My Story
Create Health By Aligning Mind, Body & Spirit
Hi, I'm Kristina
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
With over 17 years personal experience with Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroid, I have firsthand knowledge in how to reduce symptoms, heal the gut and bring balance to your mind and body. I’ll help you improve your health with practical advice, sustainable lifestyle changes and simple, easy to cook recipes.
- Let's Start at the Beginning -
At 17 my life turned upside down with symptoms of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I fluctuated constantly between hyper and hypothyroid symptoms going through periods of not sleeping, having anxiety, panic attacks and losing weight to months later sleeping 15 hours a day, gaining weight and feeling extremely tired all the time. I spent 6 years like this, going to doctors without getting any answers for my symptoms. The few tests they ran “appeared” normal and within lab ranges.
As a young adult this disease had a negative impact on my self esteem, education, career and friendships. I also felt sick every time I ate with stomach pains, bloating, fatigue and struggled with anxiety and depression.
I lived for so long with the symptoms it felt like they were becoming part of my personality. I decided to devote my time to researching what could be wrong and learned ways to manage my symptoms as much as possible. I determined it was thyroid related and kept pressing my doctors for the right tests.
After 7 trips to the same doctor for worsening symptoms, I finally received an antibody test that revealed Hashimoto’s. I was relieved to have an answer and thought medication would reduce my symptoms. However, while trying to optimize medication dosages, I still experienced hyper and hypothyroid symptoms and I continued to feel worse over the next 5 years.
- My Own Health Advocate -
My gut instinct was telling me something more was wrong. I worked with 8 different endocrinologists over the years, looking for one that would listen to me and treat my symptoms (not just the lab results). During this process I became my own health advocate! I tracked my symptoms, mood, food and thyroid levels/dosages and began to uncover what worked for my body through this data.
I gained knowledge in reading/interpreting lab results and connecting my thyroid levels, symptoms and mood with the food I was eating. With several years of data, certain patterns emerged that showed me I had control over my healing. To my surprise it began with proper nutrition and consistent action towards a healthier lifestyle – something doctors had never mentioned during all my years of thyroid treatment.
I began a holistic approach to healing with Functional Medicine! I started an elimination diet by going gluten-free, then over time dairy free. Prior to this I had no cooking experience and rarely cooked. It was a huge barrier for me, but I learned to make simple, easy meals that were gluten and dairy free. This was very different from my usual fast food or frozen meals.
Within a few months, my daily stomach pains went away, inflammation was reduced, I had more energy and less brain fog. I was able to exercise again and lost 25 pounds on a whole foods, gluten-free diet. I experienced the power of proper nutrition and functional healing.
- Learning to Thrive -
Optimal nutrition was the first step to feeling better!
For several years I tracked my food intolerances and experimented with diet plans including Paleo, AIP and Low FODMAP, cooking most of my meals at home. I learned to be consistent with my exercise, practiced mindfulness activities, reduced stress with yoga and worked on building my self-trust again through mind/body exercises.
I continued to research nutrition, digestion and thyroid topics by watching every free Health Summit online that I could find. I watched documentaries, read health & personal development books and blog articles by respected functional medicine doctors. I also attended and graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition School. Read about my Education and training.
I learned to listen to my body’s symptoms and requested further testing from a Naturopathic Doctor for gut issues, which revealed SIBO and Candida bacteria overgrowth – another piece of the puzzle. For 2 years I made all of my food at home on a specific diet plan and committed to an herbal regimen that helped successfully eradicate the bacteria and yeast overgrowth. During this time I created a detox protocol that helped me improve when I was feeling sick from all of the bacteria toxins.
Every step of the way, I have grown more resilient. By listening to my body’s symptoms and being my own health advocate, I am able to rewrite my story, heal and thrive in my life! Through this healing process I created Mindful Thyroid 8 Pillars to Creating Health that embodies a holistic approach to creating the healthy life you deserve!