The Balanced Hormone Solution

Ep. 47 From Burnout to Breakthrough — A Client’s Journey Through BHS (with JoEllen)

• Tracy Rickstrew • Season 1 • Episode 47

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🎙️ In this powerful episode, Tracy sits down with JoEllen—a dedicated teacher, artist, and recent graduate of The Balanced Hormone Solution. JoEllen opens up about her health journey, including a sudden thyroid scare, prolonged fatigue, breast cancer diagnosis, and the life-altering decision to reclaim her health naturally.


✨ You’ll hear about:

  • What it felt like to be exhausted every afternoon and stuck in a body that felt like it was falling apart
  • The moment JoEllen said no to estrogen blockers—and yes to taking charge of her health
  • Her life-changing results from functional testing (DUTCH Test, Blue Poo, Gut Zoomer, and DEXA scan)
  • How she rebuilt her energy, healed her gut, balanced her hormones, and learned to nourish her body with intention
  • Why she says investing in BHS was the best decision she’s ever made—and how it’s paying dividends every single day


💬 Notable Quote:

“The Balanced Hormone Solution is an investment in your health that pays great dividends in the present and in the future—so you can serve those around you with purpose and dedication while finally taking care of yourself.”


If you’re a woman 35+ who’s tired of feeling ignored by conventional medicine, overwhelmed by symptoms, or like a stranger in your own body—this conversation will hit home.


📌 Mentioned in this episode:

  • DUTCH Complete Hormone Test
  • Gut Zoomer + Blue Poop Test
  • CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor)
  • DEXA Scan for bone density and body composition
  • Liver & Gallbladder Cleanse protocol
  • BHS Core Nutrition Plan and Meal Planning Strategy
  • Morning and Evening Routine framework from the BHS Program


🔥 Ready to feel like yourself again?

The Balanced Hormone Solution is for women who are done guessing and ready to detox, test, and rebalance—for good.


💻 Learn more and apply at tracyerinwellness.com


Let’s connect!


  • 💌 Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode
  • 📱 Share this episode with a friend who needs hope and healing
  • 📸 Follow Tracy on Instagram: @tracyerinwellness
Speaker 4:

Welcome to the Balance Hormone Solution Podcast. If you're a woman 35 plus feeling exhausted, struggling to lose weight, and wondering where your libido went, this is for you. I am Tracy Aaron, a functional medicine practitioner who helps women balance their hormones naturally. Without prescriptions, guesswork, or trending Nonsense.'cause here's the truth, your symptoms aren't random. They're signals. And if you know how to listen, you can fix the root cause and start feeling like yourself again. If you're ready for real solutions, let's get to it.

Speaker:

Welcome back to the podcast of Balanced Hormone Solution. I am your host Tracy Aaron, and today I have a very honored guest with us, my friend Joe Ellen. Is a client of mine and she recently graduated from the Balanced Hormone Solution, and we are going to have a conversation about her journey in that program and what life is like for her. But before I, uh, turn it over to her, I want to introduce her in a way that carries a little bit of meaning and weight because Joellen is a person that. Is very intentional about the choices that she makes in her life. She is very purposeful and she's a good friend to many. We personally met in church and, um, I've just really been blessed by her friendship through the years. Um, Joann's a local school teacher at a, uh, classical Christian classical academy in our area, and she's also a beautiful. Artist. I have bought her note cards through the years and sent them to friends far and wide. So I love the work that she does there. Um, so I, you'll see what I mean. When Jo Allen begins talking, you'll see the depth of, of her intentionality about living her own life with purpose and with passion, and with faith. So without further ado, welcome to the podcast, Joe Alan. Well, thank you for having me on, Tracy, I'm so glad to have this conversation with you today. I just wanna chat with you about mostly, you know, before and afters, the journey in between what your life is like now compared to what it was before. So let's just go ahead and jump in. I would love for you to take me back to what life was like for you before you found the balanced hormone solution. Well,

Speaker 2:

um, it really was filled with a, a lot of, um. A lot of tiredness for basically three years. I, I have struggled with, I had struggled with, um, increasing tiredness in the afternoons and it got to a critical point where literally I could not, I. Keep my eyes open and it was the end of the day. I'm in dismissal with the kids. I'm supposed to be watching and making sure everybody is safe and everything and I can't stop yawning. And it, that was, um, it had gotten that bad right before I was, um, oh. Became aware of a, something, some kind of protrusion in, uh, in my neck and. Looked it up and realized, I think this is my thyroid. So went to my GYN. Um, I didn't have a, um, a primary care at that point'cause pretty much I had been really healthy up to this point. You made those doctors and, um, and it just, it was like all of a sudden my body decided that it was going to fall apart. Mm. It started with a thyroid and, um, so she, she ordered a, um, a, an ultrasound for me and, um, had the ultrasound done, discovered that I needed to have two biopsies done. Um, actually three, two on one side and one on the other. Um, for nodules that were very large. And, um, fortunately they all came back negative for cancer. Was very thankful for that. And I thought, okay, well, I, I don't really know what to do now. I know I have an issue. I I really want to just do the best I can to. Maybe try to change my diet somewhat. I, I didn't really know what to do, so, um, but I kind of plugged along and sort of just passed it off as well. I guess that's better.'cause it seemed to have gone down, the swelling had gone down and it wasn't as much of an issue. Until last summer. Until this past summer, um, when I had some extreme bleeding. And when I say extreme bleeding, I really mean extreme. And, um, it was a little scary. I was out of town at a conference and uh, literally was in a session, the beginning of the session and was not near the hotel room and had to go. And basically spend 30 minutes in the bathroom. I couldn't get, I couldn't go out. Mm.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2:

So that was the beginning of this next phase of, um, uh, of my body falling apart. And, uh, after the conference and, and everything got under control to a point, uh, that I could actually go through the conference and came home. Already had an appointment with my GGYN, um, scheduled, but. From the time of that extreme bleeding to the time that I saw her, it was about two months and it was about a month and a half, and I had, um. There was, it was bleeding the whole time, but not as strong. It was mostly just, you know, basically had a nonstop period for almost two months. Right. Um, so she ordered a pelvic exam, uh, a pelvic ultrasound, and, uh, of course I had my mammogram at the same time because that's, um, that was my routine.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm. And,

Speaker 2:

uh. The ultrasound indicated. Yep, there's something that needs to come out. Not sure if it's going to end up being a hysterectomy, and she wouldn't know until she got in there. So, and school was about to start. So literally when it rains, it scores to start within about a week and a half. So, um, uh. The mammogram, unfortunately came back with something suspicious. Mm-hmm. So I had to go through a diagnostic mammogram with a possible ultrasound. It went to the ultrasound. The doctor had to do a live ultrasound to see what was going on, and determined that. Biopsy was necessary and decided to do biopsies on both, um, both breasts. And so, uh, had that done, came back with, left side was fine. The right side? Nope. We had cancer cells. Mm-hmm. And so that was a pretty traumatic experience because literally that was the second day of school that I found that out the end of the day. Fortunately, I was very thankful for that. And, um. So it was at that point that I knew, okay, I, life can't be the same as it was. It's not the same. I will say that, um, the Lord was incredibly near to me during that whole time and, um, my life has been. Changed for the better because of cancer. So, mm-hmm. I can, I can say I'm thankful for my cancer and yeah, thankful for the journey that I had been through over the last year, um, really several years. And, um, so it was after all of the surgeries. I had three within six weeks, um, all at the beginning of school. The last one was in October. And, uh, and then. After healing from that, I decided to go through radiation and I did that, um, and finished that over Christmas break, so.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2:

Um, at that point I knew something has to change.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Something, I, I can't do this without help. Um, because I had already told my oncologist I was not going on estrogen blockers. Absolutely not. And she suggested. That eating healthy, eating a, basically watching what I eat and going more Mediterranean diet mm-hmm. Um, would be the way to go. And um, so I tried to figure it out on my own and realized this is really serious. This is more than what I can figure out on my own. And. I don't want to get this wrong. I really need to invest in understanding what I need to do. Mm-hmm. And so, um, so anyway, I kind of went into a little more than just what life was like before, but that is a big part of the result of years and years of stress, um, stress that mm-hmm. Really, I, I. And I just worry too much and I Yeah. Try to fix things, um, for, for everyone. Mm-hmm. Myself included. But I, I do it in rather circuitous ways. And so it just, it was stressful. Um, stressful because, uh, I was burning the candle at both ends.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So, um, so anyway. That led me to this place of realizing I really needed, I really needed to talk to you again. I had talked to you at church. Mm-hmm. One time. Mm-hmm. We had had a conversation. I had, um, a few tests done, and that was right after the thyroid, um, or right before the thyroid issue. I don't remember which one. So I already had the contact with you and. Knew when I came to that place of recognizing this is not, I can't do this on my own. That's when I reached out to you.

Speaker:

So, yeah. And I'm curious, like did anybody on your oncology team offer any type of, um, nutrition, specific nutrition advice or supplement or anything that you could do outside of pharmaceuticals?

Speaker 2:

So there was a, there was an option through Vanderbilt, I think it was through Vanderbilt or through, it might've been through Tennessee Oncology, but I would've had to travel up to Nashville and it was, um, a nutrition class, um, or a nut. I would've met with a nutritionist. I just knew nothing about them. Uh, and yes, okay, insurance, yes, probably would've paid for it, but to me it was kind of a shot in the dark. And whereas I knew that I knew you and I, I had listened to several of your podcasts. There was something that I connected with and I thought, she's actually been through it. These nurses, I don't know if they've been through it. I don't know what their story is. And I, I, um. I can't guess that this is not a, oh, let me just try this and let me try that and just see if this works. No, I wanted something that, that I could in, if I was going to invest in it, it was going to have to really be something that helped me to make right decisions so that it wasn't just a short term. Change, but a lifelong change from here. Yeah. Until the Lord takes me home. So, yeah. Right. Yeah. And I remember that not, yeah, no, no, no additional advice from the oncologist other than really trying to encourage me to do the, um, to do the, the estrogen blockers and at least radiation, if nothing else. And, um, and so I, you know, I, I. Respectfully declined very strongly. Mm-hmm. And she, she, she was very, um, she was respectful and she didn't push after that. So that was good.

Speaker:

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and then I remember that conversation because we were trying to. Figure out like the way forward and where we were gonna go from here. And then I had mentioned to you the balanced hormone solution and you had said, oh, actually. I'm, I'm interested in that. Tell me more about that. And at the same time, there was another gal who joined, um, right around the same time as you who also had come out of breast cancer. And so it was an interesting sort of collusion of people who were brought to the same place at the same time with the same type of, um. Needs the same type of concern for their own health. I, the other gall members, she did go through chemo and her framework was, uh, it was awful. And I never wanna be in that place again. So how can I, you know, clean up whatever's happening behind the scenes so that I never get there again? And so for you guys both to be, uh, starting that journey at the same time, was, was pretty monumental. And, uh, not to minimize anybody's symptoms that they might experience, but you know, your, both of your stories really carried a lot of weight and, and, you know, definitely garnered my own empathy, um, because. It really felt like, I can't mess around with this. I don't have time to try all of the things. And, um, you know, like you said, go down this road and find out, well, that was a waste of time and try something else. And, and of course finances are limited and, and so, um, yeah. So I, I just like, there was a lot of weight when you guys started and I love the process of working with you because you had real, um. You had something really tangible in front of you. Mm-hmm. It wasn't a random symptom, like, oh, I get headaches before my period or something. And again, not to minimize that type of thing, but the, the passion that you brought into the BHS really propelled your success, I think. Um, but, but you know, uh. So what was it like for you when you started the balance hormone solution and the gr the group began to take shape and the education module started to come your way? What did you, what did you feel like to now have somebody on your team that was providing you a different way forward, more comprehensive or more holistic approach?

Speaker 2:

Well, it was, um, it was a, a breath of fresh air and at the same time it was so different that I just wasn't completely certain about it at first. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, I, I, I knew that I knew you, so I knew that you wouldn't lead me down a path that was, um, that was harmful. Um. And that you had helped lots of other women. So I was, you know, I wasn't shooting in the dark here necessarily. Mm-hmm. Even though it felt like it was the dark to me. Um, at first. Yeah. Uh, it was, it was pretty overwhelming initially, just the, the change, uh, the, um, trying to figure it all out as far as, yeah. All the. How, how to eat within the, um, the parameters because it was just, it was something new. And yeah, whenever you start something new, it just takes a while to, to get used. Okay. These are the guidelines and there's freedom within the guidelines. I sort of got used to that. That rhythm. It, it, um, and yeah. Um, I kind of went off your question. Yeah, no, that's why I realize that I'm, no, that's, I'm not really answering your question.

Speaker:

No, there's definitely a learning curve, right? Yes. When you, when you jump in and like. I think at the beginning you think, wow, 90 days, we have so much time to work on these things. And then just a couple days in you're like, this is gonna go by so fast, I can't waste even one day. Right. So in one sense it feels like a long period of time. In another sense it feels way too short. And, um, there's a point in which women experience some form of mental, um, transition where they begin to grasp, like I. I, what's most important for me is consistency, that I do the right thing over time. Um, because, you know, doing the right thing here and there and, and anywhere is not the same thing as, you know, 50% or even 60, 75% every single day. And so it takes a little bit of working out like, what, what do I really need to do to create a result in my life? Um, you know, what does it require of me to actually move the needle? And anytime we're changing our nutrition plan or we're adopting a new movement plan, it takes time to see results. And what I feel is so important about your particular progress in the balanced hormone solution is that many women give up. Before they start to see measurable change and they start to just feel a little bit defeated. Like, well, you know, I've been doing this for two weeks and I'm just not seeing the weight move, and that can feel very defeating. On the other hand, what we're talking about is that that consistent approach over time is really what moves the needle long term. And so that means we have to keep doing the right thing even if we don't have measurable results right in front of us. And then it's almost like. Boom. You realize I had a lot of energy yesterday and uh, yeah, the day before that I felt really good too. Almost sneaks up on you and then you're at a point where you're like, you know what? Like, yeah. Actually my, my. Pants are starting to fit better and I'm sleeping better through the night. And all of a sudden it's like compounding interest. You, you put a little bit inconsistent sleep and then exponential growth happens. And along that way, you never gave up, you never said, well, this isn't really, um, you we're notorious I think for just so we'll switch plans and try something new rather than just sticking to the right one. And so I, I think that's kind what you're touching on.

Speaker 2:

Well, and one of the things that I appreciated and I, I appreciate so much is that now I'm able to fix my own meals and I am not afraid of using my cast iron skillet. In fact, that is what I use primarily most of the time is cast iron skillet, and I'm doing sauteed vegetables and in a very minimal oil, like I really just. Wipe it on and wipe it off. Mm-hmm. And I have all kinds of combinations that it doesn't matter what I have in my refrigerator. Okay, let's take this, this, this, and, you know, and combine. Oh yeah. I've learned all kinds of new vegetables and I absolutely love vegetables. Now that's my go-to. Uh, can't get enough of them.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Um, but anyway, uh. Working, working with you has been, has been very helpful. Very, very helpful.

Speaker 8:

Perimenopause got you. Feeling like a hormonal hostage. Your period's unpredictable. Your sleep's trash, your mood's, a mind feel, and no one prepared you for this. Enter the Balanced hormone solution. My 90 day program for women, 35 plus who are done guessing and ready to feel like themselves again.'cause we test not guess. We detox, rebalance, and get your hormones and your life back in check.'cause you're not broken, you're just burned out. So let's fix that. Head to tracy erin wellness.com and let's get started.

Speaker:

So let's, let's dive into like the specific type of changes that you've noticed since you've been in the program.

Speaker 2:

Well, I would say one of the biggest changes is just in. Actually, there are a lot of changes. Mm-hmm. There've been a lot of things that have changed. So the first thing I would say is, um, I am prioritizing my nutrition

Speaker 3:

and

Speaker 2:

I'm prioritizing low stress. I, I'm doing as much as I can to. Keep my, my stress levels low. Um, so not burning the candle at both ends. Um, making sure that I'm not going to school an hour and a half early, uh, not staying so that I'm staying at school for 12 to 14 hours. That's, that's not happening anymore. Um, I am leaving like a normal person.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I'm actually. Taking care of myself in ways that I have not taken care of myself for years. And, um, and one of the biggest ways is not just the time, but also the nutrition and, um, really figuring out what is it that my body needs. And so understanding that that has changed, understanding what my body needs and, um, being able to, um. Figure out how to, um, manage my time, the time that is necessary for planning ahead for the next day, because I don't like being stressed in the morning. So everything has to be done the night before and it has to be sitting in the refrigerator ready to go for the next day, and all my meals have to be planned for that next day before I go to bed. And so that, that has been a routine that has changed. That certainly was not even remotely on my mind before it was, well, what do I feel like eating? Oh, yes. Yeah. What do I feel like eating today? I don't know. Oh, no, that doesn't sound good. And you know, yep. Now it's not, that's not the question anymore.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. It's

Speaker 2:

okay. What does my body need? Right. And it doesn't matter whether it's, oh, this is so delicious.

Speaker:

It

Speaker 2:

doesn't matter. I, I, today I had something that was okay, but it wasn't what I would call delicious. It wasn't terrible. It just wasn't the best, but it was okay. It was what I needed and I felt satisfied by the time I was done. And, um, so. I, I think those are the major things that have changed. And then also my energy level has changed. My sleep pattern has changed. Um, before balanced hormone solution, I was getting up three or four times during the night to go to the bathroom. Um, I was not really sleeping well. I'd wake up feeling extremely tired. Even after trying to get even eight hours of sleep and, uh, and I, I knew I wasn't really in a deep sleep right. Um, wearing the glucose monitor Oh yeah. Was really helpful. And this last time of wearing the glucose monitor really helped me to hone in on preventing my blood sugar from dropping into. Into the fifties overnight. Yeah. And I'm realizing now, I think that's been part of the issue over the course of, you know, the years, is that I've had low blood sugar at night and Right then that causes the cortisol to go up. Yep. And then my cortisol is depleted and then I'm tired in the morning. And so this vicious cycle, uh, was happening and now I feel like it's finally that that cycle is starting to break and. That I'm, I am sleeping better. Uh, so even if I only get seven hours of sleep or seven and a half, I am not exhausted during the day. Yeah. Um, whereas before seven hours of sleep would've been exhausting. So.

Speaker:

And most women think, oh, I slept seven or eight hours last night, I'm fine. But unless they have a monitor or a sleep tracker, they don't realize how many times their body is actually waking up or moving into a lighter sleep period. So you might lay in bed that long, but you're not cycling through deep sleep. REM into light over and over and over. We're just constantly being disrupted by these blood sugar spikes or dips, dips more common at night. And I love what you mentioned too, about like the emotional eating. Mm-hmm. You know, when we start to track our blood sugar, we begin to realize how much, um, I. Insulin drives the way we feel about food. And when that gets balanced and, and we have, uh, proper nutrition on board, then our cravings aren't driving the car anymore. And it doesn't mean that every once in a while you don't want a piece of chocolate cake still or something, or you can't celebrate every once in a while. But it does mean that we're not driven by the desire. For a food that actually later makes us feel worse. And, uh, planning ahead is just such a useful tool for staying on top of the plan. You know, like they say, um. You, you eat for your plan, not for your mood. And I think a lot of people would just say that they're not an emotional eater. Um,'cause that sounds maybe off-putting right off the bat. But if you really think about the types of decisions you make on a daily basis, should I have this or this? And we like to give ourselves all these options and we don't wanna feel tied down to anything. And we all wanna be free.'cause you know, we're not slaves to anything much less a meal plan. And, uh, but what happens is like you begin to experience all this freedom. When you do have a plan and your blood sugar begins to balance out, and all of a sudden you are not hangry at 3:00 PM reaching for salty snacks. Uh, we're not eating, you know, sweets late at night to put us to bed. You know, everything, everything just sort of evens out and, and that's, that is just such an overlooked, um, but beautiful result of managing insulin. You know, it used to be that like we thought this was just for diabetics. Hmm. But thankfully glucose monitors are becoming more and more mainstream, still not as accessible as I would like them to be. You need a doctor's prescription, which is kind of silly, but, um, but we utilize them in the balanced hormone solution because when women see themselves on a glucose graph or on a cortisol graph through the Dutch test, they begin to have aha moments. And that's why I wanted to come back to that Jo Ellen, because like you had said, you're realizing you're burning the candle at both ends. That you know, the need to control or feeling stressed about things being just right. And we can go on like that for years and years and years, and we're doing the right thing and we're gonna get it all done. And we're, you know, um, I don't really like to say type A, but you know, we're. We accomplish a lot in our lives. Right. And we're very proud of that.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker:

And then you see yourself on a, on a cortisol curve, on a Dutch test, and you realize, oh, no. To my detriment,

Speaker 2:

mm-hmm.

Speaker:

Are these decisions that I continue to perpetuate every single day. And so having that kind of data is so much more potent than just thinking, yeah, I need to stress less, or yeah, I should take a bath every once in a while or. What's kind of big in pop culture is like, you know me time, but we don't have any science behind it. We don't have the data to show that it's making a difference, and we don't have ourselves on paper. That's why one of the reasons I love testing is we can say, oh, and that's why I'm tired every day at 3:00 PM or that's why I can't get going in the morning. Yeah. So what did you think about, like, how was your experience, particularly with testing and getting data points that helped you to make those refining decisions on stress movement, sleep, eating, and all that?

Speaker 2:

Uh, I have found them very vital, uh, very, very helpful. So the DUTCH test in particular helped to. Confirmed some things that I was, I was thinking was, was possibly the issue. Um, and the whole reason I, the whole reason I really wanted to do the balance hor hormone solution was for the balancing of the estrogen and progesterone. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I had a feeling that the progesterone was lower and that the estrogen was higher. And, um, that. That, that, that was contributing to a lot of, of what I had been experiencing, particularly the breast cancer. Um, so, um, the Dutch test, taking the Dutch test, it really wasn't that, that was no big deal, but getting the information was, was really, really important. Um, understanding. Especially the importance for me of eating cruciferous vegetables.

Speaker:

Oh, yes.

Speaker 2:

Um, because of the, the danger zone, um, that the estrogen, that, that danger pathway that some of the estrogen was going. Yeah. Um, so. That just highlighted, okay, you know, I like broccoli. But at that point I wasn't sure that I liked broccoli at every single meal. Now I'm like, oh, bring it on. I I will eat broccoli anytime. And of course I'm, it's not just broccoli. I, I've branched out to more than just broccoli and uh, yeah. So, but it becomes medicine. It's, yes, when you yourself on

Speaker:

paper, these food choices become medicine.'cause you see

Speaker 2:

what a big deal they are. And the, and the spices. I, I loved the fact that you, you said that spices, there, there were no limits. So I have, I pretty much have found my favorite spices and I kind of change it up a little bit here and there. But for the most part, I, I have my favorites that I just put in the saute, uh, in the, in the skillet with, with the veggies and, yeah. Doesn't matter what it is. Pretty much. Yeah. It just, it, it's great. So then the, um, I had the, um. Uh, what was the other test? Okay, so the Dutch test. The blue poo, right? The blue poo. Okay. The blue poo was, yeah. Hello. That was a, an eyeopener that four days. Hello. Yeah. Four days. It took four days for food to pass through my system. There's a problem. There is a problem, right? There is a problem. Even if you're

Speaker:

eliminating every single day. You think that was from the meal that you had last night, right? Exactly. Test four days ago.

Speaker 2:

So I haven't done the blue poop test again yet, but that is coming up soon. Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take care of that very soon. Um, I'm hoping for improvement.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

Uh. And then the, what was the gut zoomer? I think there was the gut zoomer. Oh yeah, we

Speaker:

did the gut zoomer. Yes.

Speaker 2:

Yep. So that one, um, was also very helpful. Mm-hmm. Getting the results of what was going on in my gut, what was going on in those intestines and um, um. Then from there, discovering actually that I was having issues with the gallbladder and, um, potential stones, and then doing the stone, the, um, the gallbladder cleanse, gallbladder and liver cleanse. That was a very interesting experience and I, I would do it again. Absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Um, it

Speaker 2:

was, uh, very, very helpful and I haven't had an issue, um, since then. Right. Uh, at least. Hopefully, hopefully it stays that way, but I know I'll probably need to do another one at some point.

Speaker:

Yeah, yeah. Well, you've heard me say it a bunch of times, uh,'cause it's one of my very favorite quotes in terms of like the bigger picture of sickness or illness in the body, which is we're not sick from what comes in the body. We're sick from what we can't get rid of. And so that liver gallbladder cleanse provides a way to soften these. Stones that stay behind and all the sludge that gets mixed up in our gallbladder and slows everything down. It's like a clogged drain for the liver and gallbladder. And so when we soften all that sludge, provide a way for it to be eliminated. Just imagine un kinking a hose, how far your water stream could go. That's the picture of, okay, now we're flowing. Now we're eliminating toxins. Now we're moving the way that we should be moving. We've got a rapid stream instead of the stagnant water. Well mm-hmm. You know, sickness breeds in stagnation. And so that liver gallbladder cleanse was something extra that you and I had done based on your symptoms.

Speaker 3:

Yes. And

Speaker:

uh, it's, it is amazing to see what happens when you begin to. Make a way for the body to use its natural processes of elimination. And then guess what, like the body has amazing intelligence to do what it needs to do. But sometimes we, you know, a lot of it is because of the toxic environment that we live in. We provide a little bit of extra help here and there, whether it be help nutritionally or help in detoxifying to help those organs work better and do their jobs. And that, that you had great results with that

Speaker 2:

cleanse. And you had recommended, um, I, I don't remember if it was based on those results or something else, but we had discussed, oh, it was in, in the balanced hormone solution. You had mentioned, um, a DEXA scan. Yes. So I went ahead and did that and did a bone density scan with it. And, uh, I'm so glad that I did that because mm-hmm. I learned that I do have early, early stage, um. Osteoporosis in a few places. And so that has, that has definitely, um, caused me to prioritize a little bit more. That exercise is really important and, um, it's no longer an option.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2:

There's no option here. It's, uh, mm-hmm. No, I, I really need to do this. And, um. In addition to that, um, it, the bone density results confirmed why I did not want to do the estrogen blockers. Yeah. So, um, that was a, I think the Holy Spirit was, was really pressing it upon me. No, you are not doing that. Mm-hmm. And, uh, like not a good idea. And then months later got the evidence to support that and now I

Speaker:

have the evidence. Yes. I'm very thankful

Speaker 2:

for that.

Speaker 9:

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Speaker:

Yeah. So, uh, yeah. I mean, so many data points, so many data points that gives you resolve to keep going in the right direction. Yes, exactly. To keep doing it. Like you said, like we all know we should exercise and put some muscle mass on our bodies. Mm-hmm. But when you see a DEXA scan and realize how much bone density there is or isn't, then you go, okay, I've got to do this. And that brings a different energy to, that's how we, it changes the way we show up for ourselves. When we know that we need to, when we know that if we do, we will experience this greater result. And I mean, I don't know, there's nothing quite like showing up for ourselves in a way. You know, this is a different topic, but like women I think are really good at meeting the needs of everyone around us. And we're very good at seeing that everybody is taken care of and we often put ourselves on the back burner. It's, it's often at the expense of our own needs. And so yes, like you're mentioning, collecting these data points over and over gives you more evidence. This is how I can prioritize myself. This is how I can say yes to myself. And guess what? The more you prioritize yourself and say yes to yourself over, and the stronger and healthier you get, the better you can give to others. You know that that's that old saying you can't give out of an empty cup, but you've really experienced this on a, on a deeper personal level. Mm-hmm. Um, which you know, is just really amazing. But it seems to me like. Before you started when you discovered nodules and you began that process of looking for a doctor and, and getting the biopsies, which, you know, set off sort of a cascade of then a treatment plan later on, um, to where you are now. I see in you this, um, this like ability to trust in yourself. Like a Yeah, you describe it, you put it in your words.

Speaker 2:

I, I would say it's, um, I am not quite sure how to say it, so I'm gonna, I'll say it and then I don't know, I may retract something, but, um, I think it's, it's a. I have a better understanding of how God designed the body to work. Mm. Yeah. And now that I am understanding how it works, and I understand what it is that he has created that is meant to feed the body he created mm-hmm. That I'm, I'm. And that I'm not masking symptoms with food that is not helpful to the body that he created.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2:

I am able to read better the symptoms that I am experiencing and understanding. What needs to be done. Yeah. And um, so it's not that I'm trusting my body necessarily. I mean, although I suppose you could say it that way. Um, I, I guess I look at it more like I have, I have a better understanding of what he has designed and I have a sense of clarity.

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

That's not clouded anymore. Mm-hmm. By bad choices. Mm-hmm.

Speaker:

Um,

Speaker 2:

and, and bad food choices in particular. Um, so that I can actually, I, I can read the symptoms and, and I, you know, I, I have to pay attention to what he is also. Um, bringing to my, to my mind and my heart, you know, that when there is an issue, like when the gallbladder was an issue, I, I asked, asked the Lord, okay, what, what's going on? Is this the gallbladder gallstones? Yeah. It kind of seems like it. Mm-hmm. And so, um, you know, move down that path of, all right, what do we need to do? And, um, so. I hope that answers the question hopefully. Yeah.

Speaker:

I, I think you're painting this picture of like being more intimately connected Yes. To your own body. Yes. And uh, wow. What a gift. We can go through life so disconnected from our own bodily experience that we don't under, we can't decode our symptoms. We don't know what is what. And for many of us, we're experiencing so many things that are sort of off kilter at once. It's very hard to pinpoint what a root could be. And so you've painted this picture beautifully of like. You might start out with 10 things, let's say, but as you begin to work and get the body back into balance, you have two things left that are, um, more clear. This is the path to move forward and focus on these, but it's not 10 anymore.'cause the other eight began to get resolution. And then, you know, that's that consistency over time. That actually, that's how we're going to achieve true healing is to, um, we go from this. L state of, we've got multiple things going on and we have to have some form of process of elimination. Um, and yeah, so that's why I love, like in the balanced hormone solution with our supplement protocol really starting in the gut because if we don't address that digestion, the gut, the liver health, and we can, we can do supplement protocols. For years, we can be chasing chronic infections. We can be, um, chasing root cause of toxicity and tumors and all kinds of things, but never, uh, we might get there, take a long time, but the fastest way really is to, to, to start there and go do the inside out. But, um, so let me ask you this then. What do you think the old you would say. If she could see you now and that old you could be years ago or that old, you could be before your diagnosis. Most recently you pick. So

Speaker 2:

I think, I think one of the things my old me would say is, wow, you got down to that weight again. I didn't think that was possible. Yeah. At your age, I mean, I haven't seen this weight since my late twenties, early thirties. Amazing. It it is. It is. It is really amazing. And I, yeah. Um. So actually I think my old self would say, you look great. How did you do it? Yeah. How did you do it? How did you do it? Mm-hmm. What would you tell her? I would tell her that, oh boy, it was a lot of work and it was worth it. I invested in myself. I invested in in my health. I I Amen to that. And, um, and took it seriously because there was no room for playing around and mm-hmm. So.

Speaker:

Well, I had a conversation with one of your friends today who reached out to me because she said, you've been working with my friend Jo Ellen, and I just had to ask her what she's been doing because she looks amazing. She's glowing, she truly has health from the inside out. And then she said what I thought was so beautiful, she just said, I think she just looks like the best version of herself.

Speaker 3:

Hmm.

Speaker:

And I told her, I said, that is such a beautiful thing to say about your friend. And um, so she was calling me saying like, I want what Joelle has. Uh, which was very sweet. But um, so not only would your old self say that, but your current friends are saying that too. Thank you. Which is pretty cool. So tell me, like, what would you tell one of your friends who you feel like is. You know, having those afternoon slumps, tired all the time, frustrated, maybe seeing doctors not making good progress and just not sure what the next step should be. What, what kind of advice would you give them?

Speaker 2:

Well, I would, I would let them know that, um, that the issues are. Things that the doctors just, they, they're so specialized, they're, they're not able to see the big picture and that there's a lot going on in the hormones that need to be addressed. And um, and I would say to them, if the cost is, um. Off-putting to you. Think about it this way, one way or another, you're going to be paying for your health.

Speaker 3:

Hmm. Whether

Speaker 2:

it's going to be years from now when you are paying out the cost of what you've been doing to your body through, um. Either some kind of a diagnosis or surgeries or something along those lines, or whether you are being proactive and learning how to take care of your body. And it is an investment. It, it is definitely an investment and that is how I have had to look at it, is I'm investing in. However many years the Lord has for me to Terry on this earth and whatever it is that, that he has for me to do, I wanna be able to do it to the best of my ability. But if I am not well, if I am not, um, if I don't have the, the strength or the energy to do it, um, then, I mean, obviously yes, I. His in my weakness, he is strong and, and definitely during, especially during the diagnosis and those, the surgeries and, and just healing from all those surgeries this year has been definitely a year of testing and um, and seeing that the Lord has been everything that he says he is, and I mean, just everything that I have understood. Is so much more compounded, um, now than it has ever been before. So regardless of what he has for me in the future, and if there's another diagnosis at some point, at least my, my, my thoughts on this now are at least I am not making four choices that are contributing to that and contributing to a, um, to a, a, a diagnosis of some sort. That it's just because of my poor choices. I I could, I would be able to say at that point, well, that's what he's called me to. Yeah. And I know he called me to this, this diagnosis and it was a wake up call for me. Um, yeah. That he has more work for me to do.'cause I'm still here, so.

Speaker:

Right. Yeah. I, I love that.'cause, uh, I like to think of it like this, if you know, um. When you consider the cost of what it might require to get your health back, if you've lost it, uh, the idea is like, have you considered the price of staying sick? Right. And, and I'm not just talking dollars. Mm-hmm. But the mental price that we pay, the exhaustion, the margin that we lose. The joy that gets robbed out of our day-to-day moments, the relationships we miss out on, the things we say no to, on and on and on. I mean, uh, you know, so it's like, have we, we pay either way.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker:

We pay either way. And I would much rather be in the camp of paying for health than paying to try to recoup from an illness. Right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but sometimes we need to be head over the head with a two by four. Oh, it's too many times. Yes. Yes. So this is my two by four. Yeah.

Speaker:

Yeah. And yeah, and it's all useful for us. Like you said, there's a purpose and a plan in all of it. And think of all of the women that you will be able to touch because of your own personal experience. I mean, there's multiple people here who will hear this podcast and hear your story. But the people at your school, the people at your church and your community, when you have people who come up to you and say, what are you doing? You look like the best version of yourself. I mean, is there a better testimony of what it looks like to invest in your own house? I mean, it is, that is so sweet for somebody to notice that about you. And so clearly it is just, you know, uh, it's, uh, emanating from you. Um, but, so let me, let me wrap up by asking you, um, if you could, if you could explain the, your experience and the balance hormone solution in one sentence, what would it be?

Speaker 2:

Okay. So, um, I would say basically what I've already just said, yeah,

Speaker:

that

Speaker 2:

the balanced hormone solution is an investment in your health that pays great dividends in the present and in the future to allow you to serve those around you with purpose and dedication while also taking care of yourself.

Speaker:

Amazing. That's beautiful. Thanks. I like that one sentence. Alright, well, something that I ask every single person that I have on the podcast as a guest is just a, a fun little summary note is, um, why don't you share with us one thing that you do on a daily basis to support your health? Okay.

Speaker 2:

Well, um. Am I limited to one? I know. Okay. You've got a lot going on, so share whatever you'd like. Right? I've already talked about nutrition. I've already talked about how, how I, I, meal plan. I've already talked about how I, um, how I, I choose foods that are nutritious for me, so I don't need to repeat those things, although I just did. But I would say. One of the most important things that, that I have done is taken time in the morning, having a routine in the morning where I am spending time with the Lord.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm. And

Speaker 2:

knowing that this is vital, this is more than just, um, oh, I need to read my Bible this morning. Mm-hmm. This is a Okay. I need this time of focusing in on what is really important.

Speaker 3:

Mm.

Speaker 2:

What what is the most important thing in, in my life. And that actually helps to, um, to balance the whole rest of the day.

Speaker:

Yeah. And

Speaker 2:

you know, there are, there days when I don't get that done. Yes, there are. Um, and, but I'm not beating myself up for them anymore. I'm recognizing Okay. That that was, there was a season and there are seasons where it's just not possible to do what I have set out to do, um, of spending, you know, 20 to 30 minutes of really, really reading and searching and, um, and even journaling. Mm-hmm. But. Taking that time and recognizing that that was part of the balanced hormone solution. I think it was month two. Mm-hmm. Of, um, establishing a routine in the morning and in the evening. And both of those have changed from my original plan, but. I still think I, I still see that there is still an, a routine in both of those places. So having those established routines, um, I think has, has helped to, um, like I said, it just, it, it helps to set the framework for the rest of the, yeah,

Speaker:

that's what I was gonna say. Set the tone for the rest of the day. Yeah. Yes. I love that. That's a beautiful thing. So much of our health is experienced and what we might consider boring activities, repetition, consistency. We want things to be like lively and exciting every single day. But we do best when we, when we're somewhat scheduled and our body can expect some routine. So putting that back into our lives, but. When you get to the point of actually needing it,'cause you enjoy it so much. That's like a whole new level. It's, and I love that you've gotten there.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker:

Yeah. Well, it's been a pleasure to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for, um, being personal with all of us about you, you know, your health journey. And for you, this is just the beginning. Mm-hmm. Like you are now, you have the momentum to go forward into the future. And there are no limits, uh, for you. Like I know you're going to prioritize your strength training and maintain your bone mass and continue to eat well and prioritize your stress and move through the seasons of life as a woman with grace. And it's just been a real pleasure to work with you and I continue and I look forward to continue working with you too.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.

Speaker:

So thank you for being here today.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for inviting.

Speaker:

I appreciate it. Yeah, you're welcome. All right, and that is all for now. Thank you for listening.

Speaker 6:

That's it for today's episode of the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast. If this resonated, don't just listen. Do something about it. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know another woman who's tired of feeling like a stranger in her own body. Send her this way for more support. Check out the show notes. I've got resources to help you get started. Just remember, your body isn't broken, you just need the right tools. See you next time.