#233: How Health Coaching Changed Her Life: Ashlee's Journey From Patient to Health Coach

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 celebrate successes together. 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.

I'm sharing this with the world. I don't care who reads it. And it resonated with people, and people started saying things like, I don't say anything to you, but I'm watching you, and I show up every day at the gym because of you. And that meant so much to me. It didn't matter how much money I made. I just wanted to make an impact. I wanted other people to want to go to the gym, to want to lose weight, to want to feel good so that they could impact their families as well. And I say this a lot, like, I'm not judging your McDonald's, so please do not judge my healthy food or my workouts. And my son still to this day enjoys working out with me, so I know that I've made an impact with him over these last several years, and that's important.

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. Welcome back to the Fast to Faith podcast. I am so excited for this episode. Oh my goodness. I'm interviewing my amazing coach, Ashley. She has been with me for 3 years at least. And she came to me as a patient. So that's so cool that she first started out as my patient way back when I was an OB-GYN, and then she came to me for like her issues. She just wanted to get healthy. And so we did the whole functional medicine piece. She went through the Healthy Her program. And the coolest thing is she kept the weight off, she stuck with it, and she has an amazing, vibrant life. And now she helps me give that to other women. And so I'm really excited to just talk about things with her and unpack, like, how do you go from, like, a patient with all these chronic issues to a health coach working in a very busy medical practice? And now we're creating the Certified Fast to Faith program, and she is one of just my inspirations for the whole thing. So I'm really excited. to talk about all of this, and I know that you're going to love hearing from her. So don't forget, you can always pause and come back. That's the cool thing about podcasts. If you don't have time right now to do the whole thing, just pause it and then share it with every woman you know, because I am on a mission to reach 10 million women who are struggling and suffering. We're going to just send out little soldiers and create this health and wellness movement. That's what I'm envisioning. Ashley's on board with me. She's like, yes, girl. And so I want you to be a part of it. We're going to talk about that a little bit more, but let's dive in and welcome Ashley. You're so amazing. Thank you for doing this.

Yes, thank you for having me. I'm excited to share my story.

Yeah, you are definitely an inspiration because you came to me just kind of not knowing what was going on, right? You're like, Something's off. I can't get back to who I was. And what do you say? Like, what was your biggest reason for coming to me initially?

I think it was because at the time I thought I was eating all the right things. I thought I was exercising enough, but I just still felt off. I was exhausted. I was bloated all the time. I was puffy. I had a lot of inflammation going on. I was already gluten-free. So in my head, I was like, you're just super healthy and you just got all these problems. And then I came to you and you got to the root of the problem, which was obviously I had some gut issues, some food sensitivities. I worked with Morgan and I was able to heal my gut in that standpoint. But one of the biggest impacts that you made on my life at that time was that you simply said, you're killing yourself with your job. You're killing yourself with the way that you're living your life. And no one had ever said that to me. It was always like, push, push, push. do more, more, more. Be a good mom, be a good wife, be a good administrator, and just keep going. And so that stuck with me for a long time. We hit the pandemic, and so things— I didn't instantly listen. But what I do know is that my life slowed down, oddly enough, because of the pandemic. It brought us home as a school leader. And so then it was about a year later when you started asking me if I would be willing to coach for you that I realized going back to school and kind of doing these 2 things was like, I really am stressed. I had no idea. Like, when you take it all away and you bring it back, you realize that you're stressed. So I just kept keeping that at the forefront of everything I did was I've got to stop stressing. And that was difficult. It was really, really difficult.

Yeah, absolutely. And so really figuring out the food pieces was key to healing yourself and What prompted you to go on and become a health coach?

Yeah, so I honestly just knew there was something. And I have to give so much credit to the first person who ever asked me to coach. She kept asking me if I would be willing to try this program out. She was doing a program. She said, will you try it? Will you try it? And I finally was like, yes, sure, let me try it. I was getting ready to get married for the second time. I wanted to look and feel good. So I went ahead, I did the program, and I just started sharing my journey. It just felt right. Like, I was telling people about it, I was sending people to her, and she was like, you've got to coach. And I'm like, I'm not a coach. Like, you're crazy. And she's like, no, you're already coaching. You could be making money. And so she told me that I could get a discount and I can make money. And I was like, all right, fine, I'll do it. So I started and I was doing it and I just kept going. And one of the biggest places that I shared my journey was at work was at school because I knew what it was doing for me and I wanted to help everyone at school. So there are probably people you can ask. I helped so many people just because I wanted them to feel good. And I knew, especially when I stepped into the administrator role, that if a teacher felt good, their classroom felt good, their students felt good. Like it was a domino effect. So I wanted other women to feel as good as I did so that they could pour into their students. That was crazy. Just really passionate for me was to help those women be successful.

Oh my gosh, I love that so much. You hit on a really important point. Like, we're always influencing people whether we are meaning to or not. Like, people are watching what other people are doing. And that is so awesome that you as the administrator were giving them a better example of how to live and then show up in the classroom as teachers, and that was impacting their kids and all of that. Like, I love the domino effect. It's So good. But speaking of like being seen and, you know, putting yourself out there, you had some challenges, right? And I, I really want to talk about this because I think in the back of people's minds, that is one thing that stops them from stepping into what God's calling them to do. I know for me, for a long time, I didn't step into what he was calling me to do because I was so afraid of being judged and so afraid of putting myself out there. And let's be honest, it's still a weekly fight. Like sometimes I will secretly message you and be like, I can't do a podcast. I, I look like crap. I don't want to be seen. And I'm really harsh on myself. And you're like, well, first off, you're crazy. But we have these things, right? Like these hangups. My friend thinks I have like body dysmorphic disorder. I don't see myself. And Maybe that's true. I don't know, but that's my problem. And so oftentimes I don't show up, and I've had to really push through that and be like, "This is about the kingdom. This is about you know glorifying God and serving God, and it's not about what I look like." And so I have to push through a lot. But you, you really had like quite the experience, and I want you to share it because this is reality. You know, we live in a kind of a gross world. So share to me what happened. Share with everybody.

Yeah, you know what? It is difficult. And I look back now at timid me who did not feel like I was enough, and I would totally handle the situation differently now. But I'm grateful that I went through it. And so I remember, I can picture what I was wearing. I was at a football game, my son's flag football game, on a freezing Saturday morning. And 2 rows in front of me, a mom that I've known for a long time, who her kids were friends with my son, and we went to the same church. She sat in front of me. She had no clue I was behind her, and she just simply dissed everything that I had been posting on social media. And I have been posting things on social media to inspire others. I wanted to help other people. I wanted to share my journey, and I was doing that because I wanted to provide a to provide a better life for my family. I wanted to be able to say yes to things. I wanted to be able to purchase the supplements that made me feel good. And so there was a selfish aspect to what I was doing, but at the same time, so much of what I was doing was because I wanted to help my family. And she sat there and she just talked about how I was constantly posting my video workouts and I was pushing people to want to lose weight and I was sharing my before and afters and all of these things. And there was a lot of other negative things that she said about me. And I went home and it took me like 3 days before I even told my husband about it because I was just so like, why? And I remember I got real quiet on social media. And then the post, and it reminds me every year because I posted about it because I was like, you know what? Screw this. You're not going to Stop me. I'm not going to allow you to stop me. So I finally told my husband about it. I told my best friend about it, and I was like, "I'm sharing this with the world. I don't care who reads it." And it resonated with people, and people started saying things like, "I don't say anything to you, but I'm watching you, and I show up every day at the gym because of you." And that meant so much to me. It didn't matter how much money I made. I just wanted to make an impact. I wanted other people to want to go to the gym, to want to lose weight, to want to feel good. So that they could impact their families as well. And I say this a lot, like, I'm not judging your McDonald's, so please do not judge my healthy food or my workouts. And my son still to this day enjoys working out with me, so I know that I've made an impact with him over these last several years, and that's important. Oh, that's fire, girl.

That's fire. I love it so much. Yes, we need to be convicted about what we're doing with our life, and we need to You know, be living in alignment with our beliefs. And so, you know, if you're feeling like, yes, I want to be healthy, but I'm afraid to be judged— like, I love what you said, I'm not judging your McDonald's, so don't judge my healthy life. You know, we should be lifting each other up and supporting each other as sisters in Christ. And it breaks my heart that she went to your church. Like, that's just kind of the nail in the coffin.

Mm-hmm.

But it's such a good reminder that hurt people hurt people, right? So she was most likely feeling frustrated that she was stuck in her situation of unhealthiness and not enoughness and all the feelings that we've all dealt with at one point. And so I want us to continue to show up and be that shining light. And maybe she secretly finally shifted and changed. But all we can do, what we're called to do, is to live Christ-centered lives, show up, do the right thing, and leave it to people to make that choice. But how amazing that you didn't let it put your light out. You know, it was a couple days and oh my gosh, I have been there. Like, I remember when my Instagram account got hacked and totally just removed. I had a good following. It was like, I really thought that was going to take me out. I didn't want to come back after that because I thought it was a sign like, you need to shut up. You need to shut your mouth. And here I am like thinking that I need to help women have a voice and a choice. But that's what happens. The enemy. Knows your weak spots. They're like, oh, poor little timid little Ashley, right? She's not ready to shine. But you pushed through. You, you know, focused on what God's calling you to do and what you wanted for your life and for your family. And let's talk about that because I think coaching gives women so much freedom. Like, we don't need to be stuck in these miserable jobs that are killing us. These, like, especially like nurses, like, it breaks my heart. They're doing these 10 and 15-hour shifts, or, you know, it's just like, there is freedom out there and you can create your life to look however you want it. And that's literally what you did, right? You, you're no longer the dean of the school. You're not the administrator anymore. And I just want you to like share with women what the possibilities really are.

Yeah. So I'm going to back up a little bit because I want to say what I feel like now, if this would have happened to me now and if it happens to me tomorrow, it probably still will, especially because I am getting ready to step back out into the social media world. I kind of stepped back a little bit just because I was coaching for you solely and I was trying to figure out my way. And I'm fine with that. But it is time for me to get back out there and share my journey again. And so I am a little nervous about that. I am a little hesitant. I'm going to do things a little different. I'm probably going to show up just on Instagram. You're not going to see my family as much on there, and I'll still post my family on Facebook. But my husband is very private, and so he doesn't want to be out there. So I'm fine with that. I respect that, and he respects that I need to share my journey. So if this happened tomorrow, I would definitely stop, and I would just pray for her because I know she is struggling and she's hurting. I didn't have the— I didn't have it like, I wouldn't say in me, but it wasn't my first instinct, you know, 5, 6 years ago to pray for someone. But now it is. There are people I see hurting all the time who I don't know that I pray for. If someone says they have a prayer request, I literally put it in my phone and I genuinely pray for those people. And I just, I keep praying for random people all the time. And so I would, I would pray for her. That's something I would totally do different if I could today. But. Yes. Now I can't remember what question you asked.

No, that's so powerful. And I just think it's a good reminder, like, what would Jesus do? And put yourself in their shoes and realize where they're coming from. And that judgment is usually coming from their own self-judgment. They're just reflecting. Right? And so I imagine she was feeling like, dang, I really wish I could be showing up like that for myself and Putting in the work and consistently making the effort. So that's all we can do is pray that they get unstuck because being stuck is from the enemy. Being stuck is not from God. Being stuck is like being in agreement with the lies that you can't change or that your body can't heal or that you can't make different choices. And those are all lies, honestly. And you know, we did the call last night with our group of women, my patients. And we talked about the certification program, and I said, like, the majority of things that women need to get healthy is not from a doctor. You don't need to see a doctor 90%, 95% of the time. You have the ability to heal. You just need a guide. And that guide can literally be the woman sitting next to you. She doesn't have to have multiple degrees and all of these things. Like, she just needs some basic knowledge of how the body functions and how the mind-body-spirit connection works, how the mind drives our decisions and behaviors and choices. Like, if you have that basic foundation, you can help so many women shift. And like, I'm honestly trying to get myself out of a job. I don't want to have to be a doctor anymore. The majority of women don't need A doctor. They just need a guide. And so I'm just—

They need a guide and they need the tools and they need the mindset shift because that is something that I feel like you have created with this program. And I remember when you rolled out, you had me do your 8-week Gutsy Reset and I did that and I learned a whole lot, but I was like, okay, this is great. But then you rolled out Fast of Faith And that was when the mindset piece was more important than what I was eating. And you subtly taught us all what to eat. That was when the game— like, that was a game changer for me. And that was when I could, as a non-doctor, explain it to people. There was just a lot. Like, you don't have to have a ketone meter. You don't have to have all these fancy things. You just need to eat the right foods at the right times. And that's what's most important. And that's what you've brought with Fasted Faith, the 2-10-20-30 method and the Faith It method. They're game changers when they're put together and then to have accountability on top of that. And then this sisterhood that you've now created where every week we can come to a Faith Builders call. It's, it's literally like a trifecta. You really can't get any better than this.

Yeah, I agree. And it wasn't of me. Like, this was a download from God. So I can't even take credit. Like, I'll take credit for the work, you and I. Yeah. Because there was quite a bit of that. Yeah, but it's— And there always will be because we're going to continue to pour into now the certification program and really help women be amazing coaches. But it is that mindset piece because you can have a plan to eat a perfect, healthy meal with all the amazing recipes that we have and all of that. But as soon as you start believing the lies that are floating around in your head and you get into agreement with those, All of that goes out the window and you can't stick to the program. So this is why Fasted Faith is so different, and this is the piece missing in the majority of coaching programs out there. Like, I did the research.

Yeah.

I studied all the coaching programs and it's just your basic cookie-cutter, like, what are your goals? Okay, here's our plan for the week. Good luck. I'll see you after you fail. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, no, we have to like get in there and find out who you believe yourself to be, why you believe that. Sometimes rewrite that based on who God says that you are and what the scripture has planned for you. What does the scripture say about your life? And if you can get into this Christ-centered identity, you're going to start making different choices because you're going to be believing bigger and you're going to be believing better for yourself and you're going to have these major shifts. And, you know, I want to see women quit their day jobs like you did and be a Fast to Faith coach. Like, go all in, believe in yourself, believe that you can, you can make amazing money if this is what you're committed to doing. And we're going to give you the tools. And I love that you're doing it with them. You know, we just decided, right? Like, you, you are my COO of my medical practice and all the things, but you're like, I'm ready to get back out there and coach women. And you The talents and the tools that God's given me. So I'm really excited that you're going to do this with them.

Yes, I'm excited too. That's what I'm excited for this first group to be able to like walk alongside them. And I know Morgan is too, so that we can kind of show them what we're doing and we're going to have things that don't work and we're going to have things that do work and we can share with them. So we're going to be building this along with you. And that's what I'm really excited about this first group, because I feel like this first group of women that we're working with, they're going to be like the coaches of the coaches eventually. We're going to be the ones out there helping other coaches. just really rock their business. And that's what I'm really looking forward to. It's creating a kingdom. And like you said, it's little soldiers out there, um, helping us just spread the word even more. And it's, it's needed. Women need this and it will not be easy. I remember now what question you asked me a long time ago. It was like, how did I get from where I was to where I am? And it's, it, it isn't easy, especially if you're a full-time already working person adding in the coaching. I'm not going to tell you that it is. There were a lot of evenings, a lot of weekends. But be upfront and communicative with your family. Let them know the possibilities and have them dream with you. We have a dream board. We had things there. First, it was car payments I was covering, and then it was travel sports, and then it was vacations. And I remember the first Christmas we were able to pay for with all my coach money, and that was huge. And to not have to put it on a credit card. And so this is life-changing. And being able to be a coach With Jesus as your COO. Like, what the what? Like, we are blowing things up. Like, seriously, you, you are just— this is where it's at. Like, I, I wish, I wish the young, timid, like, doesn't believe she's enough me could have had this. So I am so prayerful that you join us in this journey in whatever way that it is. Even if you just share this podcast with someone that is like, you need to do this. This is you.

Like, Please do. Oh my gosh. Let's just take 2 seconds to thank younger, timid, quiet Ashley for being brave and sticking it out and staying with the struggle because now amazing, a little bit more mature Ashley.

Yes.

A lot older, a lot braver Ashley gets to enjoy everything timid little Ashley did. And we just need to thank our old self for everything that she went through because she did bring us here.

Yeah.

Like, I'm so grateful to that wild child that I was and all those mistakes that I suffered through and figured out because now I get to enjoy the fruits of all that. And I just want to, like, say, you know, we did a Faith Builder call today and we talked about Matthew 9, verse 37 and 38. And I just want to share that because some of you listening might be like, this sounds really cool and amazing and promising. And I want you to realize that you're not listening to this on accident. You're being called for something, and this might be it. But the The scripture is, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. So to me, like, the blessings and all the amazing possibilities of this beautiful harvest that God has planned for us are there for the taking, but where are the workers to come and get it? And so I just invite you to Consider the fact that this might be your next season of reaping all the hard work that you've done in the past. Like, it doesn't always have to be the same type of harvest. Like, you worked your butt off in the school system, and now you're reaping the rewards in the coaching world. Like, how cool is that? But as long as we're just being faithful to what God's called us to do and doing. You know, that work, it doesn't matter what the work is, but this to me just aligns so well that we can teach women how to find their Christ-centered identity and then shine their light brighter and use that to help other women do the same, like, and make money. That's like a no-brainer to me. So, yes.

And I think the making money piece is important because the more money that we can make, the more money we can help other people. And so it is important to figure out how we're going to use that money and use it wisely. But we are going to make an impact. The more we can make, the more impact we can make, and the more little soldiers we can put out there just using it for good. And that is what's really important. I know at the core of both of us is just continuing to help more and more women every single day.

Absolutely. I mean, a percentage of this of the revenue from the certified coaching program will go back out. We will be donating. We hit a lot of really important causes. And I always love hearing women tell me what cause they want me to help donate to because I'm always open to what else is out there. But we're usually focused on single moms or moms who are financially struggling or have gone through abuse and things like that, or sex trafficking. Like, we try to cover all the bases for women when it comes to our donation philanthropy side. And I just want to make more money to give more money, right? Like, that's how it works. We should always be giving, whether we have 2 cents or 200 cents, but you can increase the amount. So I love All of these pieces. And I really hope this resonates with you if you're listening, if you're watching. Ashley is just an amazing inspiration, the way she's transformed not only her health— like, you've got to see her before and after pictures. They're up somewhere. You've got to go search them out.

It's just so cool.

Yeah. But that you've transformed your whole life by being a Coach. And I'm so appreciative and I'm so grateful that God brought us together and that he gave us both the vision for the Certified Fast to Faith program. Because a lot of times God only gives you your vision by yourself and not your family and friends, and then they all think you're crazy. So I'm so glad you have it with me.

I'm glad too. And I'm, I'm really grateful for the women that are already trusting us and that are going to continue to trust for us and know that we're already praying for you. To come into our lives. So we look forward to getting to know you on a different level. Yeah.

Oh, it's gonna be so incredible. I can't wait.

It is.

Praise Jesus. Awesome. Thank you for your time, Ashley.

Yes. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Yes. We hope to see you in the Certified Fast to Faith coaching program. It's in the Fast to Faith Academy. We want you in there. We want to pour into you. We want to teach you everything we know, all the stuff that moves the needle. Forget all the fluff, all the generic stuff. None of that works. We have to dig down and feed our soul and really get to the root of who we are and what drives us and our behaviors as a human being, because that is how you make change. That is how you serve the kingdom and glorify God. So thank you for your time Today. Please consider checking it out if it seems interesting to you because it's gonna be incredible.

All right. See you soon.

Bye, friends.