#230: Overcoming Hashimoto’s: The Path to Wellness

Are you looking to elevate your health to the next level? In the Fast to Faith Community, we use fasting, faith, and functional medicine so that you lose weight and achieve your highest health. Hi, my name is Dr. Tabatha Barber. I'm a triple board-certified functional medicine physician. I help women look and feel 10 years younger by integrating fasting, faith, and functional medicine. Download the Fast to Faith app in the Apple Store or the Google Play Store and start your free 7-day trial. You're going to get recipes, meal plans, and my proven 2-10-20-30 method of eating for weight loss. And the Fast to Faith Sisterhood, which is a nurturing, supportive community of women who share challenges, progress, and The Fast to Faith app has everything you need to lose weight while deepening your faith. Thrive with the intermittent fasting lifestyle. On this episode of Fast to Faith...

There's one thing that I would hope every single person would do, which is stop, just stop and sit, and really ask your body, how do we feel? How do we really feel? And I think I didn't want to answer that question because I didn't feel good and I didn't want to face that. But I think there's something so beautiful about saying, okay, how do we really feel about ourselves? How do I really feel inside? You know, because for me, I didn't realize how tired I was because I hadn't stopped to ask myself, hey, are we tired? Yeah, we're exhausted. We can't go on. And then being able to see that with honesty and compassion and clarity. And then say, okay, what can we do to help?

Hormone optimization, gut health, faith, fasting, nutrition, beauty secrets, longevity, weight loss, so much more. Welcome to Fast to Faith. Are you ready to look and feel 10 years younger? Let's get started. Thank you for all of your feedback. I am loving the reviews. It means the world to me. You guys keep reaching out every single day and telling me how this is impacting your life. And it just fills my heart that when I finally leaned in and was obedient to God and started to just really do what he's pushing me to do and leading me to do, that I'm reaching so many more women. I feel like I'm finally making the impact that I know that God wants me to make. So. I love you guys. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your time. It means so much to me that you spend 20, 30, 45 minutes with me, you know, and you trust me to bring you the right information, the most current, the most valuable information. I don't want to waste your time. And today we're changing things up a little bit. Normally, You know, it's just me on the podcast, or sometimes I'll bring in an expert speaker, someone, you know, a physician or someone in the health and wellness space. But today I'm bringing in what you would call a regular woman. Okay, I wouldn't call her a regular woman. She is a rock star in her own right, but she is not in the health and wellness space. She is a patient, and I recently met her. At a business event, and when she told me her story, I just I wanted to bring her on because I knew you guys would connect with her and that she had some really powerful takeaways. So she has a different perspective on this. Being a patient is a totally different perspective than being the healthcare provider or the functional physician. So I want you to hear from her. So. Thank you for spending time with us today. Let me just sing her praises because she is an incredible woman. Her name is Ellen Long. She has a master's in business. She's a certified financial planner. But her mission is that she helps build businesses to the next level to make them profitable and to sell for multimillions of dollars. So she's playing in the big leagues, y'all. And she is a very driven person. And her story is going to resonate with so many of you because I hear all the time, like, I'm doing all the right stuff. I'm working out. I'm go, go, go. And I can't figure out why my body won't cooperate and work with me and do what I want it to do. So if that is you, listen up, okay? Because Ellen is going to drop some golden nuggets today. It's really good. So Ellen is a Woman to Watch Award winner. She's a graduate of the Leadership Wilmington class of 2013. She's a course creator for WealthFit Inc., and she was a TEDx speaker titled The Journey to Enough: Finding Your Minimum Viable Happiness. I love that so much. So she turned her mess into her message, and I'm so excited for you to listen, but First, I just want to give a shout out to one of the reviews that came in from Luana Banana. So cute. She said, I'm a 52-year-old postmenopausal woman who heard crickets after receiving a letter in the mail stating that my hormone levels showed that I was in menopause. Your podcast has been transformational. I'm not mad at my providers. Rather, I shared your podcast and resources through your website with them, and I I'm on a soapbox to promote this generous and transformational information to other women across the spectrum of women's health. Oh, thank you. I love that. There's nuggets of truth for all ages. This podcast is essential information for the health and well-being of every woman. Million thank yous! Exclamation points like three times. I'm on HRT and I've lost ten pounds in less than two months with intermittent fasting, removing all gluten and processed foods, adding dairy, and exercising. I've Feel great. Now time to tackle the sleep! Exclamation point. Thank you, Luana Banana. I'm so excited that you found help, that you've got some answers, and you're on the right path. And more importantly, I'm so grateful that you are sharing this with every woman you know. That's what we're called to do. We are called to live in community. We are called to lift each other up. And to share our stories so that other women don't have to suffer the way that we did, right? So thank you for doing that. And I'm just so honored that you trust me with your health. So keep letting me know what you guys need to hear about, what you're struggling with, so that we can navigate this journey together. And this leads right in perfectly to Ellen's interview because she had to navigate all of this and figure it out. And it turns out it's way more than just your health going on. Everything's connected. So let's jump in. Well, welcome, Ellen, to the Fast to Faith Show.

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.

I am too. I was so pumped when I first met you and listened to you speak and you owned the stage and you just looked so confident and you knew your stuff, right? And you looked really healthy and young and beautiful and all the things, the full package. And then to hear you tell me this story of your health hell, I was like, what? Oh my goodness, we need to have a conversation because on the outside you don't look like you got anything going on wrong, right?

Well, isn't that so funny? One of the things that I tell people all the time is like, just because you look good doesn't mean you feel good. And so often What I found is even doctors would say that, oh, but you look so good, so you must be totally fine.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Yeah, we need to unpack your trauma, your going through the conventional system and what happened. Because here's what's really awesome about you is you're taking ownership in your part of what happened with your health. And that's what I want to encourage women to do, is really just take back the control because we keep looking to the white coats for the answers and expecting people to just save us and fix us. And when you really figured out what was going on, you're like, wait a second, I think I had something to do with this. So I would love for you to just quickly share with the listeners what the heck happened, because you were this up-and-coming, amazing young entrepreneur kicking butt and taking names, right? Tell us what happened.

Yeah, so I'll make it really short and sweet, then you can dive in whenever you want. But, you know, I think I, growing up, I was the classic ambitious overachiever. That's what they always called it. But of course, to an overachiever, we're just achieving. That's just normal for us. Um, so I was the straight-A student in high school. I was MVP of 3 sports, ended up being valedictorian. I got a full ride to college, like on top of the world. But of course, as you know, pushing, pushing, pushing, and never really ever learning how to rest. And I think that's one thing that I've learned is you can push, but at some point the limits push back. And so went through college, traveled in my 20s. I traveled the world. I was like the CrossFit girl. I did CrossFit for 10 years, triathlons, like you name it, I was doing it. And so everything looked super healthy. I even felt healthy during that time, but there was always this voice. In the back of my head, I'll never forget, um, I got asked to join a team to go to the CrossFit Games, which is massive.

Yeah.

And I remember this voice in the back of my head going, you can't do it. You'll die.

Oh, man.

And I remember thinking, wow, that's so dramatic. But you know what? I'm busy anyway. I'm doing business stuff, you know, so I'm not going to do it. And it doesn't matter. But I remember thinking like, huh, that's weird. And then I just didn't think about it again. And one thing I would encourage people, especially women, is To stop and listen to your body. One thing I did my whole life was my body is just a tool for me to get what I want to get done. And when you use your body like that, there's a moment when your body goes, no, we're part of this equation too, and you have to take care of us the way you take care of your mind and your soul as well. So in my 20s, I'm at the beach, I'm pretty healthy. And then I moved to Charlotte and the pandemic hits, and we all know what happens. The gym shut down and I become this person that I don't even recognize. I'm not working out. I'm, I'm feeling kind of depressed. I'm, I'm wondering, like, I even went through this stretch where I was trying to figure out if I was bipolar. And now I look back and I'm like, oh, of course my hormones were going crazy, right?

Yes. Oh my God.

And so, so I push and push. And then last year I decide I'm going to basically say yes to everything, every mastermind, every talk, every whatever. And I just got on plane after plane after plane after plane. And finally, there came to this moment where I was in Tampa. I'm at JJ Virgin's house, which I know you know JJ, and I just have this moment where my body goes, we're done. We are done. And I immediately have tons of flu-like symptoms. I have 104 fever. I'm sweating. Like, it was terrible. And I remember thinking, what is happening to me? I must be sick. Right?

Right. Because you're there to work. You're there to give a presentation and like rock it out, right?

Oh yeah. And what do I do? Do I rest? No. I get an IV and I get on stage and I give an hour presentation. And I remember standing on the stage and my mind said to me, get off the stage. You can't do this. I'm 13 minutes into an hour-long presentation and my mind is like, you're done. And I was like, nope, I still got a little more left. I have to finish this presentation and then I gotta be on a panel. But I went home and I didn't get out of bed for a month.

Wow.

I had so much pain, I could not even roll over in bed without crying because the amount of pain I'm in. And I had this moment where I was like, what did I do to myself? I know this is because I did it. And there was this overwhelming guilt and shame of I had so many warnings and I didn't take any of them. And one thing people don't talk about when you get diagnosed with autoimmune, which is what I ended up having, Hashimoto's, is there so much emotional trauma that also comes with it? Like, wow, I did this to myself is the feeling that I had. And now I look back and I'm like, okay, well, there were a lot of other things going on that were outside my control. My grandma's entire side has Hashimoto's, so there was a lot of genetics in there too. But I think what I love about your podcast and I listen to your story is I feel like you also know what that's like to think, oh my gosh, this is all my fault.

Yeah. Yeah. And I love that you recognize that there are some things out of your control. But when we can take ownership for the things that are in our control, then we can feel empowered as opposed to just feeling like a victim and being stuck in that victim mentality and being defined by our diagnoses because you can't make forward progress when you're like that. But I love that you just stayed in bed. You finally listened to your body and did what you needed to do because your body was screaming at you. And your mind is so brilliant and you have all these dreams and these things that you want to do and accomplish and you got to get them done today. I totally feel that, like, into my core. But yeah, our body needs some love and some attention and we treat it like a trash can or we just abuse it and expect it to always bounce back and never have any repercussions. So were you diagnosed with Hashimoto's right away, or what did that look like? You started going to the doctors like, I don't feel good. What happened?

Yeah, so I am incredibly lucky because when that all happened, I had just been networking like a crazy person for the last year. And so I actually knew JJ Virgin. I met Dave Asprey. Dr. Kellyann Petrusi. There were so many people in my life by that time that were functional medicine, and I just sent everyone my labs. I'm like, here's my labs, somebody help me. And I think at that moment, what you said was really powerful was, hey, I need to take responsibility for this and I need to take steps forward. Now I have to do something about it. I can't ignore it any longer, but I need to figure out, I have a mission and I have a vision. I love helping entrepreneurs build, prove, sell their companies. I love helping women. Like, I have mentored probably 100 college students by now. Like, there is so much in my life that I love doing. And I remember thinking, if I want to continue the life that I've built, if I want to continue to impact the world like I've been starting to do even more and more, we need to figure this out. And so I just committed for the next— it's really been a 6-month journey of I'm going to be committed to being healthy because I have so much I want to do in this world. It's not just about being healthy. Why are you becoming healthy? So many people, it's, oh, well, I want to look good. Well, that's great, but don't you want to feel good? And what do you want to do with your life? We should be healthy because we have something bigger that we're doing with our lives. And so I had all these functional medicine doctors. I found a functional medicine doctor in Charlotte, got diagnosed, and then it's just been this journey of supplements. And I've done it all, the glucose monitor, the supplements, the doctor's appointments, the blood draws, all of it. But Ultimately, at the end of the day, it's I have a mission and I have a dream and I'm going to pursue that. And instead of forcing my body to go along with it, it's like, hey, why don't we go along together? And I was listening to your podcast actually this morning and you were talking about we're so mean to our bodies. And I think I realized that, wow, I have been pushing it and forcing it and all of these things. And really what I should have done is just said, hey, what do you need? How can I help you? Let's go on this journey together.

Yeah. And it sounds like you're finally doing that and you have bounced back. I mean, it's only been 6 months, is that right?

Yeah.

That's incredible. Usually it takes women 6 months to just get a diagnosis. So, yeah, you are so blessed that you had the right connections and the right people. So many women are struggling to even have someone check their thyroid antibodies to even get that diagnosis. I get so many women who come to me They've had all kinds of labs done, but they're never the right ones. It's like, where's your thyroid antibodies? Nobody checked them. Oh, my goodness. So I think you've got that going for you for sure. But what would you say is like the biggest game changer for you? Is it something that you're doing different with your life or your activities? Is it a supplement? Is it the way you're eating? Is it all of it combined? What do you think?

Yeah, I would just say the number one thing is I took control of my own healthcare, and I think women need to hear that. When you go into a doctor's office and you're like, look, this is what I'm feeling, this is what's going on, and this is what I need you to do, it is amazing. Doctors really do want to help you. And a lot of times it's, well, they're conscious of cost. I had one doctor say, well, I don't want you to have to pay $25 for that lab. And I remember I looked at him like, $25? I can't get out of bed and you care about $25. Like, I am willing to do what it takes, so I need you to be on this journey with me. And so finding a doctor, I don't care how many doctors it takes, find a doctor who's on the journey with you. I have a Hashimoto's doctor who also has Hashimoto's, Maritza Snyder. And having someone who understands where you are, what's happening in your body, and listens to you— don't stop until you find someone who listens to you. And you just have to take Take control of your own healthcare. It's like, I need these labs done. I need a blood draw every 6 weeks. I need you to be on my team. And if you can't be on my team, I have to find someone else.

Yeah, absolutely. And unfortunately, you might not find that from your conventional doctor, your primary care doctor. If you do, that's awesome. I have just consulted with women who've gotten their doctors to get on board with the plan, but their doctors were just unsure and they needed that guidance. And when you ask for what you need, One of two things will happen. They'll be like, yeah, let me help. I just don't know what to order. What does your functional doctor say? Or they'll say, no, you need to find somebody else, or here's your antidepressant. And then, you know, right? You need to keep looking and find somebody else. So I think that's a really important point to drive home. I can't emphasize that enough because your body actually is made to heal and thrive and function well despite the stuff that we put it through, but we just need to figure out what it needs, what it's missing, and what we are terrorizing it with. So do you still do all that hardcore working out stuff at this point, or do you think you'll get back to that if you're not?

Yeah, I'm not sure. We'll see. I mean, I think the first level is diet, number one. That was the first thing that I fixed. was, hey, if we already have problems inside of our body, the last thing we need to do is stick more poisons inside, right? And so I spent the first 3 months, I did a Lean Life Challenge with Whitney through Joe Polish's network, Genius Network, and it was just clean up the diet, figure out your macros, all that stuff. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it's just be really aware of what you're putting in your body. Because again, I totally changed my mindset around it. Hey, we're on the same team. we're going to do this journey together, then I need to fuel you. I need to make sure that we're giving you the right nutrients. So number one, diet is huge. I think that's the one thing you can put a ton of supplements in your body, you can put medicine in your body, but if you're putting food in your body that's not helpful, none of those things are going to be as helpful. And so that was number one. Number 2 was with Hashimoto's, it's really important to work out, which is great because I love to work out. But I think I had to have a lot of compassion on myself because I went from this sort of elite athlete in my 20s doing— I even did martial arts. So many things are happening. And then to go to, I'm just really proud of you for showing up to the gym today.

Yeah.

And even the trainers, I had trainers yelling at me constantly because they saw how in shape I was supposed to be. Right. And inside I'm like, no, you don't understand. I don't have any energy on the inside. Just because I look tired on the outside doesn't mean And I had to have meetings with them. Hey, this is what's going on in my life. I need you to— so again, bringing everyone on your team, it takes so much energy. And I think that's the hardest part is you don't have a lot of energy to give, but it takes energy to get people on your team, but it's 100% worth it. So no, now I do Burn Body Bootcamp, which is, you know, it's more dumbbells. It's a little lower scale and I love it. It has been so great, you know, and then incorporating some, some softer stuff like yoga and Pilates and So, no, it's completely changed the way that I work out. But I think in a year or two, I might get back to some a little more fun stuff, but we'll see. For right now, no, we're taking it a day at a time, and it's more about how can we be healthy than how can we reach some workout goals.

I love that. And are you working on really getting your autoimmune condition into remission, like bringing those antibody levels down? Have you seen any changes in your labs yet, or is it Kind of too early?

Oh yeah, so absolutely. So one thing that, um, I will have to say, the Lord has given me an absolute, like, iron willpower. You've kind of heard that from now. And so when I was like, we're doing this, I'm 100% or nothing girl. So I was like, we're gonna do this, we're doing this. And I remember having this conversation with my doctor. She's like, well, you know, you could— I'm like, no, no, you tell me exactly what to do because I need to figure this out. And so actually in 6 weeks, I had a dramatic change in my labs. Number one, I'm young. I'm only 34. So a lot of people don't get diagnosed with Hashimoto's till they're in their 40s or 50s, and it's a little harder to turn around. But truly, and she even has said this to me, you had full commitment. I will say, if you're feeling that way, if you can have a month or 2 months of full commitment of doing the right diet, I take, oh my goodness, probably 30 supplements a day. It's crazy. And then I am on thyroid meds as well. And again, even that is, you have to be— I go into it and I say, hey, I'm still tired. Oh, of course you're tired. You're doing a lot of stuff. No, I don't feel like myself, and I know what myself feels like, and this isn't it, so I'm going to need more. Even that. So I've been walking into the doctor's office like, I know how I feel. I know this isn't optimal. It's better. It's not optimal. So they just raised my Dosage as well too. So again, and one thing I learned about this too is this is just a journey. This is a marathon and it's just, it's one day at a time, but it's a marathon and you just, it's gonna change and that's okay. But checking in and being like, hey, what do we really need? And that's, that's one thing that we're developing now is because I travel so much, what's my recovery plan coming? What, what's it look like when I come back? Because that's so important. How are you recovering from really hard things? So there's so many things that go into it, but I would just say you have to do one step at a time.

Yeah.

And I think a lot of people do try to do what I did was let's just do absolutely everything. And that is really hard. And it was really hard for me too, because it's a complete life identity change. I became an entirely different person. It's wild.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I was diagnosed when I was 17 after a very traumatic pregnancy and delivery, but I didn't know what that meant. was given this diagnosis, you know, they burnt my thyroid out, put me on medication and sent me on my way. And I never thought about it again until med school. And what I learned in medical school was very sad. It was like, oh, autoimmune conditions, they just progress. They get worse. You get more and you die a slow, painful death, like from all of these symptoms.

Yeah.

And so I just had this in my head, like, this is my lot in life. This is how it's going to be. And when I started studying functional medicine and I heard someone say, you can turn this around, you can put this into remission, this does not have to be an active process. All of a sudden I had hope again. And I was like you, I had to completely change my entire life, what that looked like, what I was eating, how I was eating. How much I was sleeping, because I wasn't, you know, managing my stress, all of the things. And thank goodness I finally stopped and did that because I can't even imagine where I would be because I was, I was 40 at that point. I was already going into like hormonal changes and all the things, right? And so it gets really mucky and you can't tell what's what. But I love what you said. I know I don't feel like me. I know that I can feel better, right? And so if that's all you know, say that. And if you don't have a doctor who's willing to investigate and listen, like, reach out. We're everywhere. We can help you. You know, you're seeing someone across the country. It's possible to get help anywhere you live. That's the cool thing now. That's the one thing we got from the pandemic, I think, is like, we're all connected now. So I just think that's really important. I would love for you to share any words of wisdom going forward for like how to balance being such a rock star who's driven, who's got big dreams, and who's making those dreams happen. Like, your resume blows my mind, you know, 34 and you're like doing all this stuff. And I just want to know, how do you find that balance? Is it just self-discipline? Is it like looking to the Lord? Do you have some kind of regimen that you're following? Or, or is it like what you said in the opening? You just always have to stay focused on your purpose and your why.

Yeah, I think honestly, and I will say this to everyone out there, Hashimoto's is the best thing that's happened to me. Honestly, it really is. And I want you to hear that and know that for 2 reasons. Number one, um, you should be really proud of yourself. If you feel terrible and you are living life, you are taking care of people, you are showing up, like, that is incredible. I remember when I got diagnosed, I immediately started crying and it wasn't because I had an autoimmune disease. It was because I finally realized what I had done. In the midst of all of that. Like, oh my gosh, I've been— I had an autoimmune disease and look at everything that I've done. Look how hard I've worked and look how much it's taken me. And it's taken me way more than the normal person. Like, it's incredible what I've been able to do in the midst of this. Like, you should be so proud of yourself. And number 2, I think the reason it's been so great for me is it really helps you hone in your priorities. What is really important to me? Now I'm like, I, I know I have a limited amount of energy. Where am I going to put that energy? And honestly, it has been beautiful. It has solidified the relationships that are incredible relationships because I don't have energy for every relationship now, you know? And it's really helped me think like, in my business, what are the things that I love to do? What is my highest purpose? How can I put my energy toward that and not into all these other little things? So honestly, it really is the best thing that's happened to me because It has completely changed the way that I see life and I have really learned how to prioritize. And yeah, I do have a, I wouldn't call it a regimen. One thing I love about Hashimoto's is I could never follow a schedule my whole life. And I remember I beat myself up about that so much, like, oh, the 5:00 AM people are getting up and they have an hour to do this and then they're doing this. And every time I remember, I'll never forget, I had this business coach and she was like, just follow a schedule, do the same thing every day. And I remember thinking, I can't. And now I know, oh, I couldn't. I actually couldn't. I physically couldn't do that. And so now I'm like, oh, how much energy do we have today? What's today going to look like? Oh, we're a little less on energy. Great. We're going to take that into account. And so it's completely changed. Now I'm so flexible even in my structured schedule, if that makes sense, where I just say, how much energy do we have? What can we do? What's our top priorities? And what's my day going to look like? It's going to change every single day. And it has given me so much freedom. So much freedom. Oh, my goodness. So much freedom.

So much. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. I just— I can't reiterate it enough. Like, your test is your testimony, right? You had this adversity and you flipped the script. You turned it around and you said, you know what? Everything is happening for my good. I'm going to find the blessings in this. I'm going to come out stronger and It's just that is what every woman needs to do. You have to look at these challenges and setbacks and health issues as an opportunity for growth, for pivoting, for prioritizing and getting clarity on like what matters. Because we're wasting so much time being busy, being distracted, that we're not living into our purpose. We're not doing what we're supposed to be doing. And sometimes I think God uses the little paddle and is like, Nope, let's get you back on track here. I think that's what the pandemic did. It was like, here's your timeout, figure it out, you know? And so he's a good Father. He, he's going to direct us and guide us where we should go. And some of us listen and some of us don't. So yeah.

And I mean, I truly believe God works all things for good.

All things.

All things for good. And so I think in this journey, it's been, okay, what is the good in this? Like, Lord, show me the good in this. And one of the beautiful things too is even before I was diagnosed, I would diagnose other people with autoimmunes. Like one of my best friends, I was like, I think you might have POTS.

Oh my goodness.

And I always had this, wow, compassion and understanding for people with autoimmunes. Uh, I actually lived in Israel for a semester. It was my, my study abroad. And one of the girls there had undiagnosed Lyme. And everyone told her she was crazy. It was in her head. And she got diagnosed about 7 years later. And we ended up meeting up in Austin. I'll never forget it. And she sat me down and she said, I just want to tell you thank you because you were one of the only people who were like, no, you're really sick. There's something wrong and you need to figure it out. It's not in your head. And let me help you. The funny thing about it is now I look back and I'm like, oh, I understood because I was also going through the same thing. I just didn't know it. So I think God really does work everything out for good. And my college roommate who ended up becoming a missionary, she would always say, he never wastes anything. And that has resounded in my life. God never wastes anything. If you feel like this is a waste, you know, I'm wasting my life, I'm sitting in bed, I'm not doing anything, I'm not being productive. It's like, no, he doesn't waste anything. And the compassion I have for people. Like, he has remade my heart in some sort of soul fire. I don't know how to say it, but it's like, it's completely changed how I look at people, how I look at entrepreneurs, how I look at business owners, how I look at people in general. It's like, he really has remade me in this whole experience. And so I really encourage you, if you're going through this, he never wastes anything. He, he is good and there is good that will come out of this. You might not be able to see it now, but even my drive for productivity was a fire inside of me. And I remember I said this at the event you were at, but it was a fire that burned me up inside. And it's great to have a fire, but what I'm learning is so much better to have a water. I think of like the elements of fire and water and this water rushes downhill with no energy and it creates so much energy. And so I've been thinking about how can I add water to my soul and my heart and my life? So that, you know, these things are producing energy instead of me always trying to tap into this fire that burns and is out in a moment. So all the things that I do, I think about how am I just adding energy to my life so that I can be poured out again?

Oh my gosh, that's so beautiful. And I love the big painting you have behind you of the wave. I love that. I, it's so true that we attract the energy that we're giving out, that we're thinking about. And so we have to shift our mind. We have to shift what we're willing to receive and what we want. And you've just done so much work going in and realizing and understanding, like, oh, I was coming from this place of, like, push, hustle, you know, all this fire energy, like, let me get it done in your own will. And it's like, wait a second, we're working with our higher power here. There's so much more energy we can tap into with ease and grace that we don't have to hustle and work our butts off and push the boulder up the hill. We can ride the bike down the hill or ride the wave down the hill, right? So I love that for you. That's so incredible. And now you're really connecting with people on another level and doing your business on another level. How incredible and beautiful is that? All just because You were sick and you decided to say, like, no, God's working out for my good. Romans 8:28. Like, it's going to come around full circle. It's all going to be worth it. You just have to enjoy the journey. You have to find the joy in the trials and the tribulations, right?

Yeah. And I think for the business side, it's been really interesting because entrepreneurs have this more, more, more, which I totally— obviously I relate to. Yes. More, more, more. And from this, it's been really neat to say, okay, not more, better. Let's not do more. Let's do better.

Yes.

And sometimes that doesn't mean less. I know a lot of people think, oh, less is better. It depends.

Yeah.

Less can be better. More can be better, but, but better is the best. Like, what is the, what is the best way that I can do this? And so now when we talk with entrepreneurs, it's let's get clarity on what you really want. That's, you know, what, what is all that driving towards? What's, what's going on inside that more and more and more has to be? So what, so where are we going? How can we have an honest conversation with ourselves on why we want what we want and honest clarity about where we're going? And then say, how can I do this better instead of just more? What do I really want? Because at the end of the day, you could have a $100 million company and we all know this, you can be completely miserable. I have seen miserable people with $100 million companies. And I have seen really happy, healthy, heart-filled people have $5 million businesses and $10 million and $20 million. And the beautiful thing about it is, you know, one of our, what we love to do is take companies who are worth, you know, between $5 and $10 and double or triple them and sometimes 5 times them. But it's amazing when you really go down and say, okay, how can we build this in the best, most efficient, most optimal way, not just for the entrepreneur, but for actually everyone involved in the company? How? That power is so much stronger than more, more, more. And you see these companies just start absolutely taking off because they've really understood this is where we're going, this is why we're going there, and we're going to do it in the best, most optimal way possible. And so I think what I do in my personal life is also what I do in my professional life, which is how can we help people get there? And I think functional medicine doctors do that. What's going on and where are we trying to go and why? It's got to be bigger than, I don't know, I just want to feel better. No, why do you want to feel better? What do you want to do with that? And to me, that's the— that's where the commitment comes from. You know, I think we talk— you talk a lot about diet culture, and looking better isn't a great purpose. It's not a great mission. It's not a great driver for health. There— it has to be something deeper than that if you want to have full commitment to feeling good inside. Right.

That's why diets don't work because it's such a superficial desire that the cookie craving is greater than the weight-loss craving. You know, it's like, that isn't actually what you're craving. You're craving something else. You're craving acceptance from your husband, or, you know, you have some past trauma from the girls in middle school who, like, outed you. Or you have to figure out why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to look the way you do? What is driving that? Because there is always something deeper. And then— you can build on that. So I couldn't agree more. It's so important to— and that's why I love when women journal, because I really think you got to get out of your head. You got to talk to other women. You got to write things down, get some clarity. But this has just been really helpful because I know there's women listening who are like, oh my gosh, that's totally me. Hello. I need to slow down. I need to check myself. So thank you for being so vulnerable and real and sharing this side of you, because I know that your time is so valuable, and I couldn't possibly pay you what you're worth, at least not right now. So, yeah, I just appreciate you because I know my listeners got some major golden nuggets from you today. And if nothing else, I just hope they really take a look internally and say, am I serving my highest purpose?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I would just say, you know, if there's one thing that I would hope every single person would do, which I didn't do, and I really wish I would've a lot earlier, which is stop, just stop and sit and really ask your body, how do we feel? How do we really feel? And I think I didn't wanna answer that question because I didn't feel good and I didn't wanna face that. But I think there's something so beautiful about saying, okay, how do we really feel? About ourselves. How do I really feel inside? You know, because for me, I didn't realize how tired I was because I hadn't stopped to ask myself, hey, are we tired? Yeah, we're exhausted.

Yep.

We can't go on. And then being able to see that with honesty and compassion and clarity and then say, okay, what can we do to help? And I think if every woman would sit down and just ask, how do I really feel? To me, that's the starting point. You have to start there because until you get there, you will ignore it. You will do something else. You will finish listening to this podcast and go back exactly to the life that you were living. And I just really encourage you to just stop, take 5 minutes, take 10 minutes, ask, how am I really feeling on the inside? We have to stop doing this outside-in health thing. That's what America is built on. America is built on outside in. And I think we have to stop and say, no, no, no, health is from the inside out.

Yes.

Let's start with the inside. How do I feel? What's going on in my body? Let me check in. I had a brain— I call it a brain-body block for a long time in my life, which was, I don't care how you feel, we've got work to do. And now it's like, nope. How are we doing? Do we need to rest? Do we need to recover? Do we need to take a day off? Do we need to go to a spa? Do we need to go to the ocean? I mean, I love the water. Obviously, you can see it in every part of this. But sometimes, I mean, I was talking to my doctor and she was like, you need to take January and be at the beach. Why don't you do that? You used to do that. I used to go to the Bahamas or Wilmington where all my family lives, or Florida. And she's like, why'd you stop doing that? I have no idea. I got busy.

Yep.

Do that again.

Busy. Yes.

Because you know yourself better than anyone else. You know what you need to rest and recover. And it's just about knowing that and saying, okay, I have to do this for myself. And then communicating it to the people who care about you. Hey, I can't do that thing that I used to do with you anymore because this is really important to me and this is why it's so important to me. I need you to understand.

Yeah, exactly. And they're going to, and you're going to show up better and be able to pour back into them so much better. So they're going to like you more. Like it's a win-win. Nobody wants to, you know, be around someone who is giving from an empty cup. They're resentful. They're miserable. You know, you can feel that type of depleted, sad energy. So don't show up like that. Like, go fill yourself up. I love that so much. I want to meet you at the beach somewhere.

Right? And then get a support system. Find people who are going through what you're going through and meet up with them. I have a call later today. With a girl that I met. She's in marketing. We met through a, at a, she actually helped redo our website, Sia. And we, we meet like once a month, once every couple weeks and we're like, hey, how's it going? How'd your labs go? We both have Hashimoto's so we know what it's like. And it was really funny. She told me, she was like, oh my gosh, I got this diet and I cried because it was gluten-free and dairy-free. And she's like, I don't know what I can eat anymore. And I was like, girl, check my diet out. And I sent her mine and she goes, Oh my gosh, your diet makes me feel so much better. Yours is way worse. But I— but that's the beauty, right? It's like, hey, what are you doing? What's helping? How can I support you? How can I encourage you? How can I have— you need other people in your life who know what you're going through and not just your doctors. Find some people with some autoimmunes, hang out with them. I have my friend who has POTS. We're like, uh, we're tired today. Let's just watch a movie. So we just sit, watch a movie. Like, find people who get it. Surround yourself with a community.

There's literally nothing that you're going to experience that someone else hasn't gone through. You're never alone. Yeah, find somebody. That's why my sisterhood is so just near and dear to my heart, because you should be doing this with other women. You should be in community. That's how we were created to be. So thank you for that reminder. That's so important. Oh my goodness.

And create your network. I mean, to me, that has been the best thing about this is When all this stuff happened, I had already built a network of people who loved me, who cared about me. I had given to them and shown up for them, and when I needed their help, they were like, absolutely. And so it's so important to build a network of— oh man, just honestly anyone. But for me, having a network of healthcare providers and practitioners that were just friends of mine, that I mean, I got a text back immediately. I'll never forget, Kellyanne was like, girl, you okay? Because these labs are rough. And she's like, how can I help you? How can I support you? What can I send you? And people were just— Jess McNaughton sent me C60 stuff to help with my inflammation. I mean, there were so many people that stepped in and said, hey, we want to help you. So build your network. It's so easy for someone with autoimmune to think, I'll just sit in my house and I'll rest and I'll get better. And that's important, but it's also important to To create this network, this community around you, because we can't do it by ourselves. We, we got to have our people.

Yeah. And let people know how you really are feeling and that you are suffering. Don't keep putting on the fake face, you know, don't keep the appearances up because it's not going to help you in the long run. And people do want to help you. You know, we think that we're being a burden or whatever. It's like, Like you said, no, I've been pouring into these people for a long time, and they want to help me. They were, like, excited, like, let me take care of you. Because that's part of our other purpose is, like, people want to feel needed. And sometimes we don't even let them do that because we put up walls and we don't ask for help. And so we're denying them of using their gifts, right? So it's like, I just think if we can be more open, more authentic, more real, like, you're gonna just feel so much better and you're actually gonna have the relationships that you're supposed to have and stop all the fakeness, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, you're so awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. I can't wait to hear what everybody said because I know they got some good stuff out of this. You're so amazing. I love how you've just interwoven this health journey with what you're doing in business, because everything is connected. We can't keep things in silos. What you're doing at work affects your health. Your health affects your work, your relationships, all the things. So thank you for coming on this health show, even though you're a business badass. Yeah.

And message me. I'm on Instagram, Ellen Long Style. My friend came up with that for me. 15 years ago, and we're still here living life Ellen Long style. But message me. Tell me about what's going on. I'm happy to be here to be encouraging. I'm no doctor, but I'm living the journey. So if I can be any encouragement, please do.

Thank you. That's really gracious of you. We'll put those in the show notes. So awesome. Thank you, Ellen. Let's stay connected, girl.

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Oh, I love Ellen. I hope you got something out of it. I know you did.

I—

my takeaway was you need to pause. You need to pause your crazy busy life and you need to listen, right? God's always talking to us. The Holy Spirit is trying to work in us and do great things, and a lot of times we're blocking it with our busyness, our distractions. So get still. Ask your body, what do you need from me? What are you trying to tell me? I talk about this in the book, in my book Fast to Faith, where we really need to start to discern and regain our intuition. Some of you had great intuition when you were little. You know, you'd get a stomachache if you were around somebody who was like a creepy adult, or if you were in a situation that you knew was bad and not going to go the way it should. It was like giving you that stomachache is God telling you, pay attention, it's time to move. So a lot of us had that, and then we got busy, we got distracted, or we got trained by other grownups how to ignore that and to push that down. And, you know, I always say, like, our periods are the prime example of that. As soon as girls start having periods, we train them to get rid of the pain and the symptoms and ignore them, cover them up, get on birth control pills, or do whatever you need to do to not be inconvenienced with any symptoms. But I promise you, Symptoms are a message. They're a warning sign from the body. The body's trying to tell you something, and it's time to listen. So I love everything that Ellen said. So much wisdom, so much grace. And I just I would invite you to take one thing from the episode. You don't have to go and revamp your whole. Whole life, but maybe you never got your thyroid antibodies checked and maybe you need to check those because you've been tired. Or maybe you know you're overdoing it. Maybe you're training for a triathlon and there's something in the back of your head that keeps saying, you need to rest, you need to rest. I would recommend you listen to that voice. So whatever it is, I promise you You were meant to hear this for a reason. And if you can just lean in and figure out what that is and serve yourself, you're going to be so much better. And that's what God wants. So honor God by honoring your body. So go have an amazing week and let me know what else you want to hear about. I am here for you. Keep your mind on Jesus.