November 3, 2025 • 26 mins
We trace Jessica’s path from urgent hysterectomy and constant fatigue to real healing through gut testing, targeted nutrition, progesterone support, and daily Lectio Divina. We share what doctors often miss, how to pace recovery, and why small changes compound.
• why “healthy” eating still triggered inflammation
• how food sensitivity and stool tests guided an anti-inflammatory plan
• the hidden hormone shifts after hysterectomy even with ovaries intact
• practical post-op recovery habits for gut and core
• matching workouts to recovery and learning to rest
• using Lectio Divina to calm the nervous system and build resilience
• turning failure into feedback and one-percent gains
• building support at home and in community
• becoming a Fast of Faith coach to pay it forward
Please join us. Fast of Faith is a movement, it's a sisterhood community, it is everything you need, all packaged into one. It is transformational if you let it be. Like the program works if you work it.
Did you know over 6,000 women enter menopause every single day in the U.S. ? The medical system isn’t helping them heal at the root — and that’s where faith-based coaches come in. 👉 Join me at the next live training. Let’s change the world 💖
Thank you for listening to the Fast to Faith Podcast.
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If you’re tired of feeling stuck in your body—low energy, stubborn weight, mood swings—it’s time for a reset that aligns with your faith and your biology.
Join the “Empowered by Faith: 5 Days to a Lighter You” Challenge
This life-changing experience will help you:
- Reset your metabolism and boost natural energy
- Learn how faith-based fasting supports your body and soul
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (02:06):
I just felt so uncomfortable.
I was exhausted, my joints hurt,everything hurt.
So I was kind of lostspiritually too, I think.
So a big part of that shift wasfinding you and adding in the
morning Recchio divina.
That's where I think I felt thebiggest change.
SPEAKER_01 (02:23):
Welcome back to the Fast of Faith podcast.
I am over the moon excited totalk to my guest today.
She actually doesn't live thatfar from me.
But we did not meet in person,we met online, and her journey
is really going to hit home fora lot of you today because a lot
(02:45):
of you have been faced with thethreat of hysterectomy, or you
have gone through a hysterectomybecause there really was no
other option and it had to bedone.
So I can't wait for thisconversation today because there
are going to be somebreakthroughs.
If you're listening, if you'vegone through a hysterectomy,
you're going to learn something.
(03:06):
If you're considering it, you'regoing to learn something.
Or if you're supporting agirlfriend who needs this
episode, please share it withher.
Because the best thing that youcan do is to share your story
with others and share otherwomen's stories.
Because we should not feel alonein any of this.
(03:26):
There is literally nothing onthe planet that a woman is going
to experience that some otherwoman hasn't already
experienced.
We just need to find that womanso that we can feel like someone
understands us and maybe canguide us through.
So I'm really excited for thisconversation.
Welcome, Jessica.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Hi, I'm doing good.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
How are you?
Good.
I'm so excited that you arehere.
You look so beautiful in yourgreen.
Oh my gosh, your eyes are likepopping.
Um yeah, and I'm in my fallcolors because it was 48 degrees
this morning.
Yeah, it was chilly.
Woo! Okay, Michigan.
Yeah.
(04:09):
All right.
So I just want to dive in andhave you share a few things.
First and foremost, I always askwomen to share how they found me
because I truly believe Godbrings women together on purpose
for a purpose.
And if somebody's listeningright now, it might be because
(04:33):
they're supposed to hear fromyou and not even from me.
So, how did you find me?
How did we get connected?
SPEAKER_00 (04:40):
Well, I actually found you through an
ex-sister-in-law, my umbrother-in-law's ex-wife.
She was on Instagram posting,she was going through the
coaching program at the time.
Um, and I had been doingworkouts, working out every day,
um, but still just feelingmiserable.
(05:00):
I was uncomfortable, I wasinflamed, just so discouraged.
Getting up early to work out,thought I was eating healthy at
the time.
I wasn't, I wasn't doing what Ishould have been doing.
Now I know that, but um, I justfelt so lost and frustrated.
And then when I saw her post, Iwas curious.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
I love that.
Well, why don't we talk aboutthe the bomb you just dropped?
Because I wasn't gonna go inthis direction, but it's really
important.
You thought you were eatinghealthy.
So, what did that look like?
What was what were you eating?
SPEAKER_00 (05:37):
Sure, I had a pretty um steady routine of what I
would eat, and you know, cottagecheese, protein, everybody says
cottage cheese.
So I was eating cottage cheeseand cheese and just making sure
I ate all the protein that Ishould be eating.
Um, I was eating fruits andveggies, trying to watch my
portions.
(05:57):
I loved sugar.
So sugar had been a big thingfor me for a long time, but I
was trying to watch my sugar.
Um, but dairy was a big part ofmy diet.
And I didn't really feel like Ihad gut issues at that time.
I thought I could eat dairy, Ithought I could eat gluten.
Um I was miserable withoutrealizing it because I didn't
(06:21):
realize the food was impactingme the way it was.
So um I actually started aworkout program in December, and
part of that was to cut outdairy, and I thought, no, I'm
fine with dairy.
So I still kept eating thedairy.
So when I found you and had myfood sensitivities done, I
realized that that was mybiggest sensitivity.
(06:43):
Um, and so cutting out thatpiece of it just made a huge
impact on my inflammation.
I'd already started cutting outthe gluten and I felt better
there, but the dairy was thepiece that was still really
affecting me.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I know some women are not happy that they just
heard that.
I was with you.
I cottage cheese every morning,and I just ate cheese all
throughout the day.
Ice cream was my go-to treatmost of the time, especially in
the summer when you live inareas like Michigan and summer's
only three months.
(07:18):
You're like, I must eat the icecream every day because it's not
gonna be around.
And it's just such a toxiccombination of the dairy and the
sugar, and then if you add acone on it with the gluten.
But I love that you realizedokay, I need to do this.
The data shows it.
My tests actually show that I amreacting to dairy, my immune
(07:42):
system is angry.
And I remember your stool testwas like you had no good
bacteria, no good microbiome, nodigestive enzyme function.
And so, like everything you'reputting in your gut, there was
no little ecosystem to even beable to process it and digest
(08:04):
and help you absorb yourvitamins and minerals.
So it's like almost doesn't evenmatter if you're trying to eat
healthy if you don't have thatecosystem to support you.
So, you know, you had a coupledifferent things going on, and
what I want to point out,because I find it so
interesting, is that you werelooking for hormone help, you
(08:28):
were dealing with thishysterectomy and issue, and
we're like, wait a second,here's the root cause it's your
gut, it's your food sensitivity.
So, talk about that because Ithink that's really helpful for
women to understand.
What had you gone through beforeyou came to me?
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
So, um, for several years prior, I had been my heart
rate was elevated, I was justmiserable, and I didn't even
realize how miserable I was atthe time, I guess.
Now I see it and I notice umwhen I'm feel starting to feel
bad again, or um, things arehappening in my body, but it was
just how I was living.
(09:08):
And um my day was scheduled out6 a.m.
to 11 p.m.
I was working full time um in2022, I'm planning a dot my
oldest daughter's wedding,taking care of um my three other
children who were in highschool, taking care of my
grandparents, finishing abachelor's degree, working a
second job.
Like I was just going all thetime.
(09:29):
But I was so tired andmiserable, and I would cry in my
closet, and um, I just felt souncomfortable.
I was exhausted, my joints hurt,everything hurt.
And I'd go to the doctor and hewould just say, You're a busy
mom, and hand me a list oftherapists.
Um, and I was just sofrustrated.
(09:51):
Um at one point I saw the um thePA there, and she had a blood
draw done and saw my plateletswere in the 900s.
Um, and so she sent me to ahematologist.
I met with him, um, and they atthat time said that I was
(10:12):
anemic.
Um, I had been having very heavyperiods and um irregular and
where I didn't even want toleave the house.
I hated going to work.
I would bring extra changes ofclothes, like it was miserable,
but I didn't realize that thatwas affecting my iron in the way
that it was either.
(10:32):
Um, that's when I met with umthe gynecologist who decided
that I should have thehysterectomy.
He actually called me on aFriday at five o'clock and said
um they had done a biopsy andsaid that they had found
precancerous tissue and decidedthat that was the best way to
go.
And that was really what was mydecision on that.
(10:55):
Um, between that and theplatelets, the numbers were kind
of scary there.
So um decided to go forward, andthat was scheduled so fast
within a few weeks.
And in the meantime, I didn'tknow anybody, or nobody talked
about having a hysterectomy andwhat they experienced, and I was
YouTube, everything I couldfind, and how women felt after
(11:16):
what they were going through.
Um, so that was really stressfulto me.
And I hadn't really I had aC-section with one, um, my
oldest daughter, but I hadn'treally had any surgeries, so I
was just really nervous all theway around.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
Yeah, I can imagine.
I mean, that's a big decision.
Not only is it major surgery,you're put to sleep, you have
that big recovery, lots ofrestrictions for six weeks at
least.
Um, but for some women, it feelsa little bit like their female
identity, and like, I know Idon't want to have more kids,
(11:53):
but now I don't have the abilityto have kids.
Like, that's just a weirdfeeling, a weird thought.
I remember going through thatwhen they asked if I wanted my
tubes tied, you know.
I was, I think, 39 or 38 at thatpoint, and I was just like, I
know I don't want to have kids,but that seems like so drastic.
(12:14):
And so we we play all thesethings in our head, and we feel
all sorts of ways.
Some of us feel um sadness andgrief or frustration or anger or
shame, and and so you workthrough it, you make a decision,
and you're like, okay, I'm good.
(12:35):
And for some women, iteverything goes smoothly, and it
really is an answer that theyneeded, and everything kind of
shifts and stabilizes afterthat.
But for a lot of women, what wesee is that there was a deeper
root cause issue going on,driving the reason that you
(12:56):
needed the hysterectomy, andbecause that wasn't taken care
of, then it just pops up inother ways after the
hysterectomy.
Like you got rid of the bleedingproblem, but now you got new
problems.
And the truth is when we leaveovaries behind, we can
compromise the blood flow to theovaries or traumatize them
(13:19):
enough that sometimes they startto go into early menopause, or
they just that little factorywants to shut down and no longer
ovulate and produce progesteroneevery month.
So, did you feel good after thehysterectomy for a while, or not
really?
SPEAKER_00 (13:35):
Um, not really.
And it's not that I felt bad.
I I just was in a really badspot.
I was frustrated because it tooklonger than I thought to get
back into working out.
Um, my core, it just it took somuch longer than I thought, and
I'd been used to working outevery day.
So I was frustrated with that.
(13:57):
Um, and now thinking about it, Ithink that probably impacted me
mentally too because I was justin the lowest spot I've ever
been.
Um I that May, that was sosurgery was in October.
In May, my daughter had asurprise party for me, birthday
party, um, for my 45th birthdaythe May after, and I just cried,
(14:18):
like I was so miserable, and Ishould have been happy, and I
just wasn't in a place to behappy right then.
Um, and it took a lot for methrough the year to get to that
point.
SPEAKER_01 (14:30):
Yeah, I can imagine if you're not if you go from
working out regularly to notbeing able to work out, like for
most women, that's like takingout the mental trash.
That's how we empty the garbageout of our brain is working out,
and so all of that starts tojust pile up in your mind, and
you just feel overwhelmed andanxiety or depression, and so
(14:54):
that is definitely something toconsider if you are going into
surgery, like that's a realthing.
And I just want to mentionreally quickly that I have a
post-op recovery guide if youare facing surgery, because
there are some things that yourgynecologist probably doesn't
tell you that will significantlyimprove your recovery.
(15:17):
I promise you that it's reallyimportant how we handle our gut
health after surgery, focusingon our bowel movements, getting
walking in, and how to reengagein activities and things like
that.
So that's all in the guide.
If you need it, it's in thenotes.
Um, but you eventually found meand you were struggling with
(15:42):
this hormone imbalance.
Lo and behold, you reallyweren't making any progesterone,
and so that was part of well,why you were feeling so down.
So I'm glad that you did theHealthy Her program because you
dove in, you got the foodsensitivity, you got the gut
test, we got your hormones backinto balance a little bit.
(16:07):
Tell me what that shift startedto feel like for you when you
made these changes.
SPEAKER_00 (16:15):
Oh my goodness.
Um, so November Thanksgivinglast year, I'd seen a picture of
myself and my face.
I just cried.
I my face was so inflamed, andum, so as I started to make the
changes, and you know, probablythe biggest shift for me was um
at that time, I didn't reallyhave a relationship with God.
(16:39):
I had taught Sunday school, I'dbeen very involved in my church
for years, and we'd kind of umstepped away from that a bit,
and so I was kind of lostspiritually too, I think.
And so a big part of that shiftwas finding you and adding in
the morning Lectio Divina.
Um, that's where I think I feltthe biggest change.
(17:02):
And then from there, adding inthe food changes and the working
out and listening to my body wasworking out.
I think I was working out toohard for what I should have
been, or working out the wrongway.
Um and so now knowing that, sonow feeling that shift in my
body and knowing when to rest.
(17:22):
Um, I didn't rest, I didn't knowhow to rest.
And so making sure I'm gettingmy sleep, that's big too.
So I feel like a completelydifferent person all the way
around.
SPEAKER_01 (17:34):
Oh my gosh, that is the goodness of God.
I love that so much.
Like my girlfriend Kirsten says,soul work before body work.
Your soul needed to be heard, itwas trying to call out to you.
And I love that God brought youto me because you did need
Lectio Divina.
(17:55):
I too find it so powerful.
Like when I stumbled upon thispractice of just meditating on a
scripture as a way to talk toGod, it really did change
everything for me too.
Like, I started to have so muchclarity and see all my busyness
(18:16):
and like, wait a second, likewhen you listed at the beginning
of the episode everything youwere doing, like that's insane.
But that's the majority of womenin this day and age.
I saw some Facebook meme aboutlike um current marriages, and
like the man's playing a videogame, and the wife is like
(18:37):
running to work, carrying allthe groceries, kids on her hips,
paying the bills, like she'sdoing everything.
And like, where did how did weget here?
We need to have our partnersstep up, be equal or more, you
know, take back theirresponsibilities and just say,
(18:59):
I'm not doing this anymore.
This is craziness, and so I'mreally proud of you for not
giving up hope, for continuingto search out and not be afraid.
Well, maybe you were afraid, butfor actually stepping in and
just trying one more timebecause that's what I hear from
(19:21):
a lot of women.
We just completed our five-dayonline summit, and so many women
are like, I'm afraid to tryagain, I I'm gonna fail.
Can you speak to that a littlebit?
SPEAKER_00 (19:35):
I think for me it was knowing that even if I
didn't get all the pieces right,one percent.
I told myself, this is I do onepercent better, it will it'll be
better than I am now with howI'm feeling and doing.
So just adding in the littlepieces, and even if you can't
jump fully into everything, justslowly start to add it in and
make the changes.
(19:56):
Um speaking back to marriage, myhusband's been amazingly
supportive.
Um, and it there's just been ashift there as well.
We're newly empty nesters withinthe past year or two, so um, but
marriage is good and life isgood, and um he's he's on board
with eating now, where he um hadstarted cooking and getting more
(20:18):
um into the kitchen over thepast couple years, and so he'd
get up and he'd want to makepancakes, and so that was one of
our things like pancakes, Ican't eat pancakes, I shouldn't
be eating pancakes, but now he'sum learning new ways to cook and
eating healthier too.
And if we get a little bit offtrack, he'll be like, you know,
I really think we should getback on track with eating.
So um and it's been fun to trynew recipes and learn new ways
(20:42):
to eat.
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
I love that, that is so good.
You know, I was listening toTaylor Welsh the other day.
He is um in the business space,but he um also teaches on on
Christianity, and he was talkingabout how how failure is not
failing, it's just lessons.
(21:05):
And every time you fail, you getrid of one more possibility so
that you're actually closer toyour success.
Because when you first startout, you have all these options
of like, what do I need to besuccessful?
I could do this, this, this, andthis.
And then when you fail atsomething, that drops away.
(21:26):
So then you only have feweroptions, and you're like getting
closer to your target and yourgoal, and you can be more
focused on, oh, this is actuallywhat I need to be focused on.
And so I would encourage youlistening, like all your failed
diets, all your failed exerciseroutines, all your failed
(21:48):
calendar scheduling, boundarysetting situations, like those
weren't failures.
You learned what doesn't workfor you, and so you can start to
hone in on what does actuallywork for me, and that I think
that is part of the Fast toFaith program, and you you know,
(22:08):
becoming a coach, you've learnedall of this, what works for you,
and what works for most womenactually, and so you can start
to move forward and and sharethat.
So tell me quickly how it feelsto be a certified fast to faith
coach now that you can just payit forward.
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
Um, I love it.
That's what I keep tellingmyself is I just want to shine
God's light into other women soto bring them confidence and
joy, um, because I do feel likeI've gained that back.
Um I'd really lost that before,and so just having that that joy
back has been amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (22:51):
Oh my gosh, I love that so much, and thank you for
being honest.
Like, I was in church, I wasteaching Sunday school, I was
going through the motions, I wasin the community that I was
supposed to be in, or so Ithought, but you really weren't
having that relationship, youweren't handing things over to
(23:12):
Jesus every morning and puttingit at his feet and saying, Like,
I need your help.
I actually can't do this withoutyou.
Please guide me, please pick meup, please carry me.
And there's so much power in ourweakness.
That's what the Bible says.
Like, your strength comes fromhis strength, and that's from
(23:36):
handing over your weakness.
So I just I'm so excited foryou, and I just love your story.
I'm in awe of everything thatyou've gone through, and I can't
even wait to see what you donext.
What are you?
Give me a vision of 2026.
What does life look like?
SPEAKER_00 (23:56):
Oh my goodness, I don't know.
That's that's a fun question.
Um, I just want to keep pluggingin and growing.
Um we're gonna be grandparentsnext year for the first time.
Congratulations.
It's I promise you.
Um, we're so excited and lookingforward to that.
(24:17):
And um so I that's a big thingthat I just keep thinking about
for next year because it's gonnabe a huge milestone in our life.
But um, I just want to keepplugging in and keep moving
forward with Lectio Divina andsharing with other women.
Oh, I love that.
You are gonna love you, Grandma.
SPEAKER_01 (24:37):
It's the absolute best.
Oh my gosh, soak it up.
Well, you are such a blessing.
Do you have any last partingwords that you really want to
share with women?
Like lay it all on the table.
SPEAKER_00 (24:52):
I think Fast of Faith for me just brought
everything together.
I was pulling everything I couldfrom different sources and
listening to a little bit hereand a little bit there, and
there was just so muchinformation overload, and I
didn't know what to do, and Ithink I was just feeling even
more lost because of that.
Um, and it just brought all ofthose pieces together for me to
(25:15):
complete the puzzle that Ineeded to start feeling better.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
Yes, ladies, if you are doing programs that aren't
incorporating Jesus, yeah,you're probably gonna feel like
you're coming up short, likethere's something missing.
Because there is, there reallyis.
We're supposed to do life withJesus.
So thank you, Jessica.
This was such an awesomeconversation, and I know that
(25:41):
you are blessing women.
Thank you.
So good, ladies.
Please join us.
Fast of Faith is a movement,it's a sisterhood community, it
is everything you need, allpackaged into one.
It is transformational if youlet it be.
(26:02):
Like the program works if youwork it.
That's what I always say.
But it's you don't even have tobe scared.
You can just uh go on God'sstrength and not even worry
about it.
Just trust that He's got you, Hebrought you here on purpose, and
He's gonna help you get over themountain, right?
(26:23):
So I love it.
Go have an incredible week, andI can't wait to hear about your
breakthrough.
So I'll see you soon.
I just felt so uncomfortable.
I was exhausted, my joints hurt,everything hurt.
So I was kind of lostspiritually too, I think.
So a big part of that shift wasfinding you and adding in the
morning Recchio divina.
That's where I think I felt thebiggest change.
SPEAKER_01 (02:23):
Welcome back to the Fast of Faith podcast.
I am over the moon excited totalk to my guest today.
She actually doesn't live thatfar from me.
But we did not meet in person,we met online, and her journey
is really going to hit home fora lot of you today because a lot
(02:45):
of you have been faced with thethreat of hysterectomy, or you
have gone through a hysterectomybecause there really was no
other option and it had to bedone.
So I can't wait for thisconversation today because there
are going to be somebreakthroughs.
If you're listening, if you'vegone through a hysterectomy,
you're going to learn something.
(03:06):
If you're considering it, you'regoing to learn something.
Or if you're supporting agirlfriend who needs this
episode, please share it withher.
Because the best thing that youcan do is to share your story
with others and share otherwomen's stories.
Because we should not feel alonein any of this.
(03:26):
There is literally nothing onthe planet that a woman is going
to experience that some otherwoman hasn't already
experienced.
We just need to find that womanso that we can feel like someone
understands us and maybe canguide us through.
So I'm really excited for thisconversation.
Welcome, Jessica.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Hi, I'm doing good.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
How are you?
Good.
I'm so excited that you arehere.
You look so beautiful in yourgreen.
Oh my gosh, your eyes are likepopping.
Um yeah, and I'm in my fallcolors because it was 48 degrees
this morning.
Yeah, it was chilly.
Woo! Okay, Michigan.
Yeah.
(04:09):
All right.
So I just want to dive in andhave you share a few things.
First and foremost, I always askwomen to share how they found me
because I truly believe Godbrings women together on purpose
for a purpose.
And if somebody's listeningright now, it might be because
(04:33):
they're supposed to hear fromyou and not even from me.
So, how did you find me?
How did we get connected?
SPEAKER_00 (04:40):
Well, I actually found you through an
ex-sister-in-law, my umbrother-in-law's ex-wife.
She was on Instagram posting,she was going through the
coaching program at the time.
Um, and I had been doingworkouts, working out every day,
um, but still just feelingmiserable.
(05:00):
I was uncomfortable, I wasinflamed, just so discouraged.
Getting up early to work out,thought I was eating healthy at
the time.
I wasn't, I wasn't doing what Ishould have been doing.
Now I know that, but um, I justfelt so lost and frustrated.
And then when I saw her post, Iwas curious.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
I love that.
Well, why don't we talk aboutthe the bomb you just dropped?
Because I wasn't gonna go inthis direction, but it's really
important.
You thought you were eatinghealthy.
So, what did that look like?
What was what were you eating?
SPEAKER_00 (05:37):
Sure, I had a pretty um steady routine of what I
would eat, and you know, cottagecheese, protein, everybody says
cottage cheese.
So I was eating cottage cheeseand cheese and just making sure
I ate all the protein that Ishould be eating.
Um, I was eating fruits andveggies, trying to watch my
portions.
(05:57):
I loved sugar.
So sugar had been a big thingfor me for a long time, but I
was trying to watch my sugar.
Um, but dairy was a big part ofmy diet.
And I didn't really feel like Ihad gut issues at that time.
I thought I could eat dairy, Ithought I could eat gluten.
Um I was miserable withoutrealizing it because I didn't
(06:21):
realize the food was impactingme the way it was.
So um I actually started aworkout program in December, and
part of that was to cut outdairy, and I thought, no, I'm
fine with dairy.
So I still kept eating thedairy.
So when I found you and had myfood sensitivities done, I
realized that that was mybiggest sensitivity.
(06:43):
Um, and so cutting out thatpiece of it just made a huge
impact on my inflammation.
I'd already started cutting outthe gluten and I felt better
there, but the dairy was thepiece that was still really
affecting me.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I know some women are not happy that they just
heard that.
I was with you.
I cottage cheese every morning,and I just ate cheese all
throughout the day.
Ice cream was my go-to treatmost of the time, especially in
the summer when you live inareas like Michigan and summer's
only three months.
(07:18):
You're like, I must eat the icecream every day because it's not
gonna be around.
And it's just such a toxiccombination of the dairy and the
sugar, and then if you add acone on it with the gluten.
But I love that you realizedokay, I need to do this.
The data shows it.
My tests actually show that I amreacting to dairy, my immune
(07:42):
system is angry.
And I remember your stool testwas like you had no good
bacteria, no good microbiome, nodigestive enzyme function.
And so, like everything you'reputting in your gut, there was
no little ecosystem to even beable to process it and digest
(08:04):
and help you absorb yourvitamins and minerals.
So it's like almost doesn't evenmatter if you're trying to eat
healthy if you don't have thatecosystem to support you.
So, you know, you had a coupledifferent things going on, and
what I want to point out,because I find it so
interesting, is that you werelooking for hormone help, you
(08:28):
were dealing with thishysterectomy and issue, and
we're like, wait a second,here's the root cause it's your
gut, it's your food sensitivity.
So, talk about that because Ithink that's really helpful for
women to understand.
What had you gone through beforeyou came to me?
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
So, um, for several years prior, I had been my heart
rate was elevated, I was justmiserable, and I didn't even
realize how miserable I was atthe time, I guess.
Now I see it and I notice umwhen I'm feel starting to feel
bad again, or um, things arehappening in my body, but it was
just how I was living.
(09:08):
And um my day was scheduled out6 a.m.
to 11 p.m.
I was working full time um in2022, I'm planning a dot my
oldest daughter's wedding,taking care of um my three other
children who were in highschool, taking care of my
grandparents, finishing abachelor's degree, working a
second job.
Like I was just going all thetime.
(09:29):
But I was so tired andmiserable, and I would cry in my
closet, and um, I just felt souncomfortable.
I was exhausted, my joints hurt,everything hurt.
And I'd go to the doctor and hewould just say, You're a busy
mom, and hand me a list oftherapists.
Um, and I was just sofrustrated.
(09:51):
Um at one point I saw the um thePA there, and she had a blood
draw done and saw my plateletswere in the 900s.
Um, and so she sent me to ahematologist.
I met with him, um, and they atthat time said that I was
(10:12):
anemic.
Um, I had been having very heavyperiods and um irregular and
where I didn't even want toleave the house.
I hated going to work.
I would bring extra changes ofclothes, like it was miserable,
but I didn't realize that thatwas affecting my iron in the way
that it was either.
(10:32):
Um, that's when I met with umthe gynecologist who decided
that I should have thehysterectomy.
He actually called me on aFriday at five o'clock and said
um they had done a biopsy andsaid that they had found
precancerous tissue and decidedthat that was the best way to
go.
And that was really what was mydecision on that.
(10:55):
Um, between that and theplatelets, the numbers were kind
of scary there.
So um decided to go forward, andthat was scheduled so fast
within a few weeks.
And in the meantime, I didn'tknow anybody, or nobody talked
about having a hysterectomy andwhat they experienced, and I was
YouTube, everything I couldfind, and how women felt after
(11:16):
what they were going through.
Um, so that was really stressfulto me.
And I hadn't really I had aC-section with one, um, my
oldest daughter, but I hadn'treally had any surgeries, so I
was just really nervous all theway around.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
Yeah, I can imagine.
I mean, that's a big decision.
Not only is it major surgery,you're put to sleep, you have
that big recovery, lots ofrestrictions for six weeks at
least.
Um, but for some women, it feelsa little bit like their female
identity, and like, I know Idon't want to have more kids,
(11:53):
but now I don't have the abilityto have kids.
Like, that's just a weirdfeeling, a weird thought.
I remember going through thatwhen they asked if I wanted my
tubes tied, you know.
I was, I think, 39 or 38 at thatpoint, and I was just like, I
know I don't want to have kids,but that seems like so drastic.
(12:14):
And so we we play all thesethings in our head, and we feel
all sorts of ways.
Some of us feel um sadness andgrief or frustration or anger or
shame, and and so you workthrough it, you make a decision,
and you're like, okay, I'm good.
(12:35):
And for some women, iteverything goes smoothly, and it
really is an answer that theyneeded, and everything kind of
shifts and stabilizes afterthat.
But for a lot of women, what wesee is that there was a deeper
root cause issue going on,driving the reason that you
(12:56):
needed the hysterectomy, andbecause that wasn't taken care
of, then it just pops up inother ways after the
hysterectomy.
Like you got rid of the bleedingproblem, but now you got new
problems.
And the truth is when we leaveovaries behind, we can
compromise the blood flow to theovaries or traumatize them
(13:19):
enough that sometimes they startto go into early menopause, or
they just that little factorywants to shut down and no longer
ovulate and produce progesteroneevery month.
So, did you feel good after thehysterectomy for a while, or not
really?
SPEAKER_00 (13:35):
Um, not really.
And it's not that I felt bad.
I I just was in a really badspot.
I was frustrated because it tooklonger than I thought to get
back into working out.
Um, my core, it just it took somuch longer than I thought, and
I'd been used to working outevery day.
So I was frustrated with that.
(13:57):
Um, and now thinking about it, Ithink that probably impacted me
mentally too because I was justin the lowest spot I've ever
been.
Um I that May, that was sosurgery was in October.
In May, my daughter had asurprise party for me, birthday
party, um, for my 45th birthdaythe May after, and I just cried,
(14:18):
like I was so miserable, and Ishould have been happy, and I
just wasn't in a place to behappy right then.
Um, and it took a lot for methrough the year to get to that
point.
SPEAKER_01 (14:30):
Yeah, I can imagine if you're not if you go from
working out regularly to notbeing able to work out, like for
most women, that's like takingout the mental trash.
That's how we empty the garbageout of our brain is working out,
and so all of that starts tojust pile up in your mind, and
you just feel overwhelmed andanxiety or depression, and so
(14:54):
that is definitely something toconsider if you are going into
surgery, like that's a realthing.
And I just want to mentionreally quickly that I have a
post-op recovery guide if youare facing surgery, because
there are some things that yourgynecologist probably doesn't
tell you that will significantlyimprove your recovery.
(15:17):
I promise you that it's reallyimportant how we handle our gut
health after surgery, focusingon our bowel movements, getting
walking in, and how to reengagein activities and things like
that.
So that's all in the guide.
If you need it, it's in thenotes.
Um, but you eventually found meand you were struggling with
(15:42):
this hormone imbalance.
Lo and behold, you reallyweren't making any progesterone,
and so that was part of well,why you were feeling so down.
So I'm glad that you did theHealthy Her program because you
dove in, you got the foodsensitivity, you got the gut
test, we got your hormones backinto balance a little bit.
(16:07):
Tell me what that shift startedto feel like for you when you
made these changes.
SPEAKER_00 (16:15):
Oh my goodness.
Um, so November Thanksgivinglast year, I'd seen a picture of
myself and my face.
I just cried.
I my face was so inflamed, andum, so as I started to make the
changes, and you know, probablythe biggest shift for me was um
at that time, I didn't reallyhave a relationship with God.
(16:39):
I had taught Sunday school, I'dbeen very involved in my church
for years, and we'd kind of umstepped away from that a bit,
and so I was kind of lostspiritually too, I think.
And so a big part of that shiftwas finding you and adding in
the morning Lectio Divina.
Um, that's where I think I feltthe biggest change.
(17:02):
And then from there, adding inthe food changes and the working
out and listening to my body wasworking out.
I think I was working out toohard for what I should have
been, or working out the wrongway.
Um and so now knowing that, sonow feeling that shift in my
body and knowing when to rest.
(17:22):
Um, I didn't rest, I didn't knowhow to rest.
And so making sure I'm gettingmy sleep, that's big too.
So I feel like a completelydifferent person all the way
around.
SPEAKER_01 (17:34):
Oh my gosh, that is the goodness of God.
I love that so much.
Like my girlfriend Kirsten says,soul work before body work.
Your soul needed to be heard, itwas trying to call out to you.
And I love that God brought youto me because you did need
Lectio Divina.
(17:55):
I too find it so powerful.
Like when I stumbled upon thispractice of just meditating on a
scripture as a way to talk toGod, it really did change
everything for me too.
Like, I started to have so muchclarity and see all my busyness
(18:16):
and like, wait a second, likewhen you listed at the beginning
of the episode everything youwere doing, like that's insane.
But that's the majority of womenin this day and age.
I saw some Facebook meme aboutlike um current marriages, and
like the man's playing a videogame, and the wife is like
(18:37):
running to work, carrying allthe groceries, kids on her hips,
paying the bills, like she'sdoing everything.
And like, where did how did weget here?
We need to have our partnersstep up, be equal or more, you
know, take back theirresponsibilities and just say,
(18:59):
I'm not doing this anymore.
This is craziness, and so I'mreally proud of you for not
giving up hope, for continuingto search out and not be afraid.
Well, maybe you were afraid, butfor actually stepping in and
just trying one more timebecause that's what I hear from
(19:21):
a lot of women.
We just completed our five-dayonline summit, and so many women
are like, I'm afraid to tryagain, I I'm gonna fail.
Can you speak to that a littlebit?
SPEAKER_00 (19:35):
I think for me it was knowing that even if I
didn't get all the pieces right,one percent.
I told myself, this is I do onepercent better, it will it'll be
better than I am now with howI'm feeling and doing.
So just adding in the littlepieces, and even if you can't
jump fully into everything, justslowly start to add it in and
make the changes.
(19:56):
Um speaking back to marriage, myhusband's been amazingly
supportive.
Um, and it there's just been ashift there as well.
We're newly empty nesters withinthe past year or two, so um, but
marriage is good and life isgood, and um he's he's on board
with eating now, where he um hadstarted cooking and getting more
(20:18):
um into the kitchen over thepast couple years, and so he'd
get up and he'd want to makepancakes, and so that was one of
our things like pancakes, Ican't eat pancakes, I shouldn't
be eating pancakes, but now he'sum learning new ways to cook and
eating healthier too.
And if we get a little bit offtrack, he'll be like, you know,
I really think we should getback on track with eating.
So um and it's been fun to trynew recipes and learn new ways
(20:42):
to eat.
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
I love that, that is so good.
You know, I was listening toTaylor Welsh the other day.
He is um in the business space,but he um also teaches on on
Christianity, and he was talkingabout how how failure is not
failing, it's just lessons.
(21:05):
And every time you fail, you getrid of one more possibility so
that you're actually closer toyour success.
Because when you first startout, you have all these options
of like, what do I need to besuccessful?
I could do this, this, this, andthis.
And then when you fail atsomething, that drops away.
(21:26):
So then you only have feweroptions, and you're like getting
closer to your target and yourgoal, and you can be more
focused on, oh, this is actuallywhat I need to be focused on.
And so I would encourage youlistening, like all your failed
diets, all your failed exerciseroutines, all your failed
(21:48):
calendar scheduling, boundarysetting situations, like those
weren't failures.
You learned what doesn't workfor you, and so you can start to
hone in on what does actuallywork for me, and that I think
that is part of the Fast toFaith program, and you you know,
(22:08):
becoming a coach, you've learnedall of this, what works for you,
and what works for most womenactually, and so you can start
to move forward and and sharethat.
So tell me quickly how it feelsto be a certified fast to faith
coach now that you can just payit forward.
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
Um, I love it.
That's what I keep tellingmyself is I just want to shine
God's light into other women soto bring them confidence and
joy, um, because I do feel likeI've gained that back.
Um I'd really lost that before,and so just having that that joy
back has been amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (22:51):
Oh my gosh, I love that so much, and thank you for
being honest.
Like, I was in church, I wasteaching Sunday school, I was
going through the motions, I wasin the community that I was
supposed to be in, or so Ithought, but you really weren't
having that relationship, youweren't handing things over to
(23:12):
Jesus every morning and puttingit at his feet and saying, Like,
I need your help.
I actually can't do this withoutyou.
Please guide me, please pick meup, please carry me.
And there's so much power in ourweakness.
That's what the Bible says.
Like, your strength comes fromhis strength, and that's from
(23:36):
handing over your weakness.
So I just I'm so excited foryou, and I just love your story.
I'm in awe of everything thatyou've gone through, and I can't
even wait to see what you donext.
What are you?
Give me a vision of 2026.
What does life look like?
SPEAKER_00 (23:56):
Oh my goodness, I don't know.
That's that's a fun question.
Um, I just want to keep pluggingin and growing.
Um we're gonna be grandparentsnext year for the first time.
Congratulations.
It's I promise you.
Um, we're so excited and lookingforward to that.
(24:17):
And um so I that's a big thingthat I just keep thinking about
for next year because it's gonnabe a huge milestone in our life.
But um, I just want to keepplugging in and keep moving
forward with Lectio Divina andsharing with other women.
Oh, I love that.
You are gonna love you, Grandma.
SPEAKER_01 (24:37):
It's the absolute best.
Oh my gosh, soak it up.
Well, you are such a blessing.
Do you have any last partingwords that you really want to
share with women?
Like lay it all on the table.
SPEAKER_00 (24:52):
I think Fast of Faith for me just brought
everything together.
I was pulling everything I couldfrom different sources and
listening to a little bit hereand a little bit there, and
there was just so muchinformation overload, and I
didn't know what to do, and Ithink I was just feeling even
more lost because of that.
Um, and it just brought all ofthose pieces together for me to
(25:15):
complete the puzzle that Ineeded to start feeling better.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
Yes, ladies, if you are doing programs that aren't
incorporating Jesus, yeah,you're probably gonna feel like
you're coming up short, likethere's something missing.
Because there is, there reallyis.
We're supposed to do life withJesus.
So thank you, Jessica.
This was such an awesomeconversation, and I know that
(25:41):
you are blessing women.
Thank you.
So good, ladies.
Please join us.
Fast of Faith is a movement,it's a sisterhood community, it
is everything you need, allpackaged into one.
It is transformational if youlet it be.
(26:02):
Like the program works if youwork it.
That's what I always say.
But it's you don't even have tobe scared.
You can just uh go on God'sstrength and not even worry
about it.
Just trust that He's got you, Hebrought you here on purpose, and
He's gonna help you get over themountain, right?
(26:23):
So I love it.
Go have an incredible week, andI can't wait to hear about your
breakthrough.
So I'll see you soon.
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