Since I was young, I’ve a history of back pain, blood sugar issues (hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar), and crippling menstrual cramps (complete with vomiting; passing out; the inability to eat or sleep; which necessitated depending on prescription-strength Motrin to even survive) that I later understood to be symptoms of Endometriosis. Since 2010, I had a further downturn in my health related to debilitating back pain and a worsening blood sugar issues. I came to believe (which was largely due to what providers had been telling me for years) that not being normal was “normal”… until recently.

One fateful day in early 2018, I had a networking lunch with a local medical provider who specializes in a ketogenic (Low Carbohydrate High Fat, “LCHF”) way of eating, Jennifer Opdycke. She mentioned how such a nutritional approach has been so effective that it helped Diabetics taking hundreds of units of Insulin a day to no longer have to take Insulin. I casually joked “maybe I should talk to you as I have horrible hypoglycemia”.

For me, hypoglycemia was dizziness, nausea, disorientation, vomiting, sweating, confusion, shaking, and a host of other not-so-fun symptoms when I didn’t eat a FULL meal at least every 3 hours. Snacks were useless. Needless to say, the severe reactive hypoglycemia and the back pain that prevented me from even bathing or dressing myself for a period of my life made pretty much anything difficult.

When my interest in a ketogenic/LCHF way of eating piqued, I started reading the books recommended by Jenny. As I started to learn more about the fascinating science behind the healing power of the ketogenic/low-carbohydrate approach to nutrition, I found that anxiety and depression improves, Diabetics are no longer symptomatic, women with PCOS can get pregnant again, acne is eliminated, and it’s even used as a treatment for cancer, just to name a few!

I had always eaten what I thought (and was told by the Food Pyramid, which I later found out was actually developed by a politician hoping to please various lobbying groups at the time) was “healthy”. I ate organic foods cooked at home – quinoa, roasted veggies, beans, brown rice – and rotated what I ate every 5 days to address my food sensitivities. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t eating what my body needed given that my hypoglycemia was so severe. After reading the science and testimonials supporting a Low Carb High Fat Ketogenic lifestyle, I figured “I have no idea what my body needs but I may as well try this! What do I have to lose?”

My Results

So, I decided to make the commitment, as I had done with so many other things for my health over the years, to living a Low Carb High Fat Ketogenic lifestyle. I ate the fat on my steaks (something I have been teased by my family for being repulsed by and cutting around since I was young), loaded up on the healthy oils, and counted my carbohydrates. Here’s what happened within weeks:

• My goal weight was REACHED and exceeded (reflecting the ability to shed the weight of my hormonal imbalance)!
• My inflammation that had contributed to my back pain was ELIMINATED!
• My severe hypoglycemia COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED!
• I was able to do multiple-day long medical fasts to accelerate healing (something UNFEASIBLE with my previous hypoglycemia)!
• The menstrual cramps from Endometriosis were GONE! NO MOTRIN!
• I didn’t have to rotate my foods anymore to address food sensitivities!
• I felt healthier than I had EVER felt in my life despite always being an active athlete!

My life COMPLETELY CHANGED! I got my body back! I felt healthy! And, I finally had the love and trust in my body that I thought would never be possible!

Needless to say, my radical healing has sparked in me the fire to be able to help other people on their journey of healing with a ketogenic/low-carbohydrate, ancestral lifestyle. To date [updated 6/2/19], I have had 39 hours of training from the leading research organization on a ketogenic/low-carbohydrate lifestyle (The Noakes Foundation), have had 23 hours of training on the connection between nutrition and mental health (our brains are 60% fat and I find that the blood sugar roller coaster caused by high sugar/processed/carbohydrate foods trigger anxiety and panic attacks for my clients), have meticulously read 27 books on the topic (with at least 20 more on my reading list), and am attending an over-20 hour conference to receive information on the most updated research related to the ketogenic/low-carbohydrate lifestyle. I am even in the process of writing a book on the topic to share my story!

Unfortunately, a ketogenic/low-carbohydrate way of eating has been getting some bad press recently (largely based on the flawed “science” behind our dietary guidelines) and based on the belief that it is “fad diet” that is “unhealthy”. A low-carbohydrate approach to eating has been around since the 1800s and has been used as a central and successful approach to treatment for things like Epilepsy, Diabetes, obesity, digestive issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and many other things I could mention. I could totally nerd out on you with all of the research and science that supports this as the original and ideal human diet but, I won’t (unless you want to reach out to me so that I can offer you the specific information, which I would LOVE to do!).

My Mission

Due to this miraculous life-changing experience (which is simply one testimonial of the hundreds I hear about constantly), I wanted to spread the word to others that hope is out there! Healing is possible even when you think your not-normal is “normal”! With all of the things that I had done for my health, just when I was ready to accept that feeling miserable and being limited was “normal”, I found the missing piece! And, my life will never be the same.

I want to help other people find their story of healing, too. So, based on my training, I am taking on the role of lifestyle coach for those who want to integrate a ketogenic/low-carbohydrate way of eating whole foods into their holistic life. I want to spread my passion and help educate others and to help them find a life where they can be truly free of things they never thought in their wildest dreams they would be able to be free from. I want to help people get their lives back, like I did! Food truly is medicine.

Food is truly medicine.