About a year ago, I felt like I needed a nap every day. I was a total snoozefest—tired all the time. My monthly cycles were out of whack and painful. I gained about 10 pounds over the course of a year. But the real kicker was when I went to my primary care doctor and he told me, “You’re a working mom. You’re over 40 now. It comes with the territory.” Insert eye roll and annoyed sigh here.
He offered medicine (birth control pills in an effort to regulate hormones), but I turned down the prescription and started researching. Because guess what? There’s no law that says one doc’s diagnosis and remedy is gospel. I knew there had to be another way.
I have been fascinated with the idea of functional medicine and acupuncture for awhile. Listen, I believe in western medicine, but I believe we can supplement our care with other methods. I ended up trying an integrative physician and acupuncturist, and after a year of working with Dr. Harriet Hansell I discovered the power of food, fitness, and acupuncture. I found a way to heal my body. My cycles are regular and no longer painful. I have energy again! I’m attacking the weight gain in a healthy way, which is a work in progress. But I feel strong, so I’m not beating myself up (again, a new thing for me).
And I’m not the only one! Penn had his own transformation, so we convinced Dr. Hansell to come into the studio to pick her brain for a podcast. We talked about intermittent fasting, why she loves Crossfit for women over 40, how acupuncture works in the body, and more.
If you have your own health headaches, give it a listen. You may find some new solutions that may work for you. And before you ask, this isn’t an ad or paid partnership. It’s the opposite of an ad. We happily pay her for visits and wanted to share our functional medicine success stories with you.
