As you know, I’m Dr. Joshua’s wife and high school sweetheart, a Christ follower, and mama to two of the most amazing boys!
I would say my passion for health and nutrition started when I was around 12-13 years old, oddly enough. For YEARS I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks. At around 12 it got so bad that my mom had me see a Naturopathic Doctor, and I was put on a Candida Treatment Protocol. Within two weeks my anxiety lessened and panic attacks went away! It was at this time that I realized what we eat makes a HUGE impact on our physical as well as mental health.
Fast forward about ten years and I was having my first son. From the time Josh and I got married in 2011 to when my son was born in 2015 I had progressively became more and more what they now call “crunchy”. It was definitely a process, but the differences Josh and I noticed in our health definitely encouraged me to continue learning and implementing things in our home that were less toxic. When my son was born, within 2 weeks he started having awful digestive issues that landed us at the doctor. Due to me desperately wanting to continue nursing him, I went on a complete elimination diet, and yet again (like when I was a teenager), we saw huge leaps in his health. Fast forward another couple of years and my second son was born and by no surprise, he had the sensitive tummy that his big brother had, and so I knew right away what to do. I hopped on the complete elimination diet and just like his big bro, he started to thrive. Both boys required me to adhere to a strict elimination diet for 7-8 months.
We all coasted along quite well for the next few years, but when we moved to Texas for Josh to start Chiropractic school, things started to unravel. My oldest started having emotional and physical health issues that landed us with an amazing group of Doctors and Practitioners who helped us with a gut protocol and emotional regulating techniques. It was during this time that I started having some health issues. It started with inflammation…then progressed to very frequent bouts of Tonsillitis, despite us eating “clean and organic” 80-90% of the time. This continued for a couple years, and that’s when the exhaustion kicked in. We are talking phases of having such a difficult time getting out of bed that it would sometimes make me cry. I chalked it up to having toddlers, but deep down knew something wasn’t right. Then my weight started climbing. Up until this point I had considered myself a “fit” person…frequently worked out, jogged, ate healthy, “didn’t let myself get fat” (insert eye roll at my past self), so at first I just thought I must be eating more than I thought and that I was “too off track”. I started tracking calories and macros, and despite being exhausted, I started going to the gym 5 days a week. I did this for a few months and to my surprise, gained another 15-20 pounds. This continued for about a year until I had gained almost 65 pounds. After finally getting lab work done, we discovered I was battling mold and parasites among some other things. During this time we lost many close family members and also went through a lot of separation and trauma with other loved ones. It was a rough time! There was a lot of trial and error working through that and all of the “protocols”, which ultimately was one of the reasons I decided to go “back to school”. I was so tired of the stress and constant confusion of my health…knowing just enough to know things are wrong and have ideas on how to fix it, but not knowing enough to have confidence in protocols and healing.. that mindset was exhausting as a mama who wanted to care for myself and my family in a way that would nourish them.
It’s been a couple of years now, and I am so happy to say that I’m feeling better than I ever have, even as a teenager! It’s been a long road (anyone who has suffered from severe mold totally gets this!), but I’m finally to the point where my body feels resilient and I’m not constantly stressing over my health. To be honest, I wouldn’t trade going through this for anything. God really exposed some ugly places of my heart through all of this. I didn’t even know how much of a pride issue I had with my body until I gained weight and “had no control” like I was used to having, or how severe some of my disordered eating and exercising were until I couldn’t do it anymore. It got to a point where I couldn’t work out without getting sick, and that was so hard for me. It was so hard seeing myself and not feeling like it was me in the mirror. God showed me that all those years, my perception of me “being a healthy person” was very shallow, obsessive, controlling, and filled with fear. Fear that if I didn’t eat a certain way, my anxiety would return. Fear that if I wasn’t “thin enough” I would never be happy. Fear that if I couldn’t run ten miles I wasn’t “in shape anymore”. Oh boy did He humble me. But I am so grateful!
During my healing He has shown me that I’m not here to obsess over my body or being in “perfect health”. He showed me how to care for the vessel He gave me and do it in a way that honors Him… by nourishing myself, taking accountability for what I can control in a healthy way, caring for this body so I can serve others well, and not stressing over every “crunchy” trend that ebbs and flows on Instagram. He also taught me understanding and compassion. I’m so passionate about helping others now because I know what it’s like to be super thin, fit, running and exercising constantly and never feeling like your body is good enough..and I also know what it’s like to feel overweight, completely overwhelmed, hopeless, and “like nothing is working”… neither of those places are fun to be. I’m here to tell you, there’s a better way!
If you know me, you know I’m a pretty private person. It feels a little strange and uncomfortable to be telling the world all of this on a public website to be honest. But if my experience can help one single person, it’s worth it. I hope you know that no matter how you feel physically, what you look like, whether you’re happy with your life right now or not, YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are loved by the Creator. And He has given so many simple and easily accessible ways to nourish yourself so you can feel well.
I can’t wait to meet you and watch you thrive and blossom on your health journey!
-Hannah
