From Near Death to 'Dang, Girl!
How I got well... I needed a formula.
In April 2010, I had a near-death hospitalization. I was so sick, the docs put me in a coma for 4 days. When you have to be put into a coma to get well, that’s pretty darn sick. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks total — 10 days in ICU, 10 days on the ward, IV antibiotics the entire time.
Once I got out of the hospital, I had to recover from the treatment. Don’t get me wrong: I am forever grateful to the doctors at Clinica Biblica in Costa Rica for saving my life. Literally. Saved. My. Life. Thank you!
All I know is, when I got out of the hospital, that’s when another type of healing began.
I was a wreck. I couldn’t walk so had to have a wheelchair at home, couldn’t breathe without an O2 tank, couldn’t go to the bathroom by myself, couldn’t eat (for once), my hair was falling out by the handfuls.
Five years earlier, I had owned and operated a fitness business for 17 years and here I was, helpless as a newborn. So weak at first, I couldn’t stand up by myself.
Two things I know for sure:
I NEVER want that to happen again.
And I do NOT want to die in a hospital. Put me on an ice floe and shove me off from shore, but do NOT take me to a hospital for my final days.
8 Years
It took 4 years to even get a grip on my health. Four MORE to feel like I had completely recovered. Most of that time was spent trying to figure out how to get my old vital self back.
Here’s the most disturbing thing I discovered: conventional medical doctors were no help in this phase of my recovery. They all wanted to manage my symptoms with meds: PPIs, statins, thyroid medication, anxiety medication.
Not one of them knew A N Y T H I N G about getting my actual health back!!!
In fact, in the recent documentary FAT, the medical MDs all confirmed that they’d had little to zero nutrition training and little to zero classes on reversing diseases that health bloggers are reversing.
I needed a formula to get well.
A DIFFERENT formula than the docs were offering.
Where was I going to get that? I had such debilitating fatigue and brain fog, I couldn’t think. I couldn’t remember what to do. I needed a step-by-step system and a strong, compassionate ally to get me out of the hole.
I did the only thing I knew how to do: I started searching again. I am a relentless searcher, reader, listener.
One day back in 2012, I stumbled on functional medicine, all about fixing what ails you by finding the root cause of the problem and healing THAT.
Whoa. This idea resonated strongly with me: finding the root cause, rather than just suppressing symptoms. I KNEW this was the missing link!!!!
Of course, I had no clue how to do that or who could help me. Then I found the functional diagnostic nutrition training. I could learn how to work the magic for myself, then help others do it for themselves.
I was trained in the basic D.R.E.S.S. protocol (more on that below). I worked that system religiously for almost 2 years* and got my life back.
*Don’t panic: I’ve refined the system, re-naming it D-DRESS, added targeted nutrition, detox and cleanse products so you can do in 3-6 months what took me 2 years!
What is D-DRESS?
It’s a comprehensive, yet simple plan for healthy living. It’s based on the practical D.R.E.S.S. for Health Success® program created by Reed Davis. D.R.E.S.S. stands for Diet, Rest, Exercise, Supplements, Stress. I added the first D for Detox.
Your body is working constantly to be in homeostasis or balance. It usually does a great job… until we overwhelm it with stress, toxins, poor diet choices, no sleep and either too much exercise or too little.
Every system in your body affects the others. They work synergistically, not independently. Once one system is out of whack, it inevitably affects the others, causing a downward spiral.
1 Bit of Bad News
A broken system can’t repair on its own. It requires intervention. And because you are a whole body with systems that work synergistically rather than alone, the whole body needs to be addressed, some systems more than others.
Here’s the bad news — and I’m not blaming the victim here, just stating a fact — something about the way you live your life NOW caused the first imbalance.
That something can be a conscious choice about food, exercise, sleep (and some of those are so programmed we don’t even realize it’s a “choice”)… or unconscious (environmental hazard you don’t even know about).
The resulting dis-ease doesn’t happen overnight and we very often can’t even tell it’s happening. But eventually, there comes a point when your body’s forces cannot combat the overwhelming stress… homeostasis (balance) is suddenly out of reach and your body finally lets you know IT’S HURTING.
The secret sauce
You need a formula. D-DRESS is that formula. It’s simple, effective, affordable:
Remove the obstacles (Detox)
Renourish (Diet)
Use RESS to get back to homeostasis and stay there.
DETOX
The first D is for Detox. You can’t get well on top of a toxic body. Unless you are living on a mountain in Peru, you’ve got toxins. The foundation to a return to health includes a focus on elimination/cleanse using CLEAN TOXIN-FREE supplements/protocols.
DIET
Your body is in constant repair-mode from the little indignities we throw at it all day everyday, from stubbing a toe to killing a cancer cell. Your body pulls nutrients from the food you eat to do this repair work and build your immune system.
You’ll learn everything to need to know to get started on clean eating in the first 30 Days. After that, we design a diet just for you, taking your preferences and specific nutritional needs into consideration.
We’ll also work on a few other diet interventions that anyone can do to get your blood sugar and insulin resistance under control, and get you burning fat for fuel rather than sugar. That is not just about weight loss!!! Dysregulated blood sugar and insulin resistance are major contributors to inflammation which is involved in EVERY disease!
It’s not just about REMOVING inflammatory foods. Your body needs to be nourished: it’s critical to make sure you are taking in clean, toxin-free healing foods with all the vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes and bacteria intact!
“Toxin-free” means you are eating food that is not contaminated with pesticides, herbicides (think RoundUp), halides, toxic chemical residue, pharmaceuticals, mold, pathogens, parasites and genetically-modified ingredients that have been shown in study after study to interfere with your gut health and ability to take in nutrients from the foods you eat!
REST
Without good sleep, nothing else matters! Our bodies need plenty of good quality RESTORATIVE sleep. The optimal sleep time for most people is 10pm to 6am, in tune with our circadian rhythm and the earth. We start here and modify the hours to fit with YOUR lifestyle.
There are so many ways to affect your sleep in a positive manner — we will definitely address these. I have excellent tools and simple protocols to help you turn that around.
Just a note: quality sleep does not necessarily mean long sleep. Long sleep can be a sign of unhappiness and a lack of enthusiasm for life — sleep can be an escape! I have found myself in these shoes more than once in my life. The goal is to find what works for YOU.
EXERCISE
“Aaaaiiieeeee, don’t say that word out loud!” Yes, you need to move your body a minimum amount for vitality, longevity and weight management. The good news is: it doesn’t take much!!!
Seriously, I can teach you extremely effective home workouts that you can do in 4-10 minutes. Yes: 4-10 minutes. You can have longer workouts, if you like! The goal is a minimum of 20 minutes 3x a week. Again, longer workouts can be awesome and you might be good in that department. If not, we’ll figure out what works for you.
No matter what, we keep it simple. I owned a fitness business for 17 years and have some wonderful tricks and tips up my sleevies /=;-)
SUPPLEMENTS
The soil, she ain’t what she used to be. Eating clean and good health requires supplementation. We’ll talk about your specific needs and where you might want to supplement, either for long or short term. The goal is to regain vitality and enjoy life with excellent health!
STRESS
Once your body feels better with clean eating, quality sleep and some exercise, your stress level will go down naturally!
Then we want to arm you with simple stress management tools.
It’s important to know the difference between MANAGING stress vs. COPING with stress. Coping is what you do when stress overwhelms and you have to do something to release it: run, yell, drink, drug, hot bath, workout, eat…
Managing is different. Managing is what you do to prevent the overwhelm from happening. There are some wonderfully simple effective “add-ons” for emotional well-being. We live in a toxic world and need to be a bit more mindful these days in maintaining sanity!
Healthy Living
There you go! As we return our bodies to homeostasis, or balance, by addressing these 6 simple but comprehensive planks TOGETHER, all healing becomes possible!!!
To find out how you can get your mojo back, text me at (859) 550-3862.
I don’t bite and I won’t force anything on you. If it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for me! OTOH, if you want a body that allows you joy and happiness and fulfillment, I can help.