Lindy Louise, DPT - My Story
At 19, I became a vegetarian. Unlike my college peers, I cooked most of my meals at home, and spent what little money I had at natural foods stores and farmer’s markets. I believed I was doing the best thing for my body and the planet by eliminating meat.
But I battled debilitating migraines a few times a month, that were getting in the way of my schoolwork, job, and relationships.
During my 20s, I went to several doctors for help, but the advice was always the same: take Aleve, take Imitrex, and manage stress. But nothing worked. I gave up and started to believe I would just have to learn how to deal with the pain.
I started to wonder if I was nutrient deficient from my vegetarian diet. So from 2005-2008 I started to slowly add in meat and fish. I felt less hungry. Less tired. But still had migraines.
I continued to believe I was eating a pristine diet. While I was passionate about cooking most meals from scratch at home, I was also buying Earth Balance instead of butter, Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese instead of Kraft, Morning Star breakfast “meat” instead of bacon as occasional treats. I was limiting eggs to a few a week and opting for Raisin Bran or Cheerios instead because I cared about my cholesterol. I didn’t make a lot of money at the time, but I thought these alternatives were a worthy investment in my health, and ok to eat as part of a balanced diet.
I was wrong.
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I now believe these ultra-processed foods marketed as healthy alternatives were contributing to inflammation, particularly neuroinflammation leading to migraines. I was also eating a lot of gluten that was causing GI distress. Foods like meatless Morning Star breakfast “sausage” or Earth Balance weren’t benefiting me, it was just junk food masquerading as health food – and my body was paying the price.
Things got worse when I started graduate school. I was busy, stressed, and sleep deprived. I gained 15 lbs, had excess belly fat for the first time in my life, developed a puffy face, and noticed my blood pressure creeping towards pre-hypertension. I chalked this up to entering my 30s and genetics – my grandmother’s had hypertension so it made sense that I might too.
In January of 2016, I committed to trying Whole30 with a group of friends. Everyone was doing it so why not give it a try.
What I thought would happen? Drop a few lbs and have fun completing a challenge with my friends.
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What actually happened? Within 6 weeks, I dropped 11 lbs, completely resolved my bi-monthly debilitating migraines, lowered my blood pressure to 110/70, GI distress disappeared, and for the first time in my life had a regular menstrual cycle. I came for the weight loss and comradery but stayed for the complete life transformation. I was hooked.
Trying Whole30 was my aha-moment – my first health epiphany and gateway into a better life. If I could transform my body composition AND get rid of my migraines in a matter of WEEKS, with just a few simple tweaks to my diet, then how come my doctors not once suggested I try an elimination diet to address my migraines? And why didn’t I learn about this in school? This started to make me question everything over the next decade.
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I still didn’t see how this could fit into my patient care because compared to taking an entire semester of pharmacology, I only spent a few hours learning about nutrition in my doctorate program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, so I figured diet and lifestyle weren’t as effective compared to the pharmaceutical interventions my patient’s doctors prescribed.
During this time, I also started to workout. I created a strength and endurance training program for myself. I started to see my muscles for the first time in my life. People started to ask what I was doing. I got fit. All from the simple consistency of strength training, walking, eating real, whole foods and keeping it low carb.
Those next years from 2016 to now I worked in various healthcare settings, including some of the renowned institutions in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and Orange County, and even opened my own outpatient clinic in Newport Beach, CA. But everywhere I went, the patients seemed to be getting sicker, and the solutions offered by me and my colleagues weren’t enough to really move the needle for our patients. The traditional approach of prescribing a medication to “manage” the symptoms, and ordering physical therapy to “learn the exercises,” just isn’t enough to overcome the negative effects of the standard American diet and way of living.
I felt success helping people get stronger, and decreasing their pain, but most of my patients were still on blood pressure medication, overwhelmed with visits to specialists, dealing with multiple chronic diseases, and often frequent flyers to the hospital. I stopped feeling like I was making any meaningful difference in their lives. Teaching someone how to do a squat wouldn’t change that they are on 12 medications, and on the path to an assisted living facility with caregivers, walkers and wheelchairs.
In 2020 I burned out, but I didn’t want to completely give up on healthcare. After years of fixing my own health, and years of attempting to fix others’, I realized it’s mostly about eating real whole food AND moving your body. If I could fix my own health my changing my diet, and proper exercise selection, then my patients could too. What I didn’t realize is that it wouldn’t be that easy to help patients change in the traditional healthcare system. I didn’t realize I’d be up against a behemoth. Years went by and I got frustrated. I’d teach patients about the power of real food, and exercise, just for them to then go back to their doctor for a follow up visit and be warned about cholesterol in eggs and meat, encouraged to try plant-based diets with plenty of whole grains, and opt for oatmeal, OJ, and Cheerios for breakfast for heart health.
In order to make a difference, I knew I’d have to reach people in a different way. I was shy, but I knew I’d have to put myself out there if I wanted to help people. With 20 years of experience with recipe development, and a passion for cooking at home, I started a YouTube channel to teach people the lost art of home cooking, with single ingredient foods. I started a Twitter account and found a community of like-minded clinicians like Dr. Elie Jarrouge, and everyday people who were open to going back to simple, real whole foods, and lifestyle modifications for optimal health. People started to DM for help, and I started health coaching those who were ready for the same kind of life transformation I had.
I’m 40 now and feel my best. Better than my 30s, and certainly better than my 20s. I feel strong. I feel energized. I want to help you do the same. That brings me to now. I’ve joined forces with Metabolic Health MD. I am thrilled to be here with you. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, put chronic disease into remission, reduce your risk of chronic disease, lower your blood pressure, or simply improve your overall health to feel and look better, I will use my expertise in exercise selection, and passion for preparing real whole foods, to tailor a plan for you that is sustainable, and provide guidance along the way to foster your own health transformation. If you need a team of people behind you to help you start your own journey, check out our different programs and find which one makes the most sense for you.
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