There are a number of reasons our bodies get out of homeostasis, enter a state of dis-ease, and feel symptomatic. The 3 areas of imbalance we pay most attention attention to, whether or not you are opting in for functional lab testing and/or functional blood chemistry, are blood sugar and insulin resistance, inflammation, and stress or cortisol / HPA-Axis (hormones). Here are some of reasons: 

>> Blood Sugar & Insulin Resistance: you don’t need to be diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes to experience negative impacts of high glucose and insulin levels. Roller coaster blood sugar levels from stress and munching on sugary processed foods can lead to inflammation, food cravings, energy crashes, and mood swings. When blood sugar is elevated, your pancreas produces more insulin to move that sugar out of your blood and into your cells. That can lead to insulin resistance which causes high levels of glucose and insulin. That’s an issue, amongst others, if you’re trying to lose weight because your body only burns fat when it senses insulin levels dropping.

>> Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation: This is a common underlying factor in weight gain, PCOS, joint pain, cognitive decline, and most chronic diseases. Key contributors are stress, toxins, poor diet & sleep, smoking, drugs, and sedentary lifestyles. These internal and external stressors can cascade and create significant silent issues. Addressing inflammation with diet, movement, and lifestyle can lead to dramatic results.

>> Elevated Stress & HPA Axis Dysregulation: Mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and biochemical stressors can all impact how well your body responds to stress. When your body is attempting to respond to stress constantly, it can create communication issues within your stress response. This may lead to imbalances in your cortisol levels, several hormones, and even slow down your metabolism…all inhibiting you from feeling well and losing weight.

Depending on whether the program you enrolled in includes functional lab testing, the [average] timeline of your coaching program will look like the following: 

1. Intake Forms (2 days): you will receive them 2 business days after enrollment and payment.
2. Kick-off Coaching Call (4-7 days): A quick call to help prepare you to collect the test samples–if labs are included.
3. Metabolic Typing Diet and Food Sensitivity Tests (7-10 days): If applicable, you will get this test done quickly as it will help us determine the type of foods you want and need.
4. Functional Lab Testing (10-30 days): We’ll order your lab tests quickly and you should receive them at your home within ten days. If you’re a menstruating female and a stress/hormone test is included in your package, you might need to wait to collect samples. Otherwise, sample collection for all other labs can be completed at your earliest convenience.  The processing time for most functional labs varies between 3-4 weeks.
5. Diet Protocol Implementation (14-30 days): This timeline is applicable to those completing Food Sensitivity and/or Metabolic Typing tests. Otherwise, we will use intake forms to tackle diet during our onboarding call!
6. Making Progress & Feeling Better (30-45 days): As soon as you implement these changes and protocols, you will likely start to feel better. The most common positive outcomes are improved digestion and energy.
7. Results and Recommendation Sessions (25-45 days): R&R sessions are scheduled after we receive your test results–the timeline will vary depending on a few factors. We will spread these sessions within a few weeks to reduce the possibility of feeling overwhelmed. 
8. Implement D.R.E.S.S. Protocol (30-60 days): If you’re enrolled in health coaching only, you will receive your protocol sooner. Otherwise, the timeline to deliver a complete protocol varies on lab testing, the speed you’re implementing basic recommendations, etc. Everyone is unique and we respect their ‘speed of operation’.
9. Supplementation (45-70 days): If you’re enrolled in health coaching only, recommendation of supplements will be offered sooner and be based on intake forms, health status and blood work results, if applicable. Otherwise, you will receive a supplementation guide to help fill in the nutritional gaps (lifestyle) and help you overcome stressors identified in your lab results and/or FBCA. 
10. Progress and symptoms improvement (60+ days): As you implement your protocols, you will start to feel even better. You may experience a great deal of symptom relief. Your body talks. Listen up! 
11. Ongoing Coaching Sessions (duration of your program): We’ll meet every 1-3 weeks, depending on your program, to help you make progress and achieve your goals. According to your and your body’s response, we will course correct the protocol. Progress over perfection–remember that!
12. As needed and per program, you will retest some of the labs to assure you are moving in the right direction.
13. There are more nuances. If you have questions, we hope to answer them during our strategy call. Ask them then! 

Comprehensive health history review is based on intake forms in various areas including Hormones, Immune Function, Digestion, Detoxification, Energy Production, and Nervous System.

For more details about the functional labs we work with and recommend, CLICK HERE.

During our strategy call, I will help you navigate whether you will benefit from adding one or more labs to your program or whether it’ll be best to kick off your journey with health/lifestyle coaching only.

During the Results and Recommendation sessions, we review your lab test results. Based on results, clinical correlation, and health history, we will offer lifestyle recommendations including Diet, Rest, Exercise, Stress Reduction, and Supplementation or D.R.E.S.S.

These sessions average 45-75 minutes each and are scheduled within 3-4 weeks after we receive your results.

During this call, we will review your intake forms and goal. We will also dial in to your Diet – whether or not you opted in for Food Sensitivity Test and/or Metabolic Typing Test. 

Diet is the first core principle of the D.R.E.S.S. protocol (Diet). There is one diet that fits all. Not all foods are good for everybody. Calories are not created equal. Quality of foods matter.  

We also know that we are biochemically unique with different needs. However, one universal need is to consume ‘real food’. 

Onboarding sessions are 60-90 minutes long.

Sessions will be 30-60  minutes long (according to your plan).

For the first few weeks, we will meet weekly and eventually move to bi-weekly sessions.

Sessions are designed to guide your path in achieving your health goals, address new lifestyle changes, help you stay accountable, and implement behaviors and habits of health reflected in the D.R.E.S.S. for Health protocol, course correcting the plan as needed. Ultimately, it is to help you remove debris out of your way, including physical, mental, and emotional, so you can feel in control and thrive again. 

Scroll down to learn more about D.R.E.S.S.

You can expect to feel better and see symptom reduction by implementing your protocol. You may experience benefits within the first two week of the protocol. 

We cannot guarantee a specific level of success or symptom resolution by following our advice/recommendations. The results you achieve depends on several factors that differ for each individual.

Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health care provider regarding a medical condition before changing your diet or that of anyone under your care.