This is a hard post to write, but one that I feel needs to be shared.
You see, life got in the way and I didn't realise I was tumbling down the slippery slope with my health. In fact, those around me noticed more so than I did. My pictures tell a story I never thought I would need to tell, but I am grateful I get to share my transformation that happened this year.
It hurt to be called fat and I felt a lack of self worth, my esteem plummeted and I thought I was 'burnt out' from working in my corporate role.
When the world went into hiatus, I attempted to get healthy by exercising and diet. I tried Keto and followed a SJ Fitjam program I found on facebook, I even did 75Hard for a week and a half before I got vertigo and had to stop. I lost some weight, but I still wasn't feeling healthy and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be physically. In March 2022, I went in for emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder. My health deteriorated, my confidence took a nose dive and I started to spiral out of control. My doctor couldn't pinpoint the issue and my naturopath helped with providing supplements, but nothing rectified how I was feeling. Emotionally I was tired, defeated, burnt out, spiralling rapidly to an ultimate lowpoint with no way to know how to dig myself out. It was noticable at work and I honestly felt I had nothing more to give. Physically, I felt like the good year blimp, bloated and literally dying.
In fact, I felt so crippled emotionally, physically and mentally that my baseline became 'always tired, always lethargic, always bolated.' That was my normal.
Last year October, I had to clean up my diet and stop drinking alcohol so I could sit Kambo, Iboga and Jaguar (stay tuned for another post on this transformational trifecta!). I was walking quite often as this was my means to stay active, plus I got my mini Australian shepherd pooch Bella in February 2022 who needs some constant exercise. I was eating healthy, avoiding junk food, alcohol and sugary drinks - I would have thought things would have shifted, but everything stayed the same. Tired, bloated, defeated.
I also did something at the end of last year I later learned you should never do ... I have had hypothyroidism for over 15 years and I went off my Thyroid meds.
Ok, so that wasn't a smart idea, I'm the first one to admit it. Bad Leslie move. I started with a new doctor at the beginning of this year and we tested my TSH levels. I scored 189 where my levels should be close to 1. Not a good look!! I started back on my synthroid tablets, but I still felt tired, bloated, defeated. I left my role at the end of March this year and thought burn out was the culprit. Months later nothing had changed. It was then I realised, there is something more happening than what was on the surface. My thyroid was moving towards being under control, but I was still struggling with the bloating and getting out of bed.
Enter Shauna Gourley - Functional Medicine Woman
Shauna and I met in our Psychedelic assisted Therapy class, we were put in the same cohort in the Intro and Advanced course. Shauna offered to work with me, and said 'I can help you feel better.' My initial reaction was, 'Yeah, right! That's what they all say!!!' Shauna sent for a Dutch Test and GI Map which showed I had a bacteria, H Pylori, which had overtaken my body. My estrogen levels were low, not unexpected having been in menopause over the past 10 years, my cortisol levels were extremely (no wonder sleeping in seemed the better option!) and my antibodies were far too high for normal. We were onto something tangible, finally.
What better way to a healthier me? A 30 day Paleo cleanse, no gluten, supplements to support what I was lacking and Matula tea to kick H Pylori's butt.
I started the program with Shauna in May, and come July I felt .... fantastic. Shauna coached me through reclaiming my health which then led to me finally walking the Camino Francés through the month of September, a 779km walk from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. As you can see in my pictures, I was in no way capable of such a pilgrimage earlier this year! The diet, supplements and just knowing I was on my way to a helathier me helped my physical, mental and emotional states of being.
So, what now?
Like anyone who has had such great results transforming themselves, I want to shout it out off all the rooftops how amazing it was working with Shauna and reclaiming my health. In 2019 I was 95kgs (see top left square of the top picture) and today I am 77kgs (see bottom right). I have a bit more to go to get to where I will feel optimal outwardly physically, but maintaining my health has been my main priority as I learn more about what my body responds to with diet and exercise. I started HRT to boost my estrogen levels (whoa - my head feels clear!) and I will do a parasite cleanse in the new year.
I am reclaiming ME and I feel great even though somedays I have no words, only tears about how alert, confident and healthy I feel.
If you are feeling like your body is imbalanced and would like learn more about Shauna and how she can help you, feel free to check out her website here or book in a 45min consult to see what she can do for you!
Last words of wisdom: if you've got your health, nothing else matters! I learned this many many years ago and this means more to me today than it ever has!
Here's to feeling great and living your best life! If you want to transform like I did, let's work together and get you on your way!
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