful much of the time, I have vivid memories of crying in fitting rooms because clothes didn't fit and wishing I could just cut off all my fat. I tried anything and everything, workouts, diets, excessive exercise, attempts at starving myself. I tried it all and nothing ever worked or stuck if it did. I felt like a failure in every sense of the word, and also that I would never and could never have the life and body I wanted because I was such a failure.
Through college I continued my disordered eating and exercise patterns, now with the addition of parties and alcohol, and the spiral of binging, attempting to starve myself or over-exercising continued. For the first time ever in my adult life I was able to get to a weight I felt "proud" of, yet was nowhere near my goal, my 21st birthday was the thinnest I'd ever been, yet I was also very unhealthy. I re-gained some weight after graduating, eventually found my way to acupuncture school and took on a healthier approach to nutrition and dieting thanks to my education. But again, even with a newfound appreciation for nutrition and health there was still a fog of disordered and unhealthy attachments to how I went about dieting and exercise. I found my way into an emotionally and psychologically abusive relationship during acupuncture school and exercise was my escape, once again I found myself back to my 21 year old self's weight and while I felt good about that, I still felt terrible about myself and my relationship. After the relationship ended I managed to maintain most of my weight loss, and found new hobbies, friends and purpose that led me to think I was on the right track. I opened my acupuncture practice, and although I struggled to make things work, I still felt better. In 2013 I had another traumatic incident with a romantic partner which caused significant health issues and resulted in extreme lack of self worth, anxiety and once again - weight gain. In 2015 I reached my heaviest weight, pictured above at 215 lbs. I felt like I was truly going nowhere, unable to make my acupuncture practice take off in a sustainable way, unable to find more work elsewhere, unable to find a romantic partner, unable to truly love myself or set boundaries. I felt and knew there was so much more out there for me but I was so stuck - unable to get seemingly anything to budge, my weight weighed on me even more so as a constant reminder that I was a failure.
After cutting back my schedule I happened to also have the time to attend a meditation class I had had my eye on for a few years; now was the time. Little did I know that attending this class and the results from taking steps on my spiritual journey and through therapy and coaching, were what was going to lead me down a path to true embrace of my divine self and nature - able to show up in the world without fear and with confidence to truly be seen. My photo above is not a promotion for intentional weight loss, to me it is a representation of the clarity and progress I have made on my journey towards knowing myself and trusting myself. While I did experience weight loss along this path, what I find the most profound about the photo is the shift in my eyes, the presence in my spirit and the clarity of my awareness.
Every step I took towards unlocking my limiting beliefs, attachments and desires was actually a step towards embodying in body, mind and spirit the being I knew I was meant to be. As I continued through this process I found it easier to set goals for myself and keep those small promises to stick to them, this included diet, fitness and even my relationship with men. Every step I took I found more confidence in setting and holding my boundaries, more ability to move through discomfort instead of succumbing to it, and as I did this my relationship with food and dieting started to shift. I was able to stick to a plan for longer stretches without 'going off the rails' and was able to find activities that brought me joy and a sense of accomplishment rather than punishment like I had used exercise for before. I was also able to see and acknowledge the deeper intention behind why I gained weight and found it so difficult to lose - because for me, being overweight was a way to protect myself, and it was also a way to be able to hide. When I was able to start clearing the blocks I had around truly protecting myself energetically and literally (by expressing boundaries) and around showing up and being seen for my true self I found it easier to be ok with the process of letting weight go, because I didn't need it anymore. Eventually I found a nutrition coach who's approach resonated with my beliefs that food isn't bad and having a plan that allows you to also have a life if crucial to your long term success - through this approach I was able to unpack more of my limiting beliefs around food and dieting, and also understand more fully the process my body goes though while in a fat loss phase. I was so inspired by this method that I also signed up for the additional Nutrition Consultant training through the National Academy of Metabolic Science.
This process is one that still continues for me, I still struggle on some days, many days. But I am able to pause, acknowledge where I'm at, forgive myself and move forward with less and less judgement. As I've leaned more into Intuitive Eating and the principles this work follows I've found more freedom with food, more ability to take on healthier habits that make me feel good and more awareness for the damage that long term dieting has caused. The truth is - weight is just a number - and it does not indicate our health status - the way we live our life on the other hand plays a larger role in our health. This is the focus of Your True Body - not intentional weight loss, but healing those relationships with food and exercise and our bodies. To live life fully in the body we have, NOW, and not later. To eat what we enjoy, to take on healthy habits and to let go of the idea that restriction is helpful (it isn't). For me, this process is daily and the work is constant, with such a lifelong struggle to love myself as I am there's been a lot to unpack and heal, and it just continues to deepen with time.
I've created Your True Body to share the wisdom, tools and knowledge that I've acquired on my journey as a healthcare provider, coach and from my personal experience. I know first hand that our relationships with food can be complex - there's a lot that goes on besides just what we eat. I'm honored to be able to help others in their journey toward self acceptance, love and growth and am so happy to be able to share this program with individuals who are ready to take a huge step towards self love, acceptance and their True body!
Through college I continued my disordered eating and exercise patterns, now with the addition of parties and alcohol, and the spiral of binging, attempting to starve myself or over-exercising continued. For the first time ever in my adult life I was able to get to a weight I felt "proud" of, yet was nowhere near my goal, my 21st birthday was the thinnest I'd ever been, yet I was also very unhealthy. I re-gained some weight after graduating, eventually found my way to acupuncture school and took on a healthier approach to nutrition and dieting thanks to my education. But again, even with a newfound appreciation for nutrition and health there was still a fog of disordered and unhealthy attachments to how I went about dieting and exercise. I found my way into an emotionally and psychologically abusive relationship during acupuncture school and exercise was my escape, once again I found myself back to my 21 year old self's weight and while I felt good about that, I still felt terrible about myself and my relationship. After the relationship ended I managed to maintain most of my weight loss, and found new hobbies, friends and purpose that led me to think I was on the right track. I opened my acupuncture practice, and although I struggled to make things work, I still felt better. In 2013 I had another traumatic incident with a romantic partner which caused significant health issues and resulted in extreme lack of self worth, anxiety and once again - weight gain. In 2015 I reached my heaviest weight, pictured above at 215 lbs. I felt like I was truly going nowhere, unable to make my acupuncture practice take off in a sustainable way, unable to find more work elsewhere, unable to find a romantic partner, unable to truly love myself or set boundaries. I felt and knew there was so much more out there for me but I was so stuck - unable to get seemingly anything to budge, my weight weighed on me even more so as a constant reminder that I was a failure.
After cutting back my schedule I happened to also have the time to attend a meditation class I had had my eye on for a few years; now was the time. Little did I know that attending this class and the results from taking steps on my spiritual journey and through therapy and coaching, were what was going to lead me down a path to true embrace of my divine self and nature - able to show up in the world without fear and with confidence to truly be seen. My photo above is not a promotion for intentional weight loss, to me it is a representation of the clarity and progress I have made on my journey towards knowing myself and trusting myself. While I did experience weight loss along this path, what I find the most profound about the photo is the shift in my eyes, the presence in my spirit and the clarity of my awareness.
Every step I took towards unlocking my limiting beliefs, attachments and desires was actually a step towards embodying in body, mind and spirit the being I knew I was meant to be. As I continued through this process I found it easier to set goals for myself and keep those small promises to stick to them, this included diet, fitness and even my relationship with men. Every step I took I found more confidence in setting and holding my boundaries, more ability to move through discomfort instead of succumbing to it, and as I did this my relationship with food and dieting started to shift. I was able to stick to a plan for longer stretches without 'going off the rails' and was able to find activities that brought me joy and a sense of accomplishment rather than punishment like I had used exercise for before. I was also able to see and acknowledge the deeper intention behind why I gained weight and found it so difficult to lose - because for me, being overweight was a way to protect myself, and it was also a way to be able to hide. When I was able to start clearing the blocks I had around truly protecting myself energetically and literally (by expressing boundaries) and around showing up and being seen for my true self I found it easier to be ok with the process of letting weight go, because I didn't need it anymore. Eventually I found a nutrition coach who's approach resonated with my beliefs that food isn't bad and having a plan that allows you to also have a life if crucial to your long term success - through this approach I was able to unpack more of my limiting beliefs around food and dieting, and also understand more fully the process my body goes though while in a fat loss phase. I was so inspired by this method that I also signed up for the additional Nutrition Consultant training through the National Academy of Metabolic Science.
This process is one that still continues for me, I still struggle on some days, many days. But I am able to pause, acknowledge where I'm at, forgive myself and move forward with less and less judgement. As I've leaned more into Intuitive Eating and the principles this work follows I've found more freedom with food, more ability to take on healthier habits that make me feel good and more awareness for the damage that long term dieting has caused. The truth is - weight is just a number - and it does not indicate our health status - the way we live our life on the other hand plays a larger role in our health. This is the focus of Your True Body - not intentional weight loss, but healing those relationships with food and exercise and our bodies. To live life fully in the body we have, NOW, and not later. To eat what we enjoy, to take on healthy habits and to let go of the idea that restriction is helpful (it isn't). For me, this process is daily and the work is constant, with such a lifelong struggle to love myself as I am there's been a lot to unpack and heal, and it just continues to deepen with time.
I've created Your True Body to share the wisdom, tools and knowledge that I've acquired on my journey as a healthcare provider, coach and from my personal experience. I know first hand that our relationships with food can be complex - there's a lot that goes on besides just what we eat. I'm honored to be able to help others in their journey toward self acceptance, love and growth and am so happy to be able to share this program with individuals who are ready to take a huge step towards self love, acceptance and their True body!
About Dr. Kim
Dr. Kim Peirano, DACM, LAc has been a licensed, practicing Acupuncturist since 2010, a published author, speaker and intuitive healer; her treatments and programs aim to access the deep inner workings of the mind-body-spirit connection to help her patients unlock the root cause of disharmony. With over a decade of clinical experience, Dr. Kim draws from research based protocols and intuitive insights to help tailor every session to her patient's specific needs and desires. As a coach and mentor Dr. Kim holds a space for transformation and growth with compassion, understanding and truth at the forefront of every encounter. Being witness to her patients willingness to take steps into uncharted territory and make lasting changes is something she finds most rewarding with her work and is forever grateful for the opportunity to offer her patients.
In her acupuncture practice in Marin County, Dr. Kim treats patients for pain management and sports medicine, trauma, paralysis, pediatric and teenagers, major life changes, spiritual growth and more. Her healing approach is to unblock misalignment in the body-mind-spirit through accessing the highest level of truth for the patient so that they can experience a deeper layer of their most authentic self - free of pain, stress, tension and full of confidence and vitality.
Dr. Kim and her practice Lion’s Heart have been featured in ‘O’ Oprah Magazine, In Style, KPIX’s Bay Area Focus TV, Bustle and multiple health and wellness blogs as a feature and as an expert contributor, she was also named Marin County’s Best Holistic Health Practitioner in 2018 and 2019. Dr. Kim is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine, one of the industry’s leading scientific peer-reviewed journals and her writing has been published in the industry periodical Acupuncture Today and Qi Magazine - the Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness. She holds a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine degree from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, a Master’s of Science in Oriental Medicine from the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Studio Arts from California State University Long Beach. Dr. Kim is a California State Licensed Acupuncturist and member of the California State Oriental Medicine Association.
Through daily committed meditation, prayer time and weekly intensive healing and growth work as an advanced level student at the Foundation of Spiritual Development, Dr. Kim’s depth of knowledge, practice and healing ability continues to grow and strengthen as she commits to her own healing and growth more and more. Working in the quantum field, astral realms, with non-conditional spirit guides and healing entities, Dr. Kim’s practice expands out of Traditional Chinese Medicine into a much deeper and more expansive experience of healing. By accessing the subtle nature of Qi (energy) in the body, intuitively reading a patient’s energy and blockages she is able to provide unique, individual treatments and insights to every session.
In her acupuncture practice in Marin County, Dr. Kim treats patients for pain management and sports medicine, trauma, paralysis, pediatric and teenagers, major life changes, spiritual growth and more. Her healing approach is to unblock misalignment in the body-mind-spirit through accessing the highest level of truth for the patient so that they can experience a deeper layer of their most authentic self - free of pain, stress, tension and full of confidence and vitality.
Dr. Kim and her practice Lion’s Heart have been featured in ‘O’ Oprah Magazine, In Style, KPIX’s Bay Area Focus TV, Bustle and multiple health and wellness blogs as a feature and as an expert contributor, she was also named Marin County’s Best Holistic Health Practitioner in 2018 and 2019. Dr. Kim is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine, one of the industry’s leading scientific peer-reviewed journals and her writing has been published in the industry periodical Acupuncture Today and Qi Magazine - the Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness. She holds a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine degree from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, a Master’s of Science in Oriental Medicine from the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Studio Arts from California State University Long Beach. Dr. Kim is a California State Licensed Acupuncturist and member of the California State Oriental Medicine Association.
Through daily committed meditation, prayer time and weekly intensive healing and growth work as an advanced level student at the Foundation of Spiritual Development, Dr. Kim’s depth of knowledge, practice and healing ability continues to grow and strengthen as she commits to her own healing and growth more and more. Working in the quantum field, astral realms, with non-conditional spirit guides and healing entities, Dr. Kim’s practice expands out of Traditional Chinese Medicine into a much deeper and more expansive experience of healing. By accessing the subtle nature of Qi (energy) in the body, intuitively reading a patient’s energy and blockages she is able to provide unique, individual treatments and insights to every session.
Media Features & Publications
This Popular Food Secretly Makes You Gain Weight, Eat This, Not That! October 2020
Read the full article by Kiersten Hickman HERE
What is the Healthiest Diet? Life Hacker Guy, October 2020
Read the full article by Adam Wright HERE
How To Naturally Boost Energy Without Faceplanting Into Your Coffee, 'O' The Oprah Magazine, 6/24/2019
Read the full post with expert tips including Dr. Kim's by Samantha Lefave HERE
Read the full article by Kiersten Hickman HERE
What is the Healthiest Diet? Life Hacker Guy, October 2020
Read the full article by Adam Wright HERE
How To Naturally Boost Energy Without Faceplanting Into Your Coffee, 'O' The Oprah Magazine, 6/24/2019
Read the full post with expert tips including Dr. Kim's by Samantha Lefave HERE