Cassie Johnson's Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/holisticallythriving
http://learntruehealth.com/holistically-thriving
I’m sure most of us aim to be holistically thriving. After all, who wouldn’t want to live a life independent from drugs? My guest today, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Cassie Johnson is a listener who told me the Learn True Health podcast significantly helped her fast track her road to a life that is holistically thriving.
Cassie Johnson’s life today was a stark contrast from her past. It was far from being holistically thriving. She has dealt with amenorrhea, migraines, acne, SIBO, mineral deficiency, adrenal fatigue, an unhealthy diet, and stress.
Recalling her younger years, Cassie Johnson got all of her hormones tested. It’s because she had a lot of health struggles since she was 13 years old. She was getting terrible migraines, yet no one thought it could be a hormone issue.
So, Cassie Johnson went through high school and first had her period at 16 years old. At 17 years old, she started breaking out all over her chin and cheeks. Her mom took Cassie Johnson to her ob-gyn, but the doctor did not test her for hormone levels.
Instead, they just tested her growth hormone. They didn’t conduct an ultrasound to see if Cassie Johnson had any cyst on her ovaries. Cassie Johnson was eventually put on the pill and antibiotics for her acne. She was on that medication off and on for five years of her life.
At age 22, Cassie Johnson was struggling with acne and still haven’t gotten another period. Her digestion was terrible, and so she decided to get hormones tested. The results came back, and it turned out that her estrogen and progesterone levels came back post-menopausal. It was a huge wake-up call. Ultimately, that set Cassie Johnson on a journey to find a way to be holistically thriving.
“My doctor told me to go back on the pill. I refused because I knew that it was synthetic hormones and not helping me whatsoever and I wanted to figure out the root cause of this issue,” recalls Cassie Johnson. “So that is how I found your podcast. Realized I shouldn’t go back to medication because food is a powerful medicine.”
Cassie Johnson ended up taking Nicole Jardim’s Fix Your Period course, which was about natural ways to balance hormones. Incidentally, Nicole Jardim was a past guest on my show.
“She covered a lot of hormone imbalances that help me to eventually get to the root of my hormone imbalance which was the fact that my ovaries just weren’t working,” Cassie Johnson said.
She added, “My testosterone was pretty low as well. So, I figured out it was my ovaries. And since then I’ve taken action to help boost my hormones naturally through food, natural remedies, acupuncture, and variety of other techniques.”
Today, Cassie Johnson is finally holistically thriving. Her estrogen is healthy now. And her progesterone level is getting better as well as her acne. She was genuinely amazed to see significant results.
Cassie Johnson also shared that she wanted to do more and this time, to help others. And as Cassie Johnson continued to change her diet and change her atmosphere, she also turned the way she handled stress.
Cassie Johnson’s mom took a course at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2016, and that was part of why Cassie Johnson also wanted to enroll in a course there. Being able to become a coach was a bonus.
She loved the program because it was very client-driven. Through coaching, Cassie Johnson helps people work on issues on their own. She would be there to guide them and ask them the right questions.
Before Cassie Johnson made these changes, she thought she was eating healthy. She thought she knew what eating healthy was. And it was terrible for her metabolism. She didn’t even realize she was doing it until she started this health journey.
“As I learned how to listen to my body, the biggest change I made was incorporating more vegetables. I started feeling better within days of doing that,” said Cassie Johnson. “And I also started a food and mood journal. I also paid attention to why I was eating and asked myself if it was because of hunger or stress.”
Cassie Johnson then experimented with different kinds of carbs. She was pretty much no carb or low carb last year. Then she implemented more grains, cutting all gluten, implementing supplements as well.
“That was a huge benefit. I had low energy and supplements gave me that boost I needed to make it through the day,” Cassie Johnson said.
Cassie Johnson usually has two to three cups of veggies in the morning, a huge salad at lunch and dinner would be a plant-based diet. She does not make much of mini snacks. Usually, ingredients of her diet include spinach, assorted veggies, olives and banana peppers, avocado, beans and quinoa on top for protein. She adds balsamic vinegar, wine, and pepper for flavor.
Cassie Johnson also likes to incorporate sweet potatoes into her diet because it’s full of anti-oxidants. I do love sweet potatoes, and a favorite way to eat it is mixing raw cacao and coconut milk. It’s delicious and almost similar to chocolate mousse.
Cassie Johnson also loves to experiment with smoothies. She makes sure there are protein and collagen.
“I just found a great vegan protein that I have been putting in there. It has pea protein and digestive enzymes because pea protein is hard on our digestion,” said Cassie Johnson. “So, finding a vegan protein with the digestive enzymes was great. It tastes great and I even like putting in frozen blueberries and almond milk.”
Taking supplements is a big part of Cassie Johnson being holistically thriving. The longevity supplements she uses is the tangerine original which is like a berry flavor. It makes her smoothies taste like vanilla berry flavor.
“I had SIBO for years and didn’t know it. And when I got on the longevity supplements, there is a prebiotic, probiotic and the 2.0. My SIBO got so bad,” shares Cassie Johnson. “Now I stay away. It’s a blessing. My SIBO is gone now, and I have never figured out why my digestion was all messed up.”
Cassie Johnson says probiotics makes SIBO worse because it’s good bacteria in the wrong place. So, every time she takes the tangy tangerine, her stomach would start hurting. She knew it was the cause of it, but she just wasn’t sure why it didn’t click until her SIBO got terrible.
“There are two types of SIBO. My test came back negative. But I know my body, and I know what symptoms come with SIBO,” said Cassie Johnson. “I researched and found there is another type of SIBO called hydrogen sulfide. They do not test for this at the moment, so my test came back negative.”
So, any foods high in sulfide like eggs, kale, and broccoli were the worst for Cassie Johnson. She had to cut out all those foods and started taking an herb mix called Calm Digestion from a company called Radiant Wonder. Taking GI Synergy also helped.
Taking supplements had positive effects on Cassie Johnson. Within 48 hours, her energy level and sleep patterns improved. She managed stress better. Cassie Johnson also started using more natural products like natural soaps and detergents.
“I was a lot more aware of my stressors in my job and relationships. How I perceive stress is something that I can control,” said Cassie Johnson.
She adds, “I do meditation, yoga, journaling, and reading, taking time for myself. Deep belly breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, so it helps you to relax, and helps cortisol to decrease.”
Cassie Johnson says journaling is best to do in the morning before your brain starts running and your thoughts go all over the place. As for meditation, she recommends setting a time for 5 to 10 minutes. Start with four deep breaths.
“I do four seconds of inhaling with your belly, hold for seven seconds and then eight seconds out. Do it four times. Then go into a more natural breath,” Cassie Johnson said.
She adds, “I recently started setting intentions before meditation. So, I have been noticing that ability to problem solve. I haven’t meditated on supplements, but I have meditated on what kind of balance am I seeking here. Like what her body needs right now and try to understand its cues. Meditation has helped me with the ability to eat intuitively.”
Cassie Johnson’s Facebook group is all about healing your relationship. She also offers training on a weekly basis. The practice explores your emotional side as well. It’s a community for women who have suffered eating disorder or sick of diets, confused on how and what to eat. Ultimately, Cassie Johnson advocates healing with food and finding nourishment beyond the plate as well.
“Whatever health issue that you are struggling with, no matter how lost you feel, and you have no clue on what’s going on with your body, and you’re taking steps to heal it, just keep going,” said Cassie Johnson.
She adds, “Because your body can get itself well by itself. And it’s super powerful. It’s just about you taking the time to tune in to slow down and to listen to what it needs, follow through and get it what it needs.”
Cassie Johnson is 23 years old from San Antonio, TX. She is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach helping women who are sick of diets to develop a better relationship with food and find nourishment beyond the plate. She is incredibly passionate about health and wellness and loves sharing holistic health with the world.
Holistically Thriving – Facebook Group
Episode 221 – Menstrual Cycle – Nicole Jardim
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Become A Health Coach-Learn More About The Institute for Integrative Nutrition's Health Coaching Certification Program by checking out these four resources:
1) Integrative Nutrition's Curriculum Guide:
http://geti.in/2cmUMxb
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3) Module One of the IIN curriculum:
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4) Get three free chapters of Joshua Rosenthal's book:
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Watch my little video on how to become a Certified Health Coach!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDDnofnSldI
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