December 22, 2025 • 37 mins
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
I was having major heart palpitations.
I wore the heart monitor.
I did it endoscopy.
I did so many different teststhat showed everything normal.
Then I'm like, why am I feelinglike this?
But I began to see littlechanges.
You know, the first time myheart was not racing, the first
time my stomach was not burning.
The first time my head was notpounding.
I was like, oh, it's gettingbetter.
I felt 20 years younger.
(00:21):
And that is not an exaggeration.
SPEAKER_00 (00:23):
Welcome back to the Fast of Faith podcast.
I know I've been on a break.
You're probably wondering, wherethe heck has she been?
Why is she not consistent?
I apologize.
I have been sick.
I have been going through a lotof different things.
And more importantly, we arerevamping the podcast.
(00:44):
So this is the last episode thatis going to be like this.
And I'm really excited for thechanges that we're making.
We're going into a live studio,and I'm going to have my
sidekick Ashley with me for alot of it.
So it's going to be a little bitdifferent.
I just feel like 2026 is callingfor some freshness, some
(01:07):
upgrades, some changes.
So please stay tuned.
Please make sure that you comeback in a couple weeks.
We're going to take a break forthe holidays.
I just I want my team to havesome downtime.
That is really important to me.
It's way more important thangiving like a cash gift or
something.
It's just giving them theability to spend time with their
(01:30):
family and take a break fromwork.
And I hope that you get to dothat.
If you don't, I would love foryou to just five five five
minutes in your day to connectwith God and find some reprieve
and realize that the holidaysare not just about the stuff.
(01:51):
It's not about just getting allthe things or doing all the
things for all the people.
It is really a time to reconnectwith the Father and celebrate
the birth of Jesus and be sothankful that he was born for
us.
And so find some time in yourdays to do that.
(02:11):
Alright, this week I'm reallyexcited because we have an
awesome guest.
She's just has such a beautifulsoul and she's got so much
wisdom to share.
So I know that you guys lovewhen I interview the Fast of
Faith coaches because they dropso many golden nuggets on you.
And I have no doubt you're goingto hear something you need to
(02:32):
hear today because we've invitedthe Holy Spirit into this
conversation.
We've asked the Holy Spirit toguide us and to say what you
need to hear.
But I do want to hear from youas well.
I want you to throw me afive-star review.
Tell me what you're thinkingabout the podcast, but know that
it's changing for 2026.
(02:54):
But I do want to hear whattopics you're interested in.
So let's dive in.
Welcome, Melissa.
I'm so excited to have you here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:02):
I am so excited to be here.
Thank you so much for takingtime for me.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
Yes, it has been a lovely year getting to know you.
And I feel like you're a lotlike me.
You're a quick start.
You just dive in the deep end.
You're like, oh, do I know howto swim?
Do I have any floaties?
Let's go.
SPEAKER_01 (03:21):
Is that how you would describe yourself?
A hundred percent.
And after you get in, you gottapaddle faster or swim faster or
hold your breath longer, butyou're in it and you're gonna do
it.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (03:32):
Yes.
Or I like to think like someoneelse is in there with you and
they can teach you how to swim,or they can, you know, share
their floaty with you, theirlife preserver.
Um, but some of us are not likethat.
We're they're not quickstarters.
And some people are like, Iwould never just jump into
(03:54):
something and I have toinvestigate it and research it
and read the reviews and do allthe things.
Um, so let's try to talk to bothtypes of women, but know that
it's hard for me to understandthat over-analytical woman to
some extent, although I dobecause I'm a physician, I'm a
(04:17):
scientist, I get it, data isimportant, but sometimes we have
to trust the Holy Spirit, wehave to trust our spirit and
just dive right in.
Is that what happened with you?
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Yes, and actually I can relate to being both women
because I feel like sometimesI'm the over-analytical where I
will research until there's nomore research and I know
everything about it before Imake a decision, but I also know
what it's like to be led by theHoly Spirit, and that is a
hundred percent what happenedwhenever I found out about Fast
of Faith.
Um, I actually found you becauseof a podcast, and I started
(04:56):
listening to you, and somethingin my spirit literally jumped.
And I'm like, she can help me.
This program can help me.
I know it can make a differencein my life.
And so I jumped full body in,not just feet.
I just jumped full body in.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
And so what has happened sincethen?
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
So when I found you, I had begun the perimenopause
journey of not knowing what washappening in my body.
Um, just it was like one day I'mfine.
The next day it felt like mywhole body was falling apart.
And it wasn't just one area thatI needed to fix.
It was literally head to toe.
Every, it felt like everythingin my body just needed to be
fixed.
So, what has happened for me isI've learned how to live from my
(05:39):
spirit, soul, and body.
It's not just one area.
Um, entering into the programtaught me how to eat the right
food, but yet also spirituallyrenew my mind and also just live
with the presence of the HolySpirit in my day-to-day life and
trust my body through thisprocess.
So I learned to listen to achesand pains and figure out what I
(06:02):
can tweak, how can I change it,as well as just knowing that I'm
gonna be okay and I'm gonna makeit through.
And so it's and not only that,but there's a community of
women.
So there's also like friendshipsthat have been formed and it's
just been wonderful.
SPEAKER_00 (06:19):
Wow, that is so powerful.
I know that there's millions,honestly, millions of women
struggling with thisperimenopausal transition, and
they really are focused on thephysical symptoms and shifting
the physical body, how toovercome all that.
But you hit on such an importantpoint.
(06:41):
Like, we have to involve ourspirit in this journey because
otherwise, there's gonna be thisvoid, this hole that we're
trying to fill, and that's goingto exacerbate what we're feeling
or confuse the picture evenmore.
So, before you saw me on thatpodcast, whatever podcast that
(07:04):
was, um did you have anunderstanding of that?
Were you living in alignmentwith your calling and have
walking in relationship withJesus, or was this all kind of
eye-opening when you joined Fastof Faith?
SPEAKER_02 (07:20):
Um, I've I've been a Christian for a long time and
I've always walked with Jesus.
So yes, I had that, but I thinkthe difference was how they were
all woven together.
Um, you know, you can live abusy life and not live from the
spirit, but you can be doing alot of things physically that
are good, but they're not God'sbest for you.
(07:41):
Um, so I think the main pointfor me came across as pausing
enough to allow the Holy Spiritto speak to me in the Lacto
Divina was something new for me,even though I'd been a Christian
a long time.
I was not very familiar withthat.
Um, so getting to stop and pauseand really just wait upon the
(08:01):
Holy Spirit and wait upon Godand not have to rush to fix
things.
Um, so it just taught me adifferent way to walk with
Jesus, a different way to be inhis presence.
And also all the wisdom that Igained through just the right
way to eat, learning how to keepthe bad food out of my body,
even though I wasn't ever like Iwould have considered myself a
(08:23):
very healthy eater back in, youknow, the beginning of this
year.
But now I am really a healthyeater.
It's really, you know, everypart of me.
So I think for me it was morejust the way that every part of
my body, all three spirit, soul,and body is all interconnected.
SPEAKER_00 (08:41):
Oh my goodness.
Okay.
So this is what I'm hearing thatit took you getting still and
having quiet time and invitingthe Lord in to really make the
difference.
Is that right?
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Yes, a hundred percent correct.
Yes, yeah, oh yes, and I wasn'tdoing that before, I wasn't
pausing, I wasn't quiet.
It was just like hurry up and doit, do it, do it, do it, do it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:12):
Yeah, we wear that busy badge like a badge of
honor.
And even if we are women in thechurch, a lot of times we are
doing acts of service.
We, you know, we were actuallytalking about this on the Fast
of Faith call at noon, issometimes we are defined or see
(09:33):
our identity as women who areserving others, and that's
amazing.
But sometimes it can be a pointof disconnect because is it
really what God's asking you todo, or are you doing it to get
the validation of others andpeople please?
(09:53):
A lot of us like to to peopleplease and find our identity in
these works, in these acts, andthat can really unravel during
perimenopause because when we nolonger feel like ourselves and
we lose our hormones, we're justleft with like resentment and
(10:16):
bitterness, and all of a suddenyou're like, screw it, I just
don't care anymore.
I don't have that compassionanymore, and we're here to tell
you it's okay if you feel likethat.
That's actually a very normaltransition that women go
through, and I like to think ofit as a time of like, okay, what
(10:38):
does God want to do with us nowat this point in our lives?
Now that we're not trying topeople please, right?
Yes, so good.
SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
And that that was me.
Just you know, the more I coulddo, the busy, and you know,
there were God moments, but nowthey're God moments.
There is like just quality, it'snot about the quantity of things
that I do, but it's more aboutjust being led by the spirit.
And if I if I had to put it inone sentence, that would be it.
(11:10):
This program has taught me howto live life by my spirit, not
my flesh, not my soul, butliterally, and it all goes
together, but it's just taughtme to really live by my spirit.
SPEAKER_00 (11:21):
That's so powerful.
Yes, that's another thing wewere talking about is the body
is like the child and the spiritis like the mother, right?
If we let the child make all thedecisions, is gonna be craziness
up in this house.
We're gonna be eating cereal fordinner and going to bed at 1
a.m.
and living in our pajamas.
(11:42):
And so we can't live by thebody.
The body's not allowed to makeall those decisions, but I
suspect people started to noticeyou doing things different with
different intentions.
How did that affect yourrelationships or your life?
SPEAKER_02 (12:00):
It it's been a sweet season of, you know, like
because the busyness that I wasdoing was a lot with work and a
lot with just serving indifferent areas.
And so it's been a sweet seasonto be able to step back.
And I think the biggest personwho saw the difference was my
husband.
He uh, you know, he's just likebecause he saw me back in
February and March with a lot ofpanic, a lot of anxiety, a lot
(12:22):
of things just out of order.
And now it's more I'm Melissa.
I get to be Melissa, I get tolive life the way God intended
me to live.
And literally my favorite wordhas become pause.
Pause before I make a decision,even though I jump full feet in
when I feel it from the HolySpirit, I'm gonna go for it
100%.
So that is a it's an easy yes,but the pausing has taught me
(12:47):
how to slow down and really makesure is this God's best for me?
Is this what I need to be doing?
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
That's a really important pointbecause I'll get really excited
about an idea I have, and Ithink like, oh my gosh, God's
telling me to do this.
Like, let's dive in and let'sgo.
And you're right, the pause canbe super important as a part of
discernment.
Like, wait a second, was thatactually God?
(13:16):
Or is that just my ego gettingall excited thinking I can do
something?
And if it's meant and that's hiswill for me, me pausing to take
time to have a conversation withhim is not gonna make it go
away.
If that opportunity goes awaythat quickly, I don't believe it
was from him, right?
SPEAKER_02 (13:37):
That is so good, and you know what?
That goes into my next part of Ithink is learning to trust.
Like, because it's a hard thingto wait.
It is hard to wait and makesure.
So I love that you said thatbecause that's something else
that has become part of my lifeis the trust factor, and not me
making it happen, but waiting onGod to open the door and me to
(14:01):
walk through it with hisanointing.
SPEAKER_00 (14:03):
Yes, yes, exactly.
I'm I'm kind of envisioning uslike treading in the deep end
and just waiting for all thethings to happen.
He's like, No, you got to treada little bit longer.
It's just you're not ready, I'mnot ready, she's not ready.
And what I've come to realizeis, you know, life isn't about
(14:25):
us.
We're not actually the center ofthe story.
God is the center of the story,and the sooner you recognize
that, the better off you are.
But he cares about us, and wehave a very important part to
play in his story, and we arecalled to like see the bigger
(14:45):
picture and see how everybodyinteracts in the story and how
what one thing we do can affectso many people, positively or
negatively.
I think that's what I hear a lotin perimenopause is um, you
know, women taking care ofeverybody, and then when the
(15:08):
hormones go away, they're like,I'm done.
I just I don't give any Fsanymore.
I dropped all my Fs off in thebackpack, you know, there's all
kinds of funny memes onInstagram and TikTok about that.
And the people in their livesare like, wait, don't you love
me?
Don't you care about me?
You've been doing life this wayfor 20 years.
What's wrong with you?
(15:29):
And they think we're crazy, andthen we think we're crazy, and
you have to start to unpack allof that, and I think what it's
doing is it's just revealinglike maybe we weren't doing
things for the right reason fora long time, and now we're
finally coming into alignmentwith what's God's calling us to
(15:51):
do, and so we have to find somegrace in like helping the people
in our world understand it.
I'm so glad that your husbandjust saw the good part of it,
right?
Um well, there's probably beenbad parts too.
There have been bad, but yes,yeah.
But yeah, I mean it it's just alot for women to go through, and
(16:15):
men just don't they don't gothrough this.
So we need to be in a sisterhoodof women who understand each
other.
And like you mentioned, tell meabout being in the sisterhood
because to me that's everything.
SPEAKER_02 (16:30):
Yes, I love it.
I have not gotten to attend asmany calls on Mondays as I want
to, but the coolest thing is Ihave some very dear friends from
the community that we've builtthat I talk to, some on a daily
basis, some every couple days.
Um, but think the biggest thingfor me is not only is the
sisterhood good for friendships,but it's good with helping us
(16:52):
build each other up.
What happens is, you know, a lotof times you can stay in that
negative mindset or continue tocomplain.
And that's not what this isabout.
This is about how do I getbetter?
And hey, let's try this, let'sput in the word of God, let's
renew our mind together, let's,you know, have the Bible study
together, let's enter in andlike really pray for each other.
(17:13):
And so it is literally a processof friendships that make me
better.
And every time I get to attendour monthly coaches meeting or
our weekly meetings, um, Ialways leave better than I
started.
And it's just great because wecan see ourselves in it, but we
(17:33):
can also see how God is renewingus and we're gonna continue to
walk together and be better thanwe were before.
SPEAKER_00 (17:41):
Oh, yes, I love that.
I would say, you know, guidingthese calls every week, almost
every week.
Sometimes I'm I'm not availablefor the calls and I have my team
do them, but that has changedeverything about the way I see
my medical practice, myrelationships, just women in
(18:03):
general.
You know, for so long, I thoughtit was supposed to be a
competition, or I thought I wassupposed to show up better than
somebody else, and um that wewere just supposed to strive to
be better than each other.
And what I've realized is we'reall on this same journey to
(18:24):
understand God better andovercome our flesh and and do
what God's called us to do.
And if we could partner witheach other and realize, like,
hey, she's just a little bitfurther ahead in the journey, I
can actually learn from herinstead of being jealous of her
(18:45):
or or like feeling like I'm notcapable because she's so much
better than me and she did it,like looking at it like she did
it, so can I, and she can helpme get there.
Like that's really powerful.
And I wish we could learn thisas teenage girls, you know.
I could really use this inmiddle school.
(19:08):
Um, but it's never too late,right?
SPEAKER_02 (19:11):
Yes, it's never too late, and exactly what you said,
like learning.
Gosh, it's great because you canalways mention, like, hey, this
is what I'm going through.
And we are gonna have two orthree ladies who are either
going to at the same time orhave already been through it and
can tell you like tips andtricks and different things that
worked for them, different foodthat helped them, different ways
they overcame by renewing theirmind or a scripture that they
(19:32):
stood on, just different ways ofsharing, and it truly is a
wonderful community.
SPEAKER_00 (19:39):
Yeah, oh my goodness.
I am so sorry that my dog isdistracting me.
She's like, it is time for petsuh and food.
No, we need to finish thispodcast, ladies.
I I hope that you canunderstand.
I'm just over here doing life asbest I can with all of the
things going on.
Um, and you're probablyListening and doing 50 things at
(20:02):
the same time as well.
That's just what we do as women.
But if we can learn to do itwith a happy heart and for the
right reasons, then things canstart to shift.
Our spirit won't feel so umtrampled on or dismissed.
(20:22):
Like it is time to wake up ourspirit and invite her back into
the conversation, into ourlives, get out of survival mode.
Like, if you've been in survivalmode, I invite you today to
leave it in 2025.
Like, let's just be done in thatmode because physiologically,
(20:44):
our nervous system gets allmessed up in survival mode.
We get all this nervous systemdysregulation, our gut turns
into a hot mess, and then thethoughts in our minds are a hot
mess, and we're in this viciouscycle of survival.
And when you came to us, that'skind of what was going on as
(21:07):
well.
And you were having gutsymptoms, and I hope you don't
mind me sharing, but you weren'tmaking um your bile salts to
absorb your fats, you weren'tmaking your digestive enzymes,
and like all of that is reallyimportant to understand and
replace.
But if we don't know why that'shappening, then we can't really
(21:29):
fix the root cause of it.
And the root cause was that youwere in this nervous system
dysregulation in this loop,right?
I would love for you to share alittle bit more about that for
women because again, a lot of usstay stuck on the physical
symptoms because they seemfixable, but the fix isn't
(21:49):
always a physical situation.
SPEAKER_02 (21:53):
100%.
Um, I have always in the past,not anymore, but in the past, I
had always battled anxiety orjust nervousness that I did not
know came from my gut.
Like I you always hear like thegut brain axis.
You hear that all the time, butuntil you really start digging
into it or understanding it theway that I finally do now, it it
(22:16):
doesn't make sense.
You're just like, how does whatI eat affect what I'm thinking
or affect my heart rate?
How can that, you know, like allgo together?
So I was having major anxietyattacks, major panic attacks,
um, waking me up in the middleof the night, didn't know what
was going on.
And the crazy thing about it isas you're talking about like,
you know, just how our bodyworks together.
(22:36):
It moved around.
It wasn't just like my stomachor uh it could be a headache, it
could be a neckache.
It was like just, you know,crazy.
So I began to have all this andwent to doctor, doctor, doctor,
and all wanted to just put me onantidepressants again.
And they've helped me so much inthe past.
(22:56):
I I know they work, I'm notagainst it, but this time I was
like, no, I want to figure outwhat's going on in my body.
Why is my body doing this?
What is the cause?
And then I heard your podcastand I was like, okay, I'm gonna
try this.
And so I went on a journey offiguring it out.
A lot of doctor visitations, aton of doctor visitations.
But when I found you and Istarted thinking about, you
(23:18):
know, spirit, soul, and body, Imean, I'm a Christian.
I know that, I know it all workstogether, but it just became
like total revelation this time.
It was more like like just likea breath of fresh air, like,
yes, I get it.
I can do this.
And I was scared to begin thejourney because when you're
having panic, there is not anyrational thinking in your mind.
Whenever your heartbeat is like170 beats a minute, you're just
(23:41):
like, you know, and then itwould just go out.
And I mean, I was having majorheart palpitations.
I wore the heart monitor.
I did it endoscopy.
I did so many different teststhat showed everything normal
that I'm like, why am I feelinglike this?
And my journey began with melosing also about 20 pounds in
the last year.
And so that was scary in itselfas well.
Um, you know, some people arelike, well, that's great.
(24:01):
No, it's not great wheneveryou're eating a lot and not
absorbing it.
And so for me, going on thisjourney meant I had to change my
diet.
It and it was a very strict dietthat I went on.
It was exactly what y'all toldme get rid of gluten, get rid of
dairy, try it out.
And I had never done that in mylife because I had never had
issues with food.
I think I've had issues withfood for a long time.
(24:24):
I just never realized it.
But I did not think I had anyissues with food.
So I began that journey, and I,you know, at first it was just
30 days.
But after 30 days and feelingthe difference that happened in
the first 30 days, I'm like, I'mnot going back on dairy and
gluten just yet.
I'm gonna continue the journeyof eating healthy.
So I kept on.
And I think I'm now four or fivemonths into it.
(24:45):
I'm not even sure.
But the vegetables that I eat,the healthy food that I eat, um,
praying before, just reallycalming my nervous system down
and learning that that was outof control.
And really, my symptoms did comefrom being out of balance.
It wasn't physical, even thoughit felt very physical.
And you could not have convincedme five months ago that it was
not something physically wrong.
(25:07):
My nervous system wascontributing to every part of
it.
And so just learning the, and Icould talk for days on this
because it's such a heartbeat ofmine that I'm a new person.
Like after five months of this,and I'm not perfect, it's still
a journey.
I still have moments, I stillhave ebb and flows of okay,
today was a rough day, but yet Iknow tomorrow is going to be
(25:28):
better, and I know we all do.
But I've had to learn that it'snot a picture perfect journey,
but it's a journey towardshealing, and every day gets
better.
Every day.
And I've been able to stabilizemy weight since July, which is
huge.
It is now six months later, fiveand a half, six months later,
and it's stabilized, um, whichmy body is healing.
(25:52):
And you know, I I I thoughtabout it, and I was like, gosh,
it's taken so long, but in thebig scheme of things, it's
really not because I had torealize I'm healing it
naturally.
I didn't do it throughmedication, I didn't do it
through, you know, any otheravenues other than just
surrendering to God and payingattention to my body and
learning how everything workstogether.
(26:14):
And so it's been a long process,but a beautiful journey of
healing.
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
Yeah, and in the grand scheme of things, it took
you years to get to where youwere, right?
So I always remind women thatyou did not get here overnight,
and so you're not gonna changeovernight, but gosh, it's gonna
be worth it because we're gonnaactually change in a way that is
(26:39):
sustainable.
We are going to change who weare.
We're not just gonna change ourbehaviors or our supplement,
we're not gonna get on a newdiet, like we're literally
becoming a new creation, likewe're commanded to be.
And that takes a little bit oftime for that refinement to
(27:00):
happen.
But you're living proof thatit's just so worth it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:05):
It is so worth it.
And you know, I have a new hopeevery day that every day is
gonna get better, and it's justlike it's worth every bit of
changing your diet, it's worthevery bit of renewing your mind,
it's worth every bit of enteringinto whenever God gives you a
little nudge that says, hey,this could be it.
(27:25):
I thank God that back in, Ithink it was May when I was
listening to the podcast.
I thank God that yes, I jumpedin with both feet with my whole
body and said, I'm gonna dothis.
And it's been a very hard butgood journey.
I've learned so much, like justso much.
And I again, I thought I washealthy before.
I thought I was doing goodbefore.
(27:47):
My body is healing.
SPEAKER_00 (27:49):
Yeah, that's really powerful.
And I know that somebodylistening right now is feeling
that nudging, like, I know Ineed to do something about it,
but I just don't know if this isgonna work for me, right?
Can you speak to that littlelie?
SPEAKER_02 (28:06):
Yes, it's a huge lie because I I just I remember
whenever I got and I startedthinking about doing this, and I
got the information and I had itin front of me, and it was just
like, okay, I have gone to 10different doctors, I have tried
this, I have tried that.
It's what what is my next step?
So it is a total lie because ifI would not have decided to do
(28:27):
this, I would not be where I amtoday.
And it didn't, again, it did nothappen overnight, but I began to
see little changes.
You know, the first time myheart was not racing, the first
time my stomach was not burning,the first time my head was not
pounding, I was like, oh, it'sgetting better.
It's getting, you know, I couldtake a deep breath.
So it is a total lie.
And I'm telling you, 100% fastand faith is everything that a
(28:53):
woman during perimenopause, anyprobably any time in your life,
whether your early stage, I wishI would have done this 30 years
ago because I would not have hadit so hard for six months.
But I thank God that hisredemption power is so great
because that's what I'mexperiencing now, is true
healing, true Jesus walking withme.
(29:15):
And I know that the journey thatI've been on, God is gonna use
it for me to help so many otherwomen.
And so, 100%, ladies, if you arethinking about entering in, do
not hesitate.
Jump in with both feet, justjump in and run.
Run, run, run, because it is thebest thing I've literally ever
done for my body.
SPEAKER_00 (29:34):
So good.
Well, and you also mentionedthat for you thought you were
eating healthy and livinghealthy, and maybe things
weren't actually that bad untilthey spilled over.
But can you talk to the factthat feeling that way as opposed
to actually healing and beinghealthy, what a difference that
(29:57):
is, and you don't even see itwhen you're in it?
SPEAKER_02 (30:00):
So I did not realize the importance of protein, I did
not realize the importance ofhealthy carbs.
I I was eating carbs, but theywere not what my body was able
to break down.
Yeah, I I've never really had aproblem with like gaining weight
or doing different things likethat.
I've always been pretty healthyin my mind.
But the way that I felt ninemonths ago to the way that I
(30:24):
feel now, I feel 20 yearsyounger.
And that is not an exaggeration.
That is a hundred percent how Ifeel.
Whenever I began this journey, Iremember um we had gone to
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and wewere walking up one of the
mountains.
And as I'm walking, this wasprobably like I was two weeks
into the program, as I'mwalking, my heart would
palpitate a lot.
(30:45):
That was one of my mainsymptoms.
And as I'm walking up themountain, my heart is
palpitating, I'm out of breath.
I felt like I was literally 30years older than what I am.
And I had never really hadproblems like that before.
And I remember stopping and fearcame up on me because you know,
it's feeling very weird, andit's like I'm losing my breath
every now and then.
And I'm like, so that's wheneverI'll wear the heart monitor
(31:06):
after that because I'm like,something is going on.
And now my husband jokes andhe's like, let's go back to
Gatlinburg.
Like, yes, I could run up thatmountain, I could do it.
Because like the anxiety is nota factor in that area anymore.
So, not only physically do Ifeel better, I feel better
mentally.
And I did not realize thedifference until I'm on this
(31:30):
part of the journey.
SPEAKER_00 (31:31):
Oh, so good.
Oh my gosh, if you are listeningand this is resonating with you,
you need to take action.
You're not hearing this onaccident.
God has made it so that youheard this because he's nudging
you to take care of yourself.
This temple of ours, we arecalled to take care of it and to
(31:53):
honor it.
And I promise you, you don'thave to struggle, you don't have
to live with heart palpitationsand anxiety and carrying around
all that extra weight or beingashamed of your body or not
desiring your husband, like allof that is unnecessary.
We can figure all of it out, Ipromise you.
So please, here's the deal (32:16):
this is what I've come to understand.
God will give you little tests,he'll be like, Okay, I just
asked her to do this.
Does she do it?
And if she doesn't, he mightjust say, Well, I guess she's
not, you know, in it right now.
(32:36):
And he leaves you alone for alittle bit and loves you, but
doesn't push you.
If you're asking and praying foranswers and he's giving them to
you, you have to obey and followthrough and go through with
them, right?
Am I right?
Yes.
Oh my goodness.
And then the more you know thatyes, the more he trusts you, the
(33:01):
more he gives you guidance anddirection.
And I just I think it's likethis beautiful slippery slope to
a whole new world.
Like, we don't have to go uphillwith 80-pound backpacks trying
to get our way through there andsludge through it.
Like, it can be a beautifulslide down a hill to our next
(33:24):
destination.
Yeah, okay.
You are amazing.
What is one last thing you wantto say to the women out there
who may be struggling?
SPEAKER_02 (33:38):
I love to say this because it's truly what happened
to me.
Whatever issue you're strugglingwith, I believe 100% fast to
faith can help you in yourjourney, figure it out.
And I'm not just saying words, Itruly mean it.
Whatever the issue is, if it'sweight, if it's your hormone
levels, if it's anxiety, if it'sheart palpitations like I was
(34:01):
having, if it's insomnia, Imean, I can just continue going
on and on and on.
If it's burning in your stomach,if you are just having problems
either holding weight or gettingweight off, like I truly believe
that this is something that youneed to do in your life.
It's not, for me, it's not aquestion.
I just thank God for it.
(34:22):
So I'm here to help.
Oh, I I love Fast of Faith.
I am here to be your biggestcheerleader.
Dr.
Tabitha is amazing.
She meets with you every week.
You can ask her any question.
It is like free doctor adviceevery week, and it's amazing.
So if there is anything thatyou're in questioning about,
reach out to me.
I can help you.
I will tell you, yes, it's worththe journey.
SPEAKER_00 (34:45):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
And you are an awesome coach.
So anybody would be so blessedto work with you.
I have no doubt.
And you're right.
We cover everything on thesecalls.
We will talk about uterineprolapse and bladder infections
and libido and hot flashes andmacros and fasting.
(35:07):
Like there's nothing we don'tcover because we're struggling
with all of it.
So nothing is off limits.
But I will say the only thingthat's off limits is judgment
and comparison.
We make that very clear in Fastof Faith that this is a
sisterhood.
We are collaborating.
We are here to cheer you on andsupport you and lift you up.
(35:31):
We don't allow you to judgeyourself or condemn yourself.
There's just no place for that.
So if this sounds like somethingyou're interested in, please
consider reaching out toMelissa.
Join Fast to Faith.
Do a stool test and heal yourgut.
Realize you need help absorbingyour fats, like Melissa did.
(35:54):
Like you don't have to suffer.
So thank you, Melissa.
You're such a blessing.
And I I know that somebody washelped today.
Thank you very much.
It was wonderful to be with you.
Okay, ladies, you can see.
We just have an incrediblesisterhood.
If you're in it, you alreadyknow.
(36:16):
But if there's somebody whodoesn't know about it, invite
them in.
I I know that it can be scary tobe like, hey, we're over here
talking about Jesus helping uswith our periods, but I promise
you it will only seem weird forthe first couple minutes, and
then they'll realize they're inthe right place.
So invite another woman into thegroup, into the sisterhood, or
(36:41):
find a woman and join togetherbecause this is what you need.
This is your answer, and wecannot wait to help you.
So thank you.
Go out and be Christ hands toserve this week.
I I celebrate Melissa for all ofher awesomeness, and I can't
wait to see what she does in2026.
(37:01):
So thank you, girl.
The next time I see you guys, Iwill be in a podcast studio.
We're changing things up.
So come back after Christmas.
Have a beautiful, MerryChristmas.
I love you so much, and Jesusloves you.
I was having major heart palpitations.
I wore the heart monitor.
I did it endoscopy.
I did so many different teststhat showed everything normal.
Then I'm like, why am I feelinglike this?
But I began to see littlechanges.
You know, the first time myheart was not racing, the first
time my stomach was not burning.
The first time my head was notpounding.
I was like, oh, it's gettingbetter.
I felt 20 years younger.
(00:21):
And that is not an exaggeration.
SPEAKER_00 (00:23):
Welcome back to the Fast of Faith podcast.
I know I've been on a break.
You're probably wondering, wherethe heck has she been?
Why is she not consistent?
I apologize.
I have been sick.
I have been going through a lotof different things.
And more importantly, we arerevamping the podcast.
(00:44):
So this is the last episode thatis going to be like this.
And I'm really excited for thechanges that we're making.
We're going into a live studio,and I'm going to have my
sidekick Ashley with me for alot of it.
So it's going to be a little bitdifferent.
I just feel like 2026 is callingfor some freshness, some
(01:07):
upgrades, some changes.
So please stay tuned.
Please make sure that you comeback in a couple weeks.
We're going to take a break forthe holidays.
I just I want my team to havesome downtime.
That is really important to me.
It's way more important thangiving like a cash gift or
something.
It's just giving them theability to spend time with their
(01:30):
family and take a break fromwork.
And I hope that you get to dothat.
If you don't, I would love foryou to just five five five
minutes in your day to connectwith God and find some reprieve
and realize that the holidaysare not just about the stuff.
(01:51):
It's not about just getting allthe things or doing all the
things for all the people.
It is really a time to reconnectwith the Father and celebrate
the birth of Jesus and be sothankful that he was born for
us.
And so find some time in yourdays to do that.
(02:11):
Alright, this week I'm reallyexcited because we have an
awesome guest.
She's just has such a beautifulsoul and she's got so much
wisdom to share.
So I know that you guys lovewhen I interview the Fast of
Faith coaches because they dropso many golden nuggets on you.
And I have no doubt you're goingto hear something you need to
(02:32):
hear today because we've invitedthe Holy Spirit into this
conversation.
We've asked the Holy Spirit toguide us and to say what you
need to hear.
But I do want to hear from youas well.
I want you to throw me afive-star review.
Tell me what you're thinkingabout the podcast, but know that
it's changing for 2026.
(02:54):
But I do want to hear whattopics you're interested in.
So let's dive in.
Welcome, Melissa.
I'm so excited to have you here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:02):
I am so excited to be here.
Thank you so much for takingtime for me.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
Yes, it has been a lovely year getting to know you.
And I feel like you're a lotlike me.
You're a quick start.
You just dive in the deep end.
You're like, oh, do I know howto swim?
Do I have any floaties?
Let's go.
SPEAKER_01 (03:21):
Is that how you would describe yourself?
A hundred percent.
And after you get in, you gottapaddle faster or swim faster or
hold your breath longer, butyou're in it and you're gonna do
it.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (03:32):
Yes.
Or I like to think like someoneelse is in there with you and
they can teach you how to swim,or they can, you know, share
their floaty with you, theirlife preserver.
Um, but some of us are not likethat.
We're they're not quickstarters.
And some people are like, Iwould never just jump into
(03:54):
something and I have toinvestigate it and research it
and read the reviews and do allthe things.
Um, so let's try to talk to bothtypes of women, but know that
it's hard for me to understandthat over-analytical woman to
some extent, although I dobecause I'm a physician, I'm a
(04:17):
scientist, I get it, data isimportant, but sometimes we have
to trust the Holy Spirit, wehave to trust our spirit and
just dive right in.
Is that what happened with you?
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Yes, and actually I can relate to being both women
because I feel like sometimesI'm the over-analytical where I
will research until there's nomore research and I know
everything about it before Imake a decision, but I also know
what it's like to be led by theHoly Spirit, and that is a
hundred percent what happenedwhenever I found out about Fast
of Faith.
Um, I actually found you becauseof a podcast, and I started
(04:56):
listening to you, and somethingin my spirit literally jumped.
And I'm like, she can help me.
This program can help me.
I know it can make a differencein my life.
And so I jumped full body in,not just feet.
I just jumped full body in.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
And so what has happened sincethen?
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
So when I found you, I had begun the perimenopause
journey of not knowing what washappening in my body.
Um, just it was like one day I'mfine.
The next day it felt like mywhole body was falling apart.
And it wasn't just one area thatI needed to fix.
It was literally head to toe.
Every, it felt like everythingin my body just needed to be
fixed.
So, what has happened for me isI've learned how to live from my
(05:39):
spirit, soul, and body.
It's not just one area.
Um, entering into the programtaught me how to eat the right
food, but yet also spirituallyrenew my mind and also just live
with the presence of the HolySpirit in my day-to-day life and
trust my body through thisprocess.
So I learned to listen to achesand pains and figure out what I
(06:02):
can tweak, how can I change it,as well as just knowing that I'm
gonna be okay and I'm gonna makeit through.
And so it's and not only that,but there's a community of
women.
So there's also like friendshipsthat have been formed and it's
just been wonderful.
SPEAKER_00 (06:19):
Wow, that is so powerful.
I know that there's millions,honestly, millions of women
struggling with thisperimenopausal transition, and
they really are focused on thephysical symptoms and shifting
the physical body, how toovercome all that.
But you hit on such an importantpoint.
(06:41):
Like, we have to involve ourspirit in this journey because
otherwise, there's gonna be thisvoid, this hole that we're
trying to fill, and that's goingto exacerbate what we're feeling
or confuse the picture evenmore.
So, before you saw me on thatpodcast, whatever podcast that
(07:04):
was, um did you have anunderstanding of that?
Were you living in alignmentwith your calling and have
walking in relationship withJesus, or was this all kind of
eye-opening when you joined Fastof Faith?
SPEAKER_02 (07:20):
Um, I've I've been a Christian for a long time and
I've always walked with Jesus.
So yes, I had that, but I thinkthe difference was how they were
all woven together.
Um, you know, you can live abusy life and not live from the
spirit, but you can be doing alot of things physically that
are good, but they're not God'sbest for you.
(07:41):
Um, so I think the main pointfor me came across as pausing
enough to allow the Holy Spiritto speak to me in the Lacto
Divina was something new for me,even though I'd been a Christian
a long time.
I was not very familiar withthat.
Um, so getting to stop and pauseand really just wait upon the
(08:01):
Holy Spirit and wait upon Godand not have to rush to fix
things.
Um, so it just taught me adifferent way to walk with
Jesus, a different way to be inhis presence.
And also all the wisdom that Igained through just the right
way to eat, learning how to keepthe bad food out of my body,
even though I wasn't ever like Iwould have considered myself a
(08:23):
very healthy eater back in, youknow, the beginning of this
year.
But now I am really a healthyeater.
It's really, you know, everypart of me.
So I think for me it was morejust the way that every part of
my body, all three spirit, soul,and body is all interconnected.
SPEAKER_00 (08:41):
Oh my goodness.
Okay.
So this is what I'm hearing thatit took you getting still and
having quiet time and invitingthe Lord in to really make the
difference.
Is that right?
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Yes, a hundred percent correct.
Yes, yeah, oh yes, and I wasn'tdoing that before, I wasn't
pausing, I wasn't quiet.
It was just like hurry up and doit, do it, do it, do it, do it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:12):
Yeah, we wear that busy badge like a badge of
honor.
And even if we are women in thechurch, a lot of times we are
doing acts of service.
We, you know, we were actuallytalking about this on the Fast
of Faith call at noon, issometimes we are defined or see
(09:33):
our identity as women who areserving others, and that's
amazing.
But sometimes it can be a pointof disconnect because is it
really what God's asking you todo, or are you doing it to get
the validation of others andpeople please?
(09:53):
A lot of us like to to peopleplease and find our identity in
these works, in these acts, andthat can really unravel during
perimenopause because when we nolonger feel like ourselves and
we lose our hormones, we're justleft with like resentment and
(10:16):
bitterness, and all of a suddenyou're like, screw it, I just
don't care anymore.
I don't have that compassionanymore, and we're here to tell
you it's okay if you feel likethat.
That's actually a very normaltransition that women go
through, and I like to think ofit as a time of like, okay, what
(10:38):
does God want to do with us nowat this point in our lives?
Now that we're not trying topeople please, right?
Yes, so good.
SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
And that that was me.
Just you know, the more I coulddo, the busy, and you know,
there were God moments, but nowthey're God moments.
There is like just quality, it'snot about the quantity of things
that I do, but it's more aboutjust being led by the spirit.
And if I if I had to put it inone sentence, that would be it.
(11:10):
This program has taught me howto live life by my spirit, not
my flesh, not my soul, butliterally, and it all goes
together, but it's just taughtme to really live by my spirit.
SPEAKER_00 (11:21):
That's so powerful.
Yes, that's another thing wewere talking about is the body
is like the child and the spiritis like the mother, right?
If we let the child make all thedecisions, is gonna be craziness
up in this house.
We're gonna be eating cereal fordinner and going to bed at 1
a.m.
and living in our pajamas.
(11:42):
And so we can't live by thebody.
The body's not allowed to makeall those decisions, but I
suspect people started to noticeyou doing things different with
different intentions.
How did that affect yourrelationships or your life?
SPEAKER_02 (12:00):
It it's been a sweet season of, you know, like
because the busyness that I wasdoing was a lot with work and a
lot with just serving indifferent areas.
And so it's been a sweet seasonto be able to step back.
And I think the biggest personwho saw the difference was my
husband.
He uh, you know, he's just likebecause he saw me back in
February and March with a lot ofpanic, a lot of anxiety, a lot
(12:22):
of things just out of order.
And now it's more I'm Melissa.
I get to be Melissa, I get tolive life the way God intended
me to live.
And literally my favorite wordhas become pause.
Pause before I make a decision,even though I jump full feet in
when I feel it from the HolySpirit, I'm gonna go for it
100%.
So that is a it's an easy yes,but the pausing has taught me
(12:47):
how to slow down and really makesure is this God's best for me?
Is this what I need to be doing?
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
That's a really important pointbecause I'll get really excited
about an idea I have, and Ithink like, oh my gosh, God's
telling me to do this.
Like, let's dive in and let'sgo.
And you're right, the pause canbe super important as a part of
discernment.
Like, wait a second, was thatactually God?
(13:16):
Or is that just my ego gettingall excited thinking I can do
something?
And if it's meant and that's hiswill for me, me pausing to take
time to have a conversation withhim is not gonna make it go
away.
If that opportunity goes awaythat quickly, I don't believe it
was from him, right?
SPEAKER_02 (13:37):
That is so good, and you know what?
That goes into my next part of Ithink is learning to trust.
Like, because it's a hard thingto wait.
It is hard to wait and makesure.
So I love that you said thatbecause that's something else
that has become part of my lifeis the trust factor, and not me
making it happen, but waiting onGod to open the door and me to
(14:01):
walk through it with hisanointing.
SPEAKER_00 (14:03):
Yes, yes, exactly.
I'm I'm kind of envisioning uslike treading in the deep end
and just waiting for all thethings to happen.
He's like, No, you got to treada little bit longer.
It's just you're not ready, I'mnot ready, she's not ready.
And what I've come to realizeis, you know, life isn't about
(14:25):
us.
We're not actually the center ofthe story.
God is the center of the story,and the sooner you recognize
that, the better off you are.
But he cares about us, and wehave a very important part to
play in his story, and we arecalled to like see the bigger
(14:45):
picture and see how everybodyinteracts in the story and how
what one thing we do can affectso many people, positively or
negatively.
I think that's what I hear a lotin perimenopause is um, you
know, women taking care ofeverybody, and then when the
(15:08):
hormones go away, they're like,I'm done.
I just I don't give any Fsanymore.
I dropped all my Fs off in thebackpack, you know, there's all
kinds of funny memes onInstagram and TikTok about that.
And the people in their livesare like, wait, don't you love
me?
Don't you care about me?
You've been doing life this wayfor 20 years.
What's wrong with you?
(15:29):
And they think we're crazy, andthen we think we're crazy, and
you have to start to unpack allof that, and I think what it's
doing is it's just revealinglike maybe we weren't doing
things for the right reason fora long time, and now we're
finally coming into alignmentwith what's God's calling us to
(15:51):
do, and so we have to find somegrace in like helping the people
in our world understand it.
I'm so glad that your husbandjust saw the good part of it,
right?
Um well, there's probably beenbad parts too.
There have been bad, but yes,yeah.
But yeah, I mean it it's just alot for women to go through, and
(16:15):
men just don't they don't gothrough this.
So we need to be in a sisterhoodof women who understand each
other.
And like you mentioned, tell meabout being in the sisterhood
because to me that's everything.
SPEAKER_02 (16:30):
Yes, I love it.
I have not gotten to attend asmany calls on Mondays as I want
to, but the coolest thing is Ihave some very dear friends from
the community that we've builtthat I talk to, some on a daily
basis, some every couple days.
Um, but think the biggest thingfor me is not only is the
sisterhood good for friendships,but it's good with helping us
(16:52):
build each other up.
What happens is, you know, a lotof times you can stay in that
negative mindset or continue tocomplain.
And that's not what this isabout.
This is about how do I getbetter?
And hey, let's try this, let'sput in the word of God, let's
renew our mind together, let's,you know, have the Bible study
together, let's enter in andlike really pray for each other.
(17:13):
And so it is literally a processof friendships that make me
better.
And every time I get to attendour monthly coaches meeting or
our weekly meetings, um, Ialways leave better than I
started.
And it's just great because wecan see ourselves in it, but we
(17:33):
can also see how God is renewingus and we're gonna continue to
walk together and be better thanwe were before.
SPEAKER_00 (17:41):
Oh, yes, I love that.
I would say, you know, guidingthese calls every week, almost
every week.
Sometimes I'm I'm not availablefor the calls and I have my team
do them, but that has changedeverything about the way I see
my medical practice, myrelationships, just women in
(18:03):
general.
You know, for so long, I thoughtit was supposed to be a
competition, or I thought I wassupposed to show up better than
somebody else, and um that wewere just supposed to strive to
be better than each other.
And what I've realized is we'reall on this same journey to
(18:24):
understand God better andovercome our flesh and and do
what God's called us to do.
And if we could partner witheach other and realize, like,
hey, she's just a little bitfurther ahead in the journey, I
can actually learn from herinstead of being jealous of her
(18:45):
or or like feeling like I'm notcapable because she's so much
better than me and she did it,like looking at it like she did
it, so can I, and she can helpme get there.
Like that's really powerful.
And I wish we could learn thisas teenage girls, you know.
I could really use this inmiddle school.
(19:08):
Um, but it's never too late,right?
SPEAKER_02 (19:11):
Yes, it's never too late, and exactly what you said,
like learning.
Gosh, it's great because you canalways mention, like, hey, this
is what I'm going through.
And we are gonna have two orthree ladies who are either
going to at the same time orhave already been through it and
can tell you like tips andtricks and different things that
worked for them, different foodthat helped them, different ways
they overcame by renewing theirmind or a scripture that they
(19:32):
stood on, just different ways ofsharing, and it truly is a
wonderful community.
SPEAKER_00 (19:39):
Yeah, oh my goodness.
I am so sorry that my dog isdistracting me.
She's like, it is time for petsuh and food.
No, we need to finish thispodcast, ladies.
I I hope that you canunderstand.
I'm just over here doing life asbest I can with all of the
things going on.
Um, and you're probablyListening and doing 50 things at
(20:02):
the same time as well.
That's just what we do as women.
But if we can learn to do itwith a happy heart and for the
right reasons, then things canstart to shift.
Our spirit won't feel so umtrampled on or dismissed.
(20:22):
Like it is time to wake up ourspirit and invite her back into
the conversation, into ourlives, get out of survival mode.
Like, if you've been in survivalmode, I invite you today to
leave it in 2025.
Like, let's just be done in thatmode because physiologically,
(20:44):
our nervous system gets allmessed up in survival mode.
We get all this nervous systemdysregulation, our gut turns
into a hot mess, and then thethoughts in our minds are a hot
mess, and we're in this viciouscycle of survival.
And when you came to us, that'skind of what was going on as
(21:07):
well.
And you were having gutsymptoms, and I hope you don't
mind me sharing, but you weren'tmaking um your bile salts to
absorb your fats, you weren'tmaking your digestive enzymes,
and like all of that is reallyimportant to understand and
replace.
But if we don't know why that'shappening, then we can't really
(21:29):
fix the root cause of it.
And the root cause was that youwere in this nervous system
dysregulation in this loop,right?
I would love for you to share alittle bit more about that for
women because again, a lot of usstay stuck on the physical
symptoms because they seemfixable, but the fix isn't
(21:49):
always a physical situation.
SPEAKER_02 (21:53):
100%.
Um, I have always in the past,not anymore, but in the past, I
had always battled anxiety orjust nervousness that I did not
know came from my gut.
Like I you always hear like thegut brain axis.
You hear that all the time, butuntil you really start digging
into it or understanding it theway that I finally do now, it it
(22:16):
doesn't make sense.
You're just like, how does whatI eat affect what I'm thinking
or affect my heart rate?
How can that, you know, like allgo together?
So I was having major anxietyattacks, major panic attacks,
um, waking me up in the middleof the night, didn't know what
was going on.
And the crazy thing about it isas you're talking about like,
you know, just how our bodyworks together.
(22:36):
It moved around.
It wasn't just like my stomachor uh it could be a headache, it
could be a neckache.
It was like just, you know,crazy.
So I began to have all this andwent to doctor, doctor, doctor,
and all wanted to just put me onantidepressants again.
And they've helped me so much inthe past.
(22:56):
I I know they work, I'm notagainst it, but this time I was
like, no, I want to figure outwhat's going on in my body.
Why is my body doing this?
What is the cause?
And then I heard your podcastand I was like, okay, I'm gonna
try this.
And so I went on a journey offiguring it out.
A lot of doctor visitations, aton of doctor visitations.
But when I found you and Istarted thinking about, you
(23:18):
know, spirit, soul, and body, Imean, I'm a Christian.
I know that, I know it all workstogether, but it just became
like total revelation this time.
It was more like like just likea breath of fresh air, like,
yes, I get it.
I can do this.
And I was scared to begin thejourney because when you're
having panic, there is not anyrational thinking in your mind.
Whenever your heartbeat is like170 beats a minute, you're just
(23:41):
like, you know, and then itwould just go out.
And I mean, I was having majorheart palpitations.
I wore the heart monitor.
I did it endoscopy.
I did so many different teststhat showed everything normal
that I'm like, why am I feelinglike this?
And my journey began with melosing also about 20 pounds in
the last year.
And so that was scary in itselfas well.
Um, you know, some people arelike, well, that's great.
(24:01):
No, it's not great wheneveryou're eating a lot and not
absorbing it.
And so for me, going on thisjourney meant I had to change my
diet.
It and it was a very strict dietthat I went on.
It was exactly what y'all toldme get rid of gluten, get rid of
dairy, try it out.
And I had never done that in mylife because I had never had
issues with food.
I think I've had issues withfood for a long time.
(24:24):
I just never realized it.
But I did not think I had anyissues with food.
So I began that journey, and I,you know, at first it was just
30 days.
But after 30 days and feelingthe difference that happened in
the first 30 days, I'm like, I'mnot going back on dairy and
gluten just yet.
I'm gonna continue the journeyof eating healthy.
So I kept on.
And I think I'm now four or fivemonths into it.
(24:45):
I'm not even sure.
But the vegetables that I eat,the healthy food that I eat, um,
praying before, just reallycalming my nervous system down
and learning that that was outof control.
And really, my symptoms did comefrom being out of balance.
It wasn't physical, even thoughit felt very physical.
And you could not have convincedme five months ago that it was
not something physically wrong.
(25:07):
My nervous system wascontributing to every part of
it.
And so just learning the, and Icould talk for days on this
because it's such a heartbeat ofmine that I'm a new person.
Like after five months of this,and I'm not perfect, it's still
a journey.
I still have moments, I stillhave ebb and flows of okay,
today was a rough day, but yet Iknow tomorrow is going to be
(25:28):
better, and I know we all do.
But I've had to learn that it'snot a picture perfect journey,
but it's a journey towardshealing, and every day gets
better.
Every day.
And I've been able to stabilizemy weight since July, which is
huge.
It is now six months later, fiveand a half, six months later,
and it's stabilized, um, whichmy body is healing.
(25:52):
And you know, I I I thoughtabout it, and I was like, gosh,
it's taken so long, but in thebig scheme of things, it's
really not because I had torealize I'm healing it
naturally.
I didn't do it throughmedication, I didn't do it
through, you know, any otheravenues other than just
surrendering to God and payingattention to my body and
learning how everything workstogether.
(26:14):
And so it's been a long process,but a beautiful journey of
healing.
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
Yeah, and in the grand scheme of things, it took
you years to get to where youwere, right?
So I always remind women thatyou did not get here overnight,
and so you're not gonna changeovernight, but gosh, it's gonna
be worth it because we're gonnaactually change in a way that is
(26:39):
sustainable.
We are going to change who weare.
We're not just gonna change ourbehaviors or our supplement,
we're not gonna get on a newdiet, like we're literally
becoming a new creation, likewe're commanded to be.
And that takes a little bit oftime for that refinement to
(27:00):
happen.
But you're living proof thatit's just so worth it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:05):
It is so worth it.
And you know, I have a new hopeevery day that every day is
gonna get better, and it's justlike it's worth every bit of
changing your diet, it's worthevery bit of renewing your mind,
it's worth every bit of enteringinto whenever God gives you a
little nudge that says, hey,this could be it.
(27:25):
I thank God that back in, Ithink it was May when I was
listening to the podcast.
I thank God that yes, I jumpedin with both feet with my whole
body and said, I'm gonna dothis.
And it's been a very hard butgood journey.
I've learned so much, like justso much.
And I again, I thought I washealthy before.
I thought I was doing goodbefore.
(27:47):
My body is healing.
SPEAKER_00 (27:49):
Yeah, that's really powerful.
And I know that somebodylistening right now is feeling
that nudging, like, I know Ineed to do something about it,
but I just don't know if this isgonna work for me, right?
Can you speak to that littlelie?
SPEAKER_02 (28:06):
Yes, it's a huge lie because I I just I remember
whenever I got and I startedthinking about doing this, and I
got the information and I had itin front of me, and it was just
like, okay, I have gone to 10different doctors, I have tried
this, I have tried that.
It's what what is my next step?
So it is a total lie because ifI would not have decided to do
(28:27):
this, I would not be where I amtoday.
And it didn't, again, it did nothappen overnight, but I began to
see little changes.
You know, the first time myheart was not racing, the first
time my stomach was not burning,the first time my head was not
pounding, I was like, oh, it'sgetting better.
It's getting, you know, I couldtake a deep breath.
So it is a total lie.
And I'm telling you, 100% fastand faith is everything that a
(28:53):
woman during perimenopause, anyprobably any time in your life,
whether your early stage, I wishI would have done this 30 years
ago because I would not have hadit so hard for six months.
But I thank God that hisredemption power is so great
because that's what I'mexperiencing now, is true
healing, true Jesus walking withme.
(29:15):
And I know that the journey thatI've been on, God is gonna use
it for me to help so many otherwomen.
And so, 100%, ladies, if you arethinking about entering in, do
not hesitate.
Jump in with both feet, justjump in and run.
Run, run, run, because it is thebest thing I've literally ever
done for my body.
SPEAKER_00 (29:34):
So good.
Well, and you also mentionedthat for you thought you were
eating healthy and livinghealthy, and maybe things
weren't actually that bad untilthey spilled over.
But can you talk to the factthat feeling that way as opposed
to actually healing and beinghealthy, what a difference that
(29:57):
is, and you don't even see itwhen you're in it?
SPEAKER_02 (30:00):
So I did not realize the importance of protein, I did
not realize the importance ofhealthy carbs.
I I was eating carbs, but theywere not what my body was able
to break down.
Yeah, I I've never really had aproblem with like gaining weight
or doing different things likethat.
I've always been pretty healthyin my mind.
But the way that I felt ninemonths ago to the way that I
(30:24):
feel now, I feel 20 yearsyounger.
And that is not an exaggeration.
That is a hundred percent how Ifeel.
Whenever I began this journey, Iremember um we had gone to
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and wewere walking up one of the
mountains.
And as I'm walking, this wasprobably like I was two weeks
into the program, as I'mwalking, my heart would
palpitate a lot.
(30:45):
That was one of my mainsymptoms.
And as I'm walking up themountain, my heart is
palpitating, I'm out of breath.
I felt like I was literally 30years older than what I am.
And I had never really hadproblems like that before.
And I remember stopping and fearcame up on me because you know,
it's feeling very weird, andit's like I'm losing my breath
every now and then.
And I'm like, so that's wheneverI'll wear the heart monitor
(31:06):
after that because I'm like,something is going on.
And now my husband jokes andhe's like, let's go back to
Gatlinburg.
Like, yes, I could run up thatmountain, I could do it.
Because like the anxiety is nota factor in that area anymore.
So, not only physically do Ifeel better, I feel better
mentally.
And I did not realize thedifference until I'm on this
(31:30):
part of the journey.
SPEAKER_00 (31:31):
Oh, so good.
Oh my gosh, if you are listeningand this is resonating with you,
you need to take action.
You're not hearing this onaccident.
God has made it so that youheard this because he's nudging
you to take care of yourself.
This temple of ours, we arecalled to take care of it and to
(31:53):
honor it.
And I promise you, you don'thave to struggle, you don't have
to live with heart palpitationsand anxiety and carrying around
all that extra weight or beingashamed of your body or not
desiring your husband, like allof that is unnecessary.
We can figure all of it out, Ipromise you.
So please, here's the deal (32:16):
this is what I've come to understand.
God will give you little tests,he'll be like, Okay, I just
asked her to do this.
Does she do it?
And if she doesn't, he mightjust say, Well, I guess she's
not, you know, in it right now.
(32:36):
And he leaves you alone for alittle bit and loves you, but
doesn't push you.
If you're asking and praying foranswers and he's giving them to
you, you have to obey and followthrough and go through with
them, right?
Am I right?
Yes.
Oh my goodness.
And then the more you know thatyes, the more he trusts you, the
(33:01):
more he gives you guidance anddirection.
And I just I think it's likethis beautiful slippery slope to
a whole new world.
Like, we don't have to go uphillwith 80-pound backpacks trying
to get our way through there andsludge through it.
Like, it can be a beautifulslide down a hill to our next
(33:24):
destination.
Yeah, okay.
You are amazing.
What is one last thing you wantto say to the women out there
who may be struggling?
SPEAKER_02 (33:38):
I love to say this because it's truly what happened
to me.
Whatever issue you're strugglingwith, I believe 100% fast to
faith can help you in yourjourney, figure it out.
And I'm not just saying words, Itruly mean it.
Whatever the issue is, if it'sweight, if it's your hormone
levels, if it's anxiety, if it'sheart palpitations like I was
(34:01):
having, if it's insomnia, Imean, I can just continue going
on and on and on.
If it's burning in your stomach,if you are just having problems
either holding weight or gettingweight off, like I truly believe
that this is something that youneed to do in your life.
It's not, for me, it's not aquestion.
I just thank God for it.
(34:22):
So I'm here to help.
Oh, I I love Fast of Faith.
I am here to be your biggestcheerleader.
Dr.
Tabitha is amazing.
She meets with you every week.
You can ask her any question.
It is like free doctor adviceevery week, and it's amazing.
So if there is anything thatyou're in questioning about,
reach out to me.
I can help you.
I will tell you, yes, it's worththe journey.
SPEAKER_00 (34:45):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
And you are an awesome coach.
So anybody would be so blessedto work with you.
I have no doubt.
And you're right.
We cover everything on thesecalls.
We will talk about uterineprolapse and bladder infections
and libido and hot flashes andmacros and fasting.
(35:07):
Like there's nothing we don'tcover because we're struggling
with all of it.
So nothing is off limits.
But I will say the only thingthat's off limits is judgment
and comparison.
We make that very clear in Fastof Faith that this is a
sisterhood.
We are collaborating.
We are here to cheer you on andsupport you and lift you up.
(35:31):
We don't allow you to judgeyourself or condemn yourself.
There's just no place for that.
So if this sounds like somethingyou're interested in, please
consider reaching out toMelissa.
Join Fast to Faith.
Do a stool test and heal yourgut.
Realize you need help absorbingyour fats, like Melissa did.
(35:54):
Like you don't have to suffer.
So thank you, Melissa.
You're such a blessing.
And I I know that somebody washelped today.
Thank you very much.
It was wonderful to be with you.
Okay, ladies, you can see.
We just have an incrediblesisterhood.
If you're in it, you alreadyknow.
(36:16):
But if there's somebody whodoesn't know about it, invite
them in.
I I know that it can be scary tobe like, hey, we're over here
talking about Jesus helping uswith our periods, but I promise
you it will only seem weird forthe first couple minutes, and
then they'll realize they're inthe right place.
So invite another woman into thegroup, into the sisterhood, or
(36:41):
find a woman and join togetherbecause this is what you need.
This is your answer, and wecannot wait to help you.
So thank you.
Go out and be Christ hands toserve this week.
I I celebrate Melissa for all ofher awesomeness, and I can't
wait to see what she does in2026.
(37:01):
So thank you, girl.
The next time I see you guys, Iwill be in a podcast studio.
We're changing things up.
So come back after Christmas.
Have a beautiful, MerryChristmas.
I love you so much, and Jesusloves you.
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