Most people believe that their daily lifestyle choices aren’t that closely related to the quality of their health. I think most of us believe that we need to eat right and exercise in order to be healthy, but when questioned, few of us have concrete answers as to what that actually means.

When I first started questioning how my daily choices were affecting my health, I had tremendous difficulty finding answers. I’d worked in the medical field for my entire adult life, so I thought I knew a lot about health. Boy was I wrong. What I knew about was chronic disease management. What medications were most often prescribed for what group of symptoms. How to treat an acute episode of (insert symptom here).

I quickly realized that if I was confused and couldn’t easily find answers, then it was likely confusing to lots of other people. That’s when I decided to start at the beginning. I pretended that I knew nothing about health. I approached the topic objectively and started reading everything I could find about health and wellness.

Much of the information I found was contradicting. Individual resources talked about specific diets as being the “cure” or “answer” to everyone’s problems. Other sources touted specific supplements or superfoods as the magic answer. I spent thousands of hours and several thousand of dollars on reference books, cookbooks, courses, supplements, superfoods, and kitchen appliances in pursuit of answers.

Over time, patterns began to emerge. I continually prayed for wisdom and discernment. I stubbornly refused to give up, determined to find the answers.

You see, I was quite sick. The doctors had given up on me, resorting to prescribing pain relievers and muscle relaxers along with platitudes about how lucky I was that it wasn’t worse. They offered advice about seeking disability and pursuing rehab to learn how to better perform activities of daily living in such a way that I could conserve energy. No one was talking about improving my quality of life or getting better. Just managing my symptoms.

At my sickest, I was only 35 years old. My husband and I were raising a house full of teenage boys, we had a mortgage, and a truckload of student loan debt. Giving up was just not an option.

Then, my symptoms got worse. I started having chest pain and then a new set of symptoms appeared. Premature atrial contractions, commonly referred to as heart palpitations. A few palpitations are not un-common after consuming energy drinks or if you're dehydrated, but I was having a LOT of them.

I went to the Emergency Department when they first started because I thought I was having a heart attack. It turns out, I was having an average of 8,000 in 24 hours. That’s more than 300 premature atrial contractions every hour!

I underwent all the normal medical tests including a cardiac stress test and an echocardiogram. Everything appeared to be normal, so the cardiologist recommended I take an anti-arrhythmic medication just to lessen the symptoms.

I took that medication for a few weeks before realizing that it was not the best choice for me. All medications have side effects, and the benefits vs potential risk should always be considered before starting a new medication.   But, this specific medication actually had a black-box warning and was quite dangerous.

I continued to pray for wisdom and discernment. I knew that I was created on purpose for a purpose and longed to serve God. But, it’s very difficult to see past your own issues, your own pain, and your own circumstances when you’re sick and feel like all your energy goes into merely surviving.

One day, during my research about health and wellness and what being healthy actually means, I stumbled across a reference that mentioned food sensitivity testing. I had a lot of trouble finding a practitioner that offered this test, but once I did, the results changed my life.

Once I stopped consuming the foods my body was reacting to, I felt 50% better. This improvement only took a few days. The brain fog lifted and much of my pain melted away. Then, the heart palpitations started to diminish in frequency. I knew I was on to something and my prayers and research increased.

Over the next few years, I took more classes, did quite a bit of experimenting, and eventually created the 90-Day jumpstart, which is a comprehensive program that teaches my clients how to begin the process of rebuilding their health. I can also help my clients obtain testing options like food sensitivity testing as well as other integrative and functional lab testing.

When I was at my sickest, I often questioned God. Why me? Why is this happening to me? Now I realize that I caused a lot of the symptoms and issues myself. My daily food and lifestyle choices directly led to my sickness.

This frustrates me terribly because I have a Master’s Degree in Nursing. I’ve worked in the medical field for my entire life. I sought out the specialists. I prayed for answers.

And all along, I was the one directly causing the problem.

Your daily lifestyle choices are directly related to the quality of your health. But, it’s not your fault. No one told you. And it’s likely no one else will tell you.

I’m known for my truth telling and I’m a straight shooter. That doesn’t resonate with everyone and if you’re looking for sugar coating, I’m not your girl. But, if you’re ready to hear the truth, then you might want to check out our services page and watch a few of the free videos. These videos are taken directly from our signature program, the 90-Day Jumpstart. You can learn about how inflammation is contributing to disease, how your energy tank is affecting your health, and a little bit about weight weight loss.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can serve you in any way.