“Maggie the Substitute Teacher” was born Margaret Appiah in Ghana, West Africa. Her family immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education when she was only a 1-year-old and she grew up in the college town of Athens, Georgia. As her parents pursued two Ph.D degrees, Maggie’s active childhood was simple, humble, and loving. Throughout school, Maggie worked hard to earn straight A’s in order to earn her “free time.” Always smiling, she enjoyed band music, sports, and all things school-related before coming home to a close nuclear family.
Maggie’s mom (Nana) was her first example of a productive home life. Nana worked, went to school, and cooked for the family every day. Maggie thought this was just normal. Even if she wanted to play outside, by age 10 she was expected to be in the kitchen with her mom. If Nana was cooking, Maggie was helping. She learned to wash, cook, clean, and enjoy her life, even though her weight problem started young and then still carried through to her adult life.
Tired of yo-yo dieting, Maggie admittedly “gave up” on worrying about the weight, because life was great! She graduated from college, started working, got married, and had two children. With her own family now, she enjoyed repeating what she was taught to do years ago by her mom. As the years went by, the weight problem turned into a health problem Maggie had to address.
After asking a co-worker who lost weight, Maggie learned about the metabolic specialist at https://www.lockedinwellness.com/ and signed up for the program, since she had tried about everything else. The results of Maggie’s food sensitivity test revealed Maggie was eating things everyday that her body did not tolerate. This knowledge began the substitutions she uses today.
Maggie has combined her love of cooking and experimenting with the list of natural foods she is approved to eat. She draws on inspiration to create appetizing plates that drew attention from friends on social media. “Did you make that?” “That looks good!” “You need a cookbook!,” The pictures turned into videos and a new YouTube “how-to” channel for anybody who likes to eat!
