about my journey.

rock bottom.

At 28 years old, I hit a new rock bottom with my mental and physical health.

I had been battling depression, anxiety, ADHD, and severe PMS for years. So badly that I resorted to medications after getting diagnosed with PMDD in my mid-20s because I could not cope with my mental illnesses, irritability, and the emotional roller coaster that was my life.

I had such severe brain fog and memory issues, I couldn’t even remember where I parked my car the night before. Weird headaches and migraines became a norm, and I just could not figure out why my brain wasn’t working anymore. 

Despite my calorie counting, portion control, exercise, and constant dieting, my daughter and I were both overweight and had food intolerances. 

I was also dealing with nausea and abdominal pains on a daily basis, along with inconsistent and undesirable bowel movements. My hair was thinning and falling out, my nails were brittle, and I was breaking out like a teenager. 

Despite following all of our doctor’s health recommendations and the best nutrition advice there was out there, I was so sick and struggling. Not being able to help my daughter with her health problems was weighing on me night and day. Fears and questions about my own health were piling up and consuming me also. 

How could we both be struggling with weight? How could I have so many health problems? Could I have IBS, Crohn's disease, or the early stages of colon cancer? Am I bipolar? Do I have the early stages of Alzheimer’s? Could I have brain cancer? What type of doctor do I go see? Is this just what happens as you age? What do I do? What can I do to change the course of my health? I could tell the direction I was headed was not a good one.

At 29 years old, I started questioning everything I knew to be “healthy”, including my diet. I have always believed that food is the best medicine and form of preventative care. This is why for years my daughter and I were on a low-fat, high-plant food, mostly lean meat, mostly whole food, gluten-free, paleo diet, and we barely ate junk food.

the journey step 1: getting off meds.

I decided the first step I needed to take was to get off all my medications, including my birth control. Something deep down in my gut told me that was the first step to getting healthy. I also felt it was the only way to know whether it was my diet, or my meds, that were making me sick. I needed a clean slate.

The next year was challenging, but I learned a lot about myself, and just how sick my medications were making me. It was a really important step in my health journey, but It was just the beginning. 

That deep inner feeling in my gut kept telling me that my diet was definitely part of the problem. I didn’t know what about my diet, but I felt like I wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed, even after taking food enzymes with every meal and eating a ton of fruits and veggies, which I thought were packed full of bioavailable (absorbable) nutrients. I was also really sick of buying supplements and vitamins. I wanted to get as much nutrition from my diet as possible.

My prayers seemed to be answered when a very exceptional human longboarded through the office one day at work. Matthew was different. He only ate one meal a day (OMAD) and he didn’t eat vegetables, yet he seemed to defy aging. He wasn’t struggling with the health problems of a normal 42-year-old. He didn’t even move like a 42-year-old. I really thought he was 37 tops. The more I got to know Matthew, the more I could see he was a freak of nature––In a good way. Matthew had been failed by the health care system and the best nutrition advice of the time, and it sent him on his own healing health journey several years back. Matthew’s experience was exactly what I needed at this point in my journey—though I was skeptical.

the journey step 2: diet.

Matthew shared some resources with me so I could do my own research. The most significant was Brian Sanders’ Peak Human Podcast. Brain interviews hundreds of different doctors, experts, and people with health journeys of their own. It’s basically a free nutrition course, and it’s by far my absolute favorite podcast of all time. I dove in and very quickly became a huge fan of Brian Sanders and his mission to understand the gaps between chronic disease and nutrition. I found some incredible doctors, role models, and resources through Peak Human, and after my own research, I decided the next steps in my health journey would be to get my blood work done and start an elimination diet of sorts, with an emphasis on real nutrient-dense food.

The outcomes.

Over the last year, that is exactly what I have done. My daughter is no longer considered obese and her fatty liver gut has diminished. I’m no longer struggling with PMDD, depression, or anxiety. For the first time in my entire life, I’m losing weight without “trying”. I don’t count calories. I don’t portion my food. I don’t meal prep. I don’t even consider myself dieting. I only work out 2-3 times a week. I’m not struggling with brain fog, or memory issues like I was. I’m no longer nauseous on a daily basis either. I feel healthier, more fulfilled, and stronger than ever—mentally and physically. My nails are strong, and no longer brittle, and my hair has been growing back, but I still have a ways to go.

the journey step 3: focus on hormonal balancing & gut healing.

Though my skin has improved, I’m still struggling with hormonal breakouts. And while my bowels are consistent, and WAY more desirable than before, I still feel like I have gut healing to do. The next major part of my journey is going to be focusing on hormonal balancing. I’m also learning how long it takes to heal a leaky gut and how to gauge when its fully healing. I’m also learning how to gauge when hormonal balance is fully achieved and what it means to balance it. Stay tuned for more info, and posts where I share more in-depth about each step in my journey; what I’ve learned, and how things are going.