Managing Stress Is Important To Achieving Emotional and Physical Wellness with Elizabeth Di Cristofano

It was such a week such a hectic, exhausting week that, I think it is building into the day today. But, you know, we we have the control over it. It's how literally how we could talk now we talk to ourselves with switch that mindset of Yes, we're having a crappy morning, but you know, what we have the rest of the day.

About Elizabeth

As a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, Elizabeth sets out to inspire women, specifically women over 40, to take back their life and vitality by getting to the root cause of their overall health. Health and wellness has been in Elizabeth’s world for the last decade and has evolved as soon as she turned 40.

Elizabeth’s career was mainly in the apparel corporate world, working for companies including a New York designer brand and a Fortune 500 company. A career that was not sustainable and in the midst of her starting her own health journey she experienced burnout. Taking on a mind/body approach, Elizabeth started incorporating optimal nutrition, meditation, journaling, daily workouts and movement and practicing setting boundaries all in which helps her thrive in everyday life.

But that was not always the case in her life. She battled an eating disorder when she was 15 which showed back up again recently and is just now in recovery. Elizabeth started building her own business in her forties and offers her services as a Health Coach to help high achieving and high performing entrepreneur female 40-60 years old who needs to operate at peak state in order to meet the high demands of corporate, family and social life – an area in which she is really familiar with.

She is a host of an alternative health and wellness podcast called The Root Of Our Health, which ties in with her mission of changing behaviors by empowering entrepreneurial women in their 40’s and beyond to know their self worth! Even her message at the end of every podcast episode is “You are worth it” Her motto she lives by is love, laughter and to live la dolce vita!

Elizabeth Di Cristofano Website

The Root of Our Health Podcast

Listen to more great episodes of Feeding Fatty here

www.elizabethdicristofano.com

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Full Transcript Below

Managing Stress Is Important To Achieving Emotional and Physical Wellness with Elizabeth Di Cristofano

Sat, 5/29 10:17AM • 46:16

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

stress, thinking, elizabeth, people, happening, adrenal fatigue, podcast, adrenal, thyroid, day, throw, talking, hard, eating, functional medicine doctor, good, feel, test, amazon, deal

SPEAKERS

Terry, Elizabeth, Roy Barker

Roy Barker 00:05

Hello and welcome to another episode of feeding fatty This is Roy necessary. So we are the podcast of course we are journey chronicling our journey through this wellness through eating better exercise, getting more exercise, reducing stress, all those great things that we need to do in order to live a more, you know, happy fulfilled, healthier life. And so also too from time to time we have guest on and after the morning we've had we had to make emergency phone call to Elizabeth and I'm gonna let Terry in very introducer

Terry 00:41

Elizabeth DiCristofano know sets out to inspire women as a functional medicine as functional medicine certified health coach, specifically women over 40 to take back their life and vitality by getting to the root cause of their overall health. Health and Wellness has been an Elizabeth world for the last decade and has evolved as soon as she turned 40. Elizabeth started building her own business in her 40s and offers her services as a health coach to help high achieving and high performing entrepreneur, female's 40 to 60 years old. She's the host of an alternative and wellness podcast called the root of our health which ties in with our mission of changing behaviors by empowering entrepreneurial women. You are worth it is her motto, Elizabeth? Thank you. Oh my gosh, do we need you? We need you. Oh especially today, I was not good today.

Roy Barker 01:37

It was funny because I know you like to talk about stress. And then you know, before the show we were talking about I think we all had a rough week and then for some of us this morning has started off just where we left off yesterday was like Okay, let's deal with this stress. So we don't run the rest of our day and we don't run the rest of our our health and wellness.

Elizabeth 01:59

Yeah, yeah, no, and I you know, like you said, it started started out that way so minded too. I you know, it was such a week such a hectic, exhausting week that, you know, I think it is building into the day today. But, you know, we we have the control over it. It's how literally how we could talk now we talk to ourselves with switch that mindset of Yes, we're having a crappy morning, but you know, what we have the rest of the day. So how are we going to spend it? So yeah,

Roy Barker 02:34

yeah, you know, I'm, I'm gonna mute. I'm gonna I'm gonna mute Terry. So jump in here. But yeah, for the last, you know, 30 minutes or an hour, it's just been terrible. And, you know, I think that same thing, I think, I don't want this to ruin the rest of my day. I've got other stuff because you know, when it's just seems to just have piled on. And so what I want to do when it piles on like that, is of course, I just want to sit down and find something to eat is not, that is not the way to handle that. And so, you know, that's part of what we are, I'm gonna say me, that's part of what I'm working on, is trying to figure out, okay, you know, this has happened, I can't go back and change it, it's gonna mess up the trajectory of my day, and probably the weekend, so you know, how to deal with it. One thing I have found is that's interesting is sometimes when we go through these, it happens for a reason that we come out on the other end, and we're like, Okay, I'm better off than I probably would have been had things happen the whale, but as we're going through it, you know, that is just difficult. That's not an easy thing to think about.

Elizabeth 03:46

Yeah, no, and you're right, right. It's like, you know, going through it. You're, you're you're wondering, Well, what the hell is going on? You know, why? Why am I doing this? Why am I feeling this, and sometimes you just surrender to, to like the foods and surrender to things because you're so freakin tired. And you're so like, you're just you're just wanting to, you know, like, get get away from that pain, really. So that's what happens is when media stress, we're not thinking clearly, we're just surrendering to whatever is coming up in our lives. You know, and it's tough. It is tough. And now you your Outlook, though, of, you know, getting out on the other end, seeing seeing a different light of, you know, the reason why it happened. That's a good outlook. A lot of people don't even have that a lot of people have this, like, Oh, well, you know, it happened to me, it happened, you know, and it's just a loss. But understanding you know, things do happen in our lives, whether it's stressful or or great. That you know, sometimes you got to go through that pain to understand the good. Yeah,

Roy Barker 04:58

yeah, and it's the way You know, when you're in the moment, it's, it's hard,

Terry 05:03

hard to break. And yeah,

Roy Barker 05:04

you know, now once I kind of like came through, and it took a couple deep breaths, and that's something I've learned too is over the last month or two, you know, we've done the Riki wreck, whatever it is, whatever that word is, you know, we've done that we've tried to do more meditation, have some quiet time, even just for a few minutes to be more one. And so you know, realizing what's going on, taking four or five deep breaths to try to you know, rebalance and recenter is good. But you know what, I guess one thing that's frustrating for me, and it's my own fault, because I have so much that needs to be done. But it's like, okay, I really didn't have time to do stuff that I need to do today, tomorrow and the next day. So now, I'm going to take for things I should have been doing or needed to do today. And I'm going to push them out two days when didn't have enough so that some of that is self inflicted, I get that. But then on the other hand, it's like, it's just, it's things that need to be done. And it's not, you know, it's not like a choice, like, you know, I was gonna paint the fence today and say, Okay, well, I'm just not gonna do that. I mean, these are, to me, they're critical deadlines that just have to be met. And there's no, you know, the only way to do that, and then this is where I really go out of control, because then the next thing is the eating, then the next thing is staying up till two in the morning trying to get it done, and then you're tired. And then you want to eat, I want to eat more for fuel to wake me up. Anyway, that's a bad sign. Like,

Elizabeth 06:38

yeah, it is a vicious cycle. But let me ask you a question is this are these tasks, like, the hard tasks that you don't want to do? Are these you know, or these things that you find fun?

Roy Barker 06:53

Well, if, if things went right, it's fun. Okay, when things start to go bad, it's when they become not fun and become drudgery. And then, I have to admit, and then you wake up the next day, kind of, you know, all balled up, like, what's gonna, what's gonna happen today, and then it's like, do I even want to start down this path and like, get, you know, get hit in the head with somebody throwing rocks at you, when I could just not do anything. But that's not an option. I mean, it's stuff I'm got to do so. So both. So

Elizabeth 07:31

you know, and the reason why I asked him because that's, that's our, that's our default. When we have hard things, you know, we have a to do list, right. And we have these very hard thing door is that even hard, but it's like things that are, you know, if we have a creative mind, and these are just like, the processes and the things that we're not loving to do, um, we tend to kind of put them off, just because obviously, we don't love them. But what ends up happening, obviously, it's just like, goes and goes and goes, Okay, I'll do that tomorrow. I'll do that tomorrow. And then we procrastinate. And then until, like you said that last minute that you really, truly need to get it done, because it's a deadline, then you're stressed out, then you're like, eating, trying to stay up cuz it is a deadline, right? Before what I learned is that doing those hard things, or doing the things that don't like to do first, right, to get them out of the way? And yes, you know, sometimes, like you said, things could go wrong, and it has, especially if you're, you know, doing something that's technology bound, you know, it's like, something can't Yeah, right? Something can go haywire. And all of a sudden, that one hour that you you, you know, put on your calendar for that one task is now two or three hours. Yeah, that gets frustrating, right? Yeah.

Roy Barker 08:53

And that is the I think that's what kills me more than not wanting to do stuff because like I said, if, if I could just do it, and work through it, I'm really good with that. And I don't mind it. But what happens is, you know, just we can use today as an example. You know, we wake up, got woke up. About that's the worst. Yeah, this morning, I was thinking, Oh my gosh, we might get to sleep in a little bit. You know, we get a call from the Amazon delivery guy. And then, you know, while I'm up trying to sort this out, they just throw the package out at somebody else's house. So now spent, you know, 3045 minutes on the phone dealing with them, not going to get the thing and then of course, you know, we have some technical issues trying to even get this call up again, then it just you know, it's frustrating because I hate to waste our guests time and that's, that is my you know, I don't like to waste our time and we're tight schedule, but man when it bubbles over and affects somebody else out of my sphere, then you know that I hate that because, you know, I know that you Your time is by and your your very gracious, you haven't lost that. make that clear. You came home with a smile and did everything he needed to do, but I'm just saying it's just, uh, you know, and the good news is, I think we can we can say this now is that, you know, we were having some terrible internet issues for the last, I don't know, month, month and a half where, you know, we actually had a few episodes that we just had to quit taping mid conversation because the quality was terrible. So anyway, we finally got a new cable placed in the house and we got it turned up last week. But then again, it's been it's had consistent problems, you know, every day, when it works, it's awesome. But you know, when it does and then you know, at&t wants me to spend an hour or two on the phone with them trying to troubleshoot and so you know, that just it just, I guess it just starts compounding you know, with people. It's I it's not that they want my time frivolous frivolously it's just that they need my time, which is fine, but it's like I had zero time in my calendar today to mess with Amazon and to mess with 18th it was just weren't even on my radar. And now they have taken over my entire morning so far.

Elizabeth 11:20

Yeah. And that's, that's that's the thing, you see external. Relax with the better word crap that you noticed. It's like, you weren't expecting that. It's something that Okay, now you just woke me up out of the, you know, of something that I was trying to relax, right. So that external stress just came at you and of all things that didn't even turn out. Right. So if you've got the package, then I can see it being like, Okay, well, you know, it was it was for something, but it was nothing. Yeah. And then you still have to contact them to reorder I'm sure. And I mean, I've been there. And I think that's the The other thing we were talking about off off off camera was that, you know, I, again, I was I actually order two things. And those two things said attempted delivery. Well, no, I have to and I did already twice go back out to read deliver and they read delivered and still says

Roy Barker 12:24

attempted Oh my gosh.

Elizabeth 12:29

I'm stupid post office. But I I'm just saying you know, I get it. I get it. It's like those things to where you have a lot on your plate, you have your schedule full. And all of a sudden these outside stressors come to you. And it's like, I can't deal with you people. Yeah, you guys are just ruining my day ruining my world. And it's it's frustrating, but how are you? How are you dealing with it? Like, are you? Are you using your meditation at all for this? And

Terry 13:01

you? Well, different types of meditation

Roy Barker 13:07

was more using my Tourette's I think at the time. Yeah, well, you know, the reality is it was still bubbling over, like, you know, right when we were getting on this call. So that's part of the deal. I just haven't had time to deal with it. And you know, what I will say, at this point is like, you know, when you actually start verbalizing this, then you become like, Oh, my gosh, you mean I'm wasting my time even thinking about this, because, you know, it's like, it's kind of like the, it's like really is at the worst problem mean, there's people that are sick, there are people that are have financial issues. You know, they're people that are in accidents, or, you know, there's all kinds of Mayhem going on in the world, and you're frustrated about my Amazon package didn't get here,

Terry 13:53

and then you start thinking about the guilt. These other people are going through all this stuff. And then the guilt piles, I don't know if that's the mom thing, or that's the dad thing. I don't I don't know.

Roy Barker 14:04

It's just a thing, because I'm old enough to remember when you actually had to get in the car and go to the store to buy stuff. So now like, Okay, well, I was too lazy to get in the car to go buy this thing. So I ordered it for delivering and now I'm worried that I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna get it for 24 more hours. It's

Terry 14:24

so like, on demand. Yeah, and everything on demand. Right now drive thru service. Yeah.

Roy Barker 14:30

And, you know, again, when you're going through that you don't think about it but having a minute to take a break and really, you know, talk with y'all to is like, Oh my God, this sounds so corny, but I'm sure there are other people that are going through it as well.

Elizabeth 14:44

No, and you know, it's, it's the it's the times right. And that is why stress is like huge. It's a huge epidemic. Now it's because we want everything now. And no matter I'm I'm Gen X as well. So I know all about your the Hard times not the hard times the just the times where we actually had to have pick up a phone that's in your house and you didn't have a cell phone. You didn't have you didn't have these things deliver tea, you actually had to go out and especially I'm from, you know, Chicago, in the snow. You know, getting tracking in like Orpheus No, not really, I'm being dramatic, but, you know, just just picture that just picture like the kids and people nowadays try to do what we were doing back then. But it is I mean, but it switches your brain like that to it. See, it's the, like you said on demand, give me Now give me now I want it now. And when you don't have it, it's like, Ah, that's it. My life is over.

Roy Barker 15:45

Right. Exactly. Yeah.

Elizabeth 15:49

So there's one one thing I wanted to mention that to kind of keep going on this, but you mentioned that, you know, our problems aren't really, you know, big problems. You know, like, of the world of, you know, like, there's a lot of people suffering, there's a lot of people, and it goes through and through difficult things. I was just listening to a podcast, and it was one of these. Um, I don't know if you heard of Tim Ferriss, but podcast? Yeah, yeah.

Terry 16:17

I've been on a kick this week.

Elizabeth 16:19

Right. Okay, good. So I don't know if you've heard this one. But it was with a I don't know his name offhand. But basketball players, he's a big time basketball player. And he just mentioned that, you know, when you throw because, you know, we're all complainers, right? We all complain, complain. So when you throw your complaints on the table, and you have everybody else share their complaint, you quickly like, Oh, I'm gonna take this back. It's like that what you guys are going it's like, you know, 10 times worse or 100 times worse. And if we're not comparing, but it's understanding that you know, what, we've got a good we got we got a good, so it's more or less, like getting the energy out of what we're feeling. And they'd be like, Okay, I'm done, then, you know, then we can go on. But yeah, yeah,

Roy Barker 17:13

I think that's it sounds like a, I guess now I feel like I've thrown my tantrum. And I'm gonna try to, you know, pick up and move on. Yes, let's try to pick me up off the floor and say, Hey, quit throwing your gun along here. Hey, we all do it. You know, so I've read something that was really, it was really, to put things in perspective the other day, because it was a, I guess it was a lady that was just talking about, you know, how these seniors this year have had it so bad, and all of the stuff that's going on, and they miss their dances, and I get that in a senior, you know, when you're that age in that world? Yeah, it's a big thing. But then somebody replied to her is like, Well, I was telling my husband about this. And he said, Well, yeah, but you know, for those of us that graduated from 1964, to 1970, our senior trip was to Vietnam. And so I was like, wow, yeah. Yeah, you know,

Terry 18:17

yeah. Yeah. Just trying to find perspective is, and and when you're going through it, like, you don't really think about, think about sitting there and just being with the issue, and risk, you know, just just being with it. It's afterward when you're like, Oh, well, I just wasted all that time, then you think, Oh, my God, I just wasted all that time. So what, you know what now? Now, I'm mad that I wasted the time thinking about it. Well, there's a reason for that. Okay, what is it a loser? I'm gonna tell you.

Elizabeth 18:53

So what happens when we're stressed out like that is, it's called the amygdala hijack. So what happens is your amygdala is the one that processes all the information, you know, stress response, you know, stuff like that, like all of these, you know, basically, your smart brain, your smart area, right? And what happens is it just shuts down. So you don't think clearly, when when you have you know, when you're either angry or just stressed out or something like that. And then what happens is your cortisol levels go up, your adrenaline goes up. So when your brain shuts down in your journal goes up, that you're not thinking properly. You're not you're not you're just going through what you want to get achieved at that moment. Right. And, you know, it's like from a long time ago, this is what happens to fight flight or freeze, like, really the fight or flight is from the olden times of Paleolithic times where saber toothed Tiger runs after you What are you going to do? Either you're going to fight it or you're going to you're going to flee. You're going to run So that is where now the saber toothed Tiger is our stressors like that Amazon dies, your stressor. So you're, you're fighting it, you're you're putting all your energy in fighting this, this one stress. And so your amygdala is shut down, and you're not really thinking clearly until it just, you know, you rest that you are calming down after. And then you're like, oh, okay, I shouldn't, you know, I should have said this, I shouldn't have done this, you know, blah, blah, blah. So that's what's happening is, when you have that, that stress response versus that rest and digest, it's kind of like you're doing, you're going your action, and then you're actually thinking about afterwards. So,

Roy Barker 20:43

so what can help us slow our roll, though? Or is there anything that can, you know, help us from going from like, you know, zero to 60. And then spending that time going through that, and then trying to come back down? I mean, that because that's what I was thinking are very, is just, you know, if I could have just not launched on these numbers, like, like, multiple things is like, kept coming, kept coming. And, you know, it's like that, and then that doesn't help that escalates it, because then I'm thinking, not only my thinking about these issues to deal with and process and figure out, but then it's like, Okay, well, I have these other four things on my schedule this morning that I am not addressing at all. So that's the, I think, you know, for me, that's what I want to figure out is just like, recognizing that in the beginning, and maybe I should have done it, maybe I need to be more conscious of that emotion climbing and just say, Okay, I gotta step away, sit down and just do my little 10 minute, you know, meditation or breathing?

Elizabeth 21:47

Well, you said it right there. I mean, it's, it's not it's not easy. I, you know, I mean, we all go through it just because it's, it is it piles up, you get overwhelmed, and it's like, you know, I have this, this and you're thinking in the future, right? You're, you're thinking you're going through your present, you know, turmoil or stress, you're thinking of what's happening? What, how is this going to affect the future? And that's even causing more stress, right. So you just mentioned, you know, stepping out of it, and kind of getting into maybe, breathing, you know, breathing. So when we breed, we kind of, you know, slow it down. It's easier said than done. You know, people think, Oh, you know, I breathe every day. But when you get stressed out what happens? You don't, you Your, your breathing is shallow and or you don't read, so yeah, stop. And like, when you're talking to that guy, or when you know, or female or whomever, as they're talking, instead of thinking about it, kind of be mindful of how you're reacting to it. And then taking a deep breath while they're talking, whatever they have to say, and then kind of like, address the issue. So that's, you know, it's, again, it's being mindful of the situation before it takes control of you. Yeah, um, again, it's easier said than done. But you know, practice, we have to practice it, it's all

Terry 23:17

well enjoy you. You are really, I have to give you kudos, because you are really good at helping me recognize when that is happening to me. And it happens a lot, because I just, especially with technology, I am not I just do not have a technological brain at all. And I want it to work like it should. Like I think it should, yes, but but you I mean, you're you are always Okay. Take a deep breath, step back, let's evaluate the situation. You need to be kinder to yourself, and maybe offer yourself a little grace in that process.

Roy Barker 23:57

Yeah, it's it's hard. And I but I think it's like, it's like the, it's like eating or, you know, it's like, I think we talked before about you know, that one time that I just kind of, I was working and then hates I woke up because I was awake. But it's like, the realization came up that well, I'm standing here at the cabinet with my hand in these, this was, luckily was chickpeas, it wasn't chips, but I'm standing here with my hand in a bag of something, do I really need that. And so I think that mindfulness or being in tune with yourself translates into these situations is you kind of have to feel yourself in that escalation and try to, the sooner we can get to it, the better off we are, to mitigate it instead of you know, letting it get to the point where I was while ago just totally out of control. Because then it's a lot harder to it's a lot harder to make that turn and then the other thing I was gonna say is that you know, I've got some good advice, one time from From my priests, then he just, we were talking about the mindset and stuff. And he just said, Look, it's our choice. What we, you know, our mind is a grinder, and it's our choice of what we grind. And that's a, it's a good analogy. So what I'm trying to think of now is like, instead of grinding on this Amazon and 18 t thing all day, you know, I've got to somehow get past that. And think about all the other great stuff that's going on, you know, the other opportunities, focus on the good stuff.

Elizabeth 25:31

Yeah, no, that's exactly it is you hit it on the head, because it's, it's how you how you think, you know, determines how you feel, and you've determined your actions, right? So as you keep thinking, the negative, you know, and being angry, and all of that, that's gonna, it's gonna go throughout your day, and it's gonna also whatever you touch or whatever, you know, things happen. They're going to be negatively there. So so you know what I'm saying? Like, say, for example, you're, you're still going right? You're still you know, kind of, you know, on that that stressed moment, and then after this call, you're still stressed? Well, what do you think is going to happen, these are going to stay stressful for you, because you're, that's your, that's what you're thinking what you think you attract. So you're going to attract, stressing, you know, situations, and you're just gonna be like, Oh, my God, this day just sucks. That's it. But ya know, your, your previous was right on and having, it's kind of like pulling, pulling yourself outside of that situation, you're kind of looking in a different perspective. And like, kind of overhead and seeing, like, kind of an out of body experience. I've seen what you're, you know, how you are, how you're clenched up, how you're physically, how you're speaking how you're mentally? And then it's kind of like, Okay, well, I don't have to be this way. And doing like you said, that choice. So yeah,

Roy Barker 27:05

yeah, then the other thought is about the wasted time. And this is what I'm gonna try to think of next time. It's like, I can waste this hour or so, you know, being upset. And then, you know, kind of have one of these revelation moments where it's like, well, in the scheme of life, it's really not that big a deal. And we can't change it. So there's no use worrying about it, it's done. Let's move forward. Trying to think that earlier in the event, because then it's like, we don't have to waste. You know, there's no use wasting that time being upset, but I can feel it. Like, it just starts in your stomach. And so many people say everything, you know, most 80% of our stuff starts in a slump, like I feel it starting there. And it just like rushed up, you know, through my chest and into my head. You could just feel the pressure. You know, it's just like a pressure cooker of boiling water, I guess. Yeah. Physically. Yeah. You know, 10 stuff. Yeah. So then you have to think about, you know, having to think about how to fix Terry because she said, No, we're, you know, six feet. So I know that she was like, Oh, my God, do I need to do I need to run inflammatory? You know, what am I gonna do here? But then also those poor people on the other lady on the on the Amazon, I was pretty nice to her. I'm like, you were very nice. I told her. I said, Tell your drive to get it. Right. And that way, you don't have to talk to crazy people. Like

Elizabeth 28:29

that's a good thing, knowing that that, you know, she couldn't really it's not her fault.

Roy Barker 28:34

Yeah. And that's the unfortunate part is, you know, most of the time, we tend to take it out on people that are closest to us, or that really can affect I mean, you know, they just they can't so yeah, anyway, trying to recognize that earlier, so just don't have to go through all this because I can only imagine like, what does that do to our insides? Yeah, you you've been doing good said segue. You've been? You've mentioned adrenal adrenal glands. You just did a four part series on your podcast.

Elizabeth 29:08

Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it does. Physically, you know, in your body. It does a lot to you. So the reason why I bring up adrenal, adrenal is and and actually more specifically Adrenal Fatigue is because that is what I actually went through. Two years ago, I mean, I am a high stress person, I'm, it is what it is, I'm, you know, type a, you know, control freak, all of that. So, I'm a high stress person. So what I'm teaching, usually I need to learn, right? That's what you tend to do. You tend to teach what you really need to learn yourself and going through the process going through, you know, all of these things. So, so yeah, two years ago, um, you know, I was going, I don't know what I basically I put a lot of stress on myself. So one thing is is, you know, there was Outside stressors I was just doing, I was trying to get a business going. And I was putting a lot of stress on myself. And it was at the same time when, you know, I was like, I was 41. And I'm and I just started getting bloated and getting irritable, crying all the time. I'm yelling, like yelling at my husband, and just just overall, like, my face was puffy. Um, I was feeling exhausted after my workouts. So I was like, okay, something is going on. And I and I felt that at my age, I was a little too young to have perimenopause. So then I was like, Alright, I heard about this thyroid thing. Let me you know, let me go to a doctor and check it out. Now, I don't know if I spoke about this before. But, um, I didn't want to go to an allopathic Doctor Doctor, like a regular, you know, conventional doctor, just because, from what I heard, they don't do a thorough fiber test. Like, you know, you if you're the baseline, you're okay, you're, you're there's nothing wrong with you. But I know I knew better. So I went to the functional medicine doctor and got the thorough thyroid panel done. And he basically said, You have adrenal fatigue. And, you know, the symptoms that, you know, showed up and showed up in my life, like, for the longest time was low blood sugar. So I would think I would, you know, get dizzy after, you know, standing up and doctors took, you know, the test, and they're like, you have low, low blood sugar, nothing

Terry 31:31

like, Okay,

Elizabeth 31:32

and then low blood pressure. So all of that is low. So what ends up happening is when you're stressing out your body, and my, my doctor told me this, but you have these reserves, your adrenals basically sit there small glands that sit on your kidneys, right, and they're on the upper and upper abdomen. And what happens is, when you're when you get that stress your thyroid, you get low thyroid, and then what happens is you're you're stressing out your adrenals. And then you're, it's just basically depleting your adrenal and your adrenals are there to kind of keep you like energy and all of that stuff. So I was depleting everything. And not only was it because of the stress was because I thought, you know, doing the hard workouts, high intensity was, you know, was good. It was supposed to relieve your stress, right? If you do hard and high intensity workouts, while you're going through this, it's actually stressing your body even more, and that's why I was exhausted. So that is why when you get stressed out chronic stress Now I'm not saying you know, like the acute stress is that you can, you know, have ever known them. But if you have chronic stress day in and day out. And this has to do not only physically what you're doing to your body, but mentally what you're telling yourself, and that's why we were talking, what you say to yourself is, you know what ends up happening as far as actions go. So it really depleted in my body into where I literally had to get off of caffeine, and I'm still on caffeine. And I, you know, had to change my diet. I was, you know, I was on this other diet that it was so stupid. I was on that carnivore diet. It was stupid. It was like one of the things that I said, you know, somebody on Instagram was a lady. Oh, yeah, you know, I cured my bloating this or something like that, my IBS. And I'm like, Oh, well, I'm bloated. Maybe I could try that. It was stupid. Anyway, so um, the reason why I say that is because I was the nutrients you know, that I needed in my body that I actually wasn't digesting, either. So your digestion is, when you're stressed, obviously is not going to be on point because you're eating quickly. You're not you know, being mindful of what you're eating. So I was always eating in front of a, you know, computer, it's stressed out because my job was stressful, yada yada, yada. So your digestion is is not as poor. And so then I had to get you know, digestive enzymes and you know, all of this stuff. And finally, I was like, I was like, I was great afterwards. So what um, yeah, so what ends up happening is your stress levels can affect and does affect its product stress and don't get it, you know, checked out and astruc excuse me distract your hormones. So your thyroid and your adrenals all of those. It definitely takes a toll on them.

Terry 34:33

So were you so were you diagnosed with hypothyroidism? it?

34:39

Oh,

Terry 34:39

I you know,

Elizabeth 34:41

I wasn't per se but it does go hand in hand because your thyroid and your adrenals are like brother and sister glands. So if you have hypothyroidism you for sure have adrenal fatigue or and then even worse adrenal, so there's adrenal fatigue and adrenal insufficiency and So again, if you don't get that adrenal fatigue checked out, chronic adrenal fatigue can lead to adrenal insufficiency, which I don't know if you guys have heard or maybe research, there's a thing called Addison's disease. And that is where, again, if it's a, you know, chronic it can get to that point to where you're just

Terry 35:19

laying on the floor, you know,

Elizabeth 35:21

you have nothing. I mean, you have nothing in you know, so yeah, there. I'm kind

Terry 35:27

of there. And I have taken levothyroxine for probably 20 years. I mean, I, I quit taking it for about a year and a half, two years. I mean, I just took quit taking all of my medication, and then I lost a bunch of weight. And I don't know how big Well, I do. I did I wasn't eating junk, as much. Anyway, I was eating some but yeah. And then, and then I started taking it again. And I don't know, I am just exhausted all the time. I don't feel well, physically, I just feel I it's just, we're just at where and we're at work, we're kind of going through a hard time, you know, stay in on our diet. We tried, we tried to start eating plant based and trying to get back into that mode. It's like, you know, we had one bad day and then led to another one and another one. It's like, Oh, forget it thrown in the towel. I mean, what we can get back on it. But I am, I am definitely tired. I'm thinking I may need to go do the,

Elizabeth 36:34

you do need to you do that test. I I recommend for anybody really, um, even at checkout kind of thing, because you don't know. And I, you know, I never knew that I was I had no vitamin D in me none. So it was, you know, obviously digestion and everything. So yeah, get that thyroid,