As promised, an update on how I am going with Metabolic Balance….
Was it trauma from my past?
Was it the house fire?
Was it the 10 month long cancer scare?
Was it my overachieving ‘I can do it all” personality?
Did the gut issues lead to the autoimmune issues, or did the autoimmune issues lead to the gut issues?
I’ll never know… but by my 30th birthday I knew something was seriously wrong.
I’d fought and won the war against SIBO, my gut was pretty good but my fatigue was next level. In fact my 15 years of gut issues were starting to look like a walk in the park compared to this. My skin was sooo dry, I was still getting hormonal acne (in my 30s?! No fair!), my fingernails couldn’t grow, my hair was thin and my periods were a mess and dominated the calendar month.
To top it all off I was pretty sure I had rosacea and my PMS was getting so bad that I was starting to worry about the effect of my moods on my kids. I was getting this chronic cough & sore chest whenever I burned the candle at both ends. I had also put on 5kg and just couldn’t shift it, I had to watch everything I ate or my clothes would keep getting tighter & tighter. Good sleep was very hard to come by and let’s just say my moods were such that I wasn’t easy to live with, my poor family.
My cup was so very, very empty.
The kicker? I was about to graduate as a Nutritionist! I was meant to be the picture of health! My diet was pretty schmick but the things I had done in the past were not working any more.
I went to my regular GP and said something was wrong, either my iron was low or something was up with my thyroid. I had remembered years ago that an integrative GP had made a comment about my thyroid being ‘sluggish’.
He checked my iron and it was fine. My TSH came back ‘within range’ but my new Nutritionist training had taught me that TSH above 2 was not ideal and indicated thyroid function was declining. I stamped my foot and insisted that he check my other thyroid markers. I had to pay privately, but I got it done.
My hunch had been right, none of this was normal! These symptoms were not just my lot as a mother & student.
I had Hashimoto’s disease.
I went on the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), started seeing an amazing Naturopath who specialised in thyroid autoimmunity and I felt soooo much better. Stress would derail me but I was working on my meditation & mindfulness. Maintaining my weight still felt like an uphill battle and I was tired of eating so well yet always having to be vigilant. My menstrual health came & went but my sleep was never amazing, I awoke unrefreshed every. single. morning.
Then 2020 hit. The stress of having to shut my clinic, support my family and feeling the collective weight of fear around Victoria and the world completely undid all my hard work and threw me back into the haze of Hashimoto’s disease. 6+ months of hard lockdowns and the fear of an unknown future took their toll. My clients were all struggling, the stress was seriously impacting their health. And it was the same with me. Some of the less desirable symptoms of autoimmune disease flared up big time, the painful joints, inflammation, poor cognition and fatigue were preventing me from being the mum, wife & boss lady I knew I could be. My periods went haywire and I was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. The anxiety was so bad that I was barely sleeping and when I did I often woke during the night with panic attacks.
I was in the middle of a serious autoimmune flare and I couldn’t seem to crawl out of the pit I had fallen into.
The thing about autoimmunity and thyroid dysfunction is that you don’t tolerate stress well. We’ve got to remain pretty zen just to maintain a regular level of health.
I had heard some colleagues talking about something called Metabolic Balance. They were losing stubborn weight, sleeping well and most importantly they had more energy than they had enjoyed in years. In their photos they looked somehow sparkly & full of joy (no BS). Their clients were experiencing the same incredible benefits. I heard story after story of effortless weight loss, reduced inflammation, awakened libidos (hello!) and 20-something-year-old energy levels. I wanted a piece of that! And it was all based on your individual blood chemistry. No fad diets or calorie counting, no supplements, just individualised, whole food, nutrition.
I contacted the head of Metabolic Balance in Australia & New Zealand and fast tracked my training. I knew that as part of my training I would receive my own individualised nutrition plan and I couldn’t wait to start.
The first week was a bit of a rude awakening, I had headaches & my bowel motions were allllll over the place. I wasn’t used to my plan and had a few failure meals. I had doubts and my brain was coming up with every excuse as to why this was a bad idea. It was also Easter which did not help one bit!
The second week I got a few pimples, the headaches improved and it was like a switch was flicked and I was able to sleep deeply all night. I woke up in the same position that I went to sleep in and couldn’t remember anything but a few vague dreams. Whoah! I even measured myself and hooley dooley I had lost 4 of the 8cm I was hoping to shed off my butt. In ten days! You’ve got to understand that I have a wardrobe (or two) full of vintage pieces I have been collecting over the past 15 years, and I desperately wanted to fit back into them! What’s more, I was maid of honour on the Friday night of that week and was not fitting into my dress that had been custom made for me the year before for a COVID-cancelled wedding.
Well guess what?! I fit into the dress! Only 10 days after starting MB!
By week three I was experiencing the 10/10 energy that I had heard so much about. I honestly asked myself, ‘what Hashimotos? I feel great!’
It’s now been six weeks and I’m honestly feeling amazing. My sleep & energy are superb. The weight loss is a nice side effect and I feel like I could happily keep this up for the rest of my life. My personalised food list has become an old friend and I’m super confident with creating satiating & tasty meals now. I’ve lost all the lockdown weight and I’m reacquainting myself with some of my wardrobe favourites.
Here I am in a 1930s dress I bought at the beginning of lock down, you know, to cheer myself up. By the time it arrived months later I couldn’t get it over my hips! Now I have to wear a belt because it’s too big on my waist!
After years of feeling frustrated with my own health but also feeling like I didn’t have the best tool to help my clients with sustainable weight loss, I can finally say with confidence that I have found that tool.
Can you tell I’m just a little bit excited about Metabolic Balance?! My books are now open for MB, I suggest you book a free health discussion with me here to see if MB is suitable for you.
I cannot wait to see the transformation in my clients. I want everyone to know, you don’t have to accept feeling crap all the time, transformation is possible!
Tessa
Can you think of anyone who might need to hear this? Please share this with them.
