Sober Living Stories

Transform Your Health Through Holistic Wellness: Integrative Nutritionist Lizzie Nelson's Personal Story

• Jessica Stipanovic • Season 1 • Episode 29

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Have you ever wondered how nutrition and holistic health can completely transform your life? 

Tune in to another episode of The Sober Living Stories Podcast with Jessica Stipanovic.  This week, she sits down with Lizzie Nelson, an integrative nutritionist to discuss the healing powers of food, stress management, sleep hygiene, community, and movement. 

Lizzie went from enjoying a happy and healthy childhood growing up on the East Coast to facing severe health issues in her early 20s, driven by prolonged stress and poor diet. She recounts her transformative experience after being hospitalized, revealing how she turned her life around and found her calling in helping others achieve better health through nutrition and wellness. 

Discover the critical interplay between nutrition, mental health, and overall well-being as Lizzie introduces her five pillars of wellness: nutrient-dense nutrition, stress management, sleep hygiene, daily movement, and community. Lizzie emphasizes the importance of self-sufficiency and intuition in making health decisions, challenging the reliance on continuous coaching, medications, and traditional practices.

Learn how Lizzie’s holistic approach empowers her clients and underscores the significant impact of sleep quality, environmental factors, and social connections on mental health and happiness. Don't miss this episode filled with transformative insights and the importance of authenticity and personal experience in healthcare.

To sign up for her newsletter, visit Lizzie Nelson:  Design emails people love to get. (flodesk.com)
or connect with her throughout the week: IG: Lizzie Nelson I Integrative Nutritionist I Ketamine Advocate (@lizzienelsonwellness) • Instagram photos and videos

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Speaker 1:

Lizzie grew up on the East Coast as a healthy kid with no major health problems or complaints. Fast forward 20 years and she found herself in a hospital bed with debilitating abdominal pain, hooked up to a feeding tube. How did this happen? Well, after prolonged stress, consuming a diet of highly processed and quick to cook meals, her body said no more. As a holistic nutritionist with a focus on functional medicine, she's eager to help clients rediscover their relationship to the healing powers of food as medicine and also, if applicable, redefine their relationship with alcohol. Lean in for this episode. It's one you're not going to want to miss. It's one you're not going to want to miss.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Sober Living Stories podcast. This podcast is dedicated to sharing stories of sobriety. We shine a spotlight on individuals who have faced the challenges of alcoholism and addiction and are today living out their best lives sober and addiction, and are today living out their best lives sober. Each guest has experienced incredible transformation and are here to share their story with you. I'm Jessica Stepanovic, your host. Join me each week as guests from all walks of life share their stories to inspire and provide hope to those who need it most. Welcome to another episode of the Sober Living Stories podcast. Meet Lizzie. She's an integrative nutritionist who's been alcohol free for 14 years. She works one-on-one with clients, diet, lifestyle and mental health. Listen into this episode to hear Lizzie's personal story and inspiration on how to live a healthier, happy life. Welcome, lizzie.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, Jessica. I'm so excited to be here.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm so excited to hear your personal story. I know I was reading about you and the work that you do. I know that you grew up on the East Coast and you had a relatively healthy, happy childhood and then in your 20s you hit a little bit of a roadblock as far as health goes, and I'd love for you to share that and then take us into how it got you to do what you do today.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well. Thank you again for having me. I'm definitely very happy to be here and be your guest. So you're right, as you mentioned, I grew up on the East Coast. I'm from Washington DC originally and happy, healthy childhood, no major health issues, nothing to complain about.

Speaker 2:

So fast forward to my early 20s and I'm now living in the Bay Area, working a fast-paced, corporate kind of startup tech job, living in a chronic state of stress. And I picked up a routine stomach flu that many of us, unfortunately, have had at times. But due to living in such a fight or flight state of just not getting enough good nutrition, not sleeping well, not prioritizing exercise, commuting really long hours, long, stressful days, my body really couldn't recover and kick this bug. So I basically ended up having pretty severe nausea and abdominal gastropain for about three months, so much so that I mean I was still working full time and commuting, but I basically stopped really eating and nourishing my body because anytime I swallowed and tried to digest food it caused so much pain and nausea. So fast forward a couple months and I had lost so much weight from not eating and still working a full time schedule, full time demands so I ended up being hospitalized for two weeks in the Bay Area, put on a feeding tube, and doctors were very perplexed by me. They did, I mean multiple, multiple, top to bottom and GI tests I'll spare you those details, but a lot of tests and ultimately they discharged me with very vague. They said that I had severe IBS and they gave me, I think, eight or nine medications to suppress the symptoms that I was dealing with, whether they were pain symptoms or headaches or anxiety. I was on a real strong cocktail of medications and one of the things they told me is that I had to stop drinking while I was taking the medications.

Speaker 2:

So that's kind of where my first year perked up as far as, oh, changing some things in my diet and lifestyle. And then I sort of that was the way of life for a few years, taking a lot of medications, and I really hadn't made many more dietary lifestyle changes at that point. I never really was a big cooker. I kind of was like a microwave frozen Trader Joe's dinner kind of person. But ultimately I decided I kind of had one of those aha moments where it was like I am so young to be so medicated and no one's really talked about root causes or long-term solutions. So that's really where I rolled up my own sleeves and really did some research into diet, anti-inflammatory diets, better stress management, sleep, exercise, the importance of community and hobbies.

Speaker 2:

And so, not overnight, but over a couple of years, I completely changed my lifestyle. I changed my diet, learned how to really cook, stopped drinking alcohol and got better sleep and exercise and managed my boundaries better and eventually got off all the medications doctors put me on against their. They were saying if they're working, don't break it. But I got off everything and I really healed my gut through changing my diet and my lifestyle.

Speaker 2:

And that's when the seed for me was planted as far as making this a business and knowing there are so many other people out there who are going through their own health challenges that are probably overwhelmed, probably confused by just the Western medical system. So I went back to school and got my degree in nutrition from a small program in Berkeley, california, and then launched my own business and now I work one-on-one with clients, helping them go through what I went through. Whether it's GI or not. There's a whole plethora of different kinds of clients I work with, but really helping them figure out how to help their body in a more sustainable, empowered way than just medications and just Western medicine.

Speaker 1:

Wow, I love this. Yeah, I love this. It's so needed, like when you talked about chronic stress and just you know, processed food and just go, go, go. I mean, that's like. You know. I read a stat, like years and years ago the 90% of illnesses are caused by chronic stress. I don't know if that's a true statistic or not, but it's really detrimental. And so, before we get into all that, because I'm really interested and I want listeners to hear everything, so when you decided to make some changes or were put on medication, you were in your early twenties. So how did that look for you? Like when you're on medications, you're for you, like when you know you're you're on medications, you're stopping drinking alcohol, you're like just 21. I think is that the was that the age on the East coast?

Speaker 2:

Like was that an easy choice for you or did you? Did your social life like? How did it affect you? It was really hard at first. I mean, I I was, I think I was 22. I was living in California, I was young, I was social.

Speaker 2:

Social life revolved around in some way shape or form, bars and drinking and socializing in that capacity, and so I really I felt like I kind of lost my social life initially is how I interpreted it, and I was just like I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know a lot of people here that's how I've been meeting people so I really, you know, initially my mental health really took a toll because I kind of slumped into some depression and just feeling completely overwhelmed and also feeling kind of victim mindset of like why me, why did this happen? Kind of hopeless in that way. But what I will say is that I went slowly and so you know, doctors just said you know, try a few months alcohol free, see how that goes. So I went slowly and if they had said this is going to be 14 years or the rest of your life, I would have been shocked to hear that. But going slowly and also figuring out the kinds of you know other activities that could bring me happiness and whether they involve movement and exercise. Or you know other activities that could bring me happiness and whether they involve movement and exercise. Or you know meeting people for coffee or cooking classes, cooking groups they're just.

Speaker 2:

It really pushed me to kind of redefine and rethink my own definition of community and of fun and the kind of people I wanted to be around.

Speaker 2:

So over time it actually became fun of people who wanted to be around. So over time it actually became fun and I really learned to cook and started to enjoy going to farmer's markets bright and early on a Sunday morning, and so it kind of having this health issue and then kind of dealing with the recovery not just like redefined my body and my GI system, but it also redefined my life and how I spent my time and who I spent my time with. And I think that was the blessing in disguise from all of this is I eventually learned to heal my gut through more integrative practices and then pivoted my career. But I also it changed who I am for the better and it made me a much more self-aware, grounded and, yeah, reflective person in that way. So I wouldn't wish anyone to go through hospitalizations and serious medical conditions, but I think it really changed my life and my personal life for the better, I would say.

Speaker 1:

So when was the point that you got off of those medications that you were prescribed and decided to make some shifts with food as well?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so in the hospital it was interesting. So I basically had, as I mentioned earlier, pretty much stopped eating going into the hospitalization because of so much pain and nausea. So when I got there and I was admitted, they put me on this feeding tube and then I was not allowed to eat for about 10 days while they just gave me all my nutrients via liquid. And then on the last day or two they said okay, we can try food again and see how you do. And the first meal they gave me in the hospital was a plate of pasta and garlic bread and cookies for desserts. It was just like a plate of white, highly processed carbs and I ate it and it tasted good.

Speaker 2:

But looking back on that experience now, there were very few conversations about okay, when you go home, how are you going to take care of your body? How are you going to cook? How are you going to nourish yourself? So I really I am sort of proud to say that that focus on food and nutrition was really not by doctor's orders, not from the hospital. That was my own discovery and, like I said earlier, I sort of initially started off just following their orders, taking all the medication, but then my own wheels started turning that this was the plan.

Speaker 2:

I was going to be medicated like this for decades to come. Nobody was talking about getting off medication or really getting to a more root cause of this stuff. So then that's really where I was like okay, what are inflammatory foods? What can I reduce? So for me at the time I don't follow this as strictly now, but I did remove gluten, I did remove dairy, I cut way back on sugar and then alcohol.

Speaker 2:

Those were kind of the four things that I really removed and then increased things like more leafy greens, a lot more protein sources, really increased my hydration practices and then just kind of like learning to cook, learning to read ingredient labels, learning to shop, you know more at farmer's markets, just being more proactive in my food process and more educated in kind of what I was putting in my body. And now to this day, like I'm not. I'm not fully gluten-free or dairy-free. I'd say I'm gluten and dairy light and I cook when I'm at home cooking. I have very little gluten and dairy in my house, no sugar, but if I go out to a restaurant and it's like a great Italian place and it's a celebration I will absolutely have pasta and enjoy every bite. But I would say a lot of those practices that I learned in my early twenties I still follow to this day.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

Now back to our guest. You know that a lot of times we don't have answers for our health problems and we're as perplexed as everybody else. But ultimately we do know ourselves because, just in what you had said about you know, there wasn't any conversations about how to eat better or even look at that part, just a kind of an open-ended medication supply and such. And for me, you know, in 2002, I was misdiagnosed with a couple of things and put on a lot of medications. And you know, I lived like that for a while. And then it occurred to me one day. I said wait, we're paying him and I thought that means I can make the decision not to be doing this anymore Because I knew it wasn't right because the symptoms, you know, the side effects were so heavy and it was just keeping me home. And when I made that shift in my head I thought wait, I'm in control, I don't think this was the correct diagnosis and stuff my head. I thought wait, I'm in control, I don't think this was the correct diagnosis. And stuff, disclaimer being if you're on medication, take it properly and get with your doctor to get off of it.

Speaker 1:

However, for me it was that decision like wait a minute, I do know myself. And that day I went in and we slowly started to wean off and I went in another direction for my health and healing for that particular period of my life. So I applaud you for doing that and like having the recognition of that. And one of the things that I love and maybe you can elaborate on is you had talked about pre-recording how you are now working with like psychiatric clinics and their food, health and wellbeing and how it's, you know, kind of intertwined. And can you talk a little bit about that, because I I really think there's so much to that Like, um, what we eat really affects us in more ways, and then you know, yeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 2:

When I first started my practice, you know, I got this degree in nutrition. We learned in nutrition school how to set up your practice. You do meal plans. You do it was very, very food, food, food. And I started off doing that for about a year, year and a half. But the more client experience I got and the more conversations I was having with people, it was always so much more than just food. No one was just a hundred percent talking about food and what to eat.

Speaker 2:

Food brings into the conversation so many other threads in, like the wellness um, you know, kit, and so the the more I was curious about that, the more I realized we're talking about and these are now the um five pillars of my practice. One is nutrition, but the four others that I've incorporated are stress management, sleep, hygiene, daily movement and community. And community is there because there's so much research that shows we can't heal whether it's physically or mentally in isolation. We need relationships, we need collaboration, we need support, we need connection to heal. And so those are the five pillars of my practice and I feel like now with my clients we still talk about nutrition plenty. I no longer offer meal plans, I just do recipe research. So if someone needs help in the kitchen I'll suggest recipes, but I don't build full meal plans. But rather there's a lot more focus now on those things that affect mental health, the things like the quality of sleep you're getting. Are you able to fall asleep and stay asleep? And I use the word sleep hygiene because, sorry, I got some loud birds outside. That's okay, because it really is hygiene. It's sort of how do you? What is your environment, your bedroom environment? I mean there's temperature. There's things like light. What is your environment, your bedroom environment? I mean there's temperature, there's things like light, there's things like sense, like smell, sense. Are you on your phone or not? So you know the practice now incorporates these things that really impact your mental health and your happiness. And I think so often when you're a patient going through medical diagnoses or the medical system, there's not enough conversation about your mental health and how you're feeling and how you're supported and how is this weighing on you? And I've seen time and time again with clients those other threads in my practice directly impact their mindset and their mental health and having that community, having those connections.

Speaker 2:

I had a client last month. He was working remotely from Mexico and he always wanted to be down there as a big surfer, but he didn't know anyone and so he was eating all the healthy food, doing all the right things, but he was super lonely, really really lonely and isolated and it was affecting his body and his sleep, even though he was eating the right kinds of foods. So we shifted our focus to really help him find like-minded people and groups in the town that he was in of surfers and bikers. He found a great breathwork class. So it really is integrative and that's why that's part of my titles integrative nutritionist, because it's so much more than just your digestion and the food you eat. It really encompasses the whole human and the whole body in healing, and mental health is a really big, big part of that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm so glad you clarified that because as I was researching your work, I wasn't exactly sure about integrative nutritionist or what that exactly meant. But when you speak about it and I think most importantly I lit up when you said sleep, but then even more so when you said community, because kind of like a left bar side note, as a mom say, you're momming three children at home, you're relatively isolated at the house preschool age, and then you get with other moms at the house preschool age and then you get with other moms, you're just like, wow, your brain opens up, you're just laughing. All the things that you were home crying about or upset about you're now laughing about and it's that communion and that connection. You go home lighter. You're a better parent. The same for health.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, sure, you know a lot of people, I think might think, well, it's not easy to eat good or it's not easy to, but I love that you're talking about lifestyle, like farmer's markets, um, and then healing powers of food, like looking at your meal, like is this going to help me or hurt me? Like why would we do that? Right, like we have to start thinking better of ourselves, and yeah, so I kind of often look at my kids and I'm like, wow, if I can only eat, like them, fresh strawberries and blueberries, raspberry, you know. But we often take like second seat and just because we're quick, moving and I think those changes really build confidence moving and I think those changes really build confidence, you know, the better version of us that we can bring.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, I love it Just hearing you say that. One thing I was thinking about is I just I just left my mind. Yeah, I'll think about it and I'll bring it up in a minute. I definitely had another nugget like a light bulb went out when you were just saying that and I wanted to share it, and then it's gone, but I'll think about it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so do you speak on these things? Do you have forums, or is there anywhere that somebody could, if they wanted to hear you speak about this? Do you have anything like that, or do you specifically work one-on-one?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so right now I do work one-on-one with clients. I have a four-month coaching practice. I do feel like that's enough time for someone to really learn about the changes they're going to make, make the changes and then also start to feel the benefit and the effects of those changes in their lifestyle. And what I wanted to say earlier is just that my goal with clients is not to have them need me forever. I really want to educate and empower my clients to be able to not need me and to go on and flourish and feel like they know what's best for their body, they know how to nourish their body, and so that's really my goal is not to like you need Lizzie for the next 10 years. It's like no, we have this, you know.

Speaker 2:

Four month engagement, You're going to learn a lot. You're going to learn how to rethink how to nourish your body, how to care for yourself, how to sleep, how to prioritize all these things. And then I make micro shifts. So I use the phrase habit stacking. We go really slow and just stack slowly new habits of healthy behavior in your life. So you have this new norm, this new way of being that is created, that isn't sudden, it isn't overnight. And it's sustainable because you go slowly and intentionally. And it's sustainable because you go slowly and intentionally, so it really is about empowering people to you know, know how to care for themselves and know how to live their best life without needing me in their back pocket at all times.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So what did you call that Foreign one Foreign?

Speaker 2:

one, what do you?

Speaker 1:

mean, oh, I thought you had said it was foreign one, but I love that. I went to a chiropractor once and she was the only one that said you're not going to need me forever, cause they would always say come back, come back. And she said you're not going to need me forever, this is what we're going to do, and I was blown away by that. So the idea that you do it that way I think is is such an excellent way to do it, because you're actually you're teaching them and then you release them.

Speaker 2:

I think it's, it's, it's yeah, and I don't. I don't want to be in the business of, like you know, wanting coaching a hundred 110 people at once?

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And to not feel empowered. And I want people to learn, practice, feel better and then be able to take that into their own life and be able to live the full lives they do and travel and have families and be, have lots of commitments and still maintain these healthy pillars they've learned with me. So my focus is really empowerment. It's not to make someone feel like the answers aren't within them, and I think one thing you mentioned earlier that really clicked with me as well is oftentimes when we see doctors who have lots of degrees and certifications, they're highly educated.

Speaker 2:

We outsource our own intuition time and time again because we're paying them and they're highly educated, so they must know what's better for us. And granted, of course, there's a certain level of Western medical care we have to listen to, and they do know that we just don't know. But there is something to be said for to listen to and they do know that we just don't know. But there is something to be said for tapping back into your own intuition that all of us have within us that is so easy to override and outsource when it comes to our care and our health. And that's one of my focuses too is helping people bring that you know that. Chair back to the table, take that seat and listen to themselves and give themselves credit for knowing their own body.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, outsource your own intuition. I love that.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, can you tell us the five pillars again that you work with? Absolutely so? One is nutrient, dense nutrition. One is stress management. One is sleep hygiene, daily movement, which does not need to be intense, crossfit or running a marathon, it truly can be like walking your dog or dancing movement that you really enjoy. And the last one is community, and that really is, you know, the relationships you have. Who in your life supports you? Do you feel aligned with people? Because that really does affect our mental health and the mental health can affect our digestion and our sleep and all the other chain reactions. So I do have community in there, very, very much, intentionally, for a reason.

Speaker 1:

Well, yeah, I love that. That's great. So if people wanted to connect with you during the week, where can they find you? Where do you hang out during the week? On social media and or your website?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. Website is just lizzie-nelsoncom, and I am one of those people that spells Lizzie with an IE, not a Y, so lizzie-nelsoncom. And then I am on Instagram as well. It's just Lizzie Nelson, wellness. And it's funny with Instagram I definitely teach my clients about boundaries with social media and not living on there.

Speaker 2:

So sometimes I'm very active on stories, sharing my life, sharing tips, sharing client successes, but then there'll be a day or two where I just need a break and like today is one of those days where I'm not gonna be super active. So I am on social media and then LinkedIn. I do post quite a fair amount on LinkedIn as well, and that's just Lizzie Nelson. So those are the three ways to find me.

Speaker 2:

I do also have a newsletter that I send out to clients every or not just clients community every week or two, and that will be things like my take on various health trends, tips and tricks and sort of like. One thing I sent out last week was how to shop for yogurt, how to decipher this very confusing aisle full of marketing, what to look for in terms of protein and sugar, flavors, all those things, and also just like things I'm seeing with clients and then shares from my own life, so that's something I send out consistently. You can sign up for that on my website. And then, lastly, is I do some speaking engagements, and I do speaking engagements for corporate groups. So if someone is listening and they're interested in bringing any themes that I've shared here to their workplace, to their community groups, I do speaking engagements and the best way to contact me is through my website. I have an intake form or just hello at lizzie-nelsoncom.

Speaker 1:

It's been. It's been inspiring time here talking with you. I think those five pillars can hit and resonate with any listener at any stage of their life, especially right now when we're just moving so fast. So, I really thank you for coming on and sharing all the advice and also sharing your personal story, and I'd love to have you on again sometime in the future.

Speaker 2:

I would love to be back and I think that it's powerful, as a healthcare worker, to share your story and not be just a cold. You know, black and white human. I think that sharing what you've gone through, sharing your highs and lows, your struggles, what you've overcome, what you're still going through I think authenticity and vulnerability are the ultimate magnets and human connection, and so there's no good done if you're not sharing what's real and what your story is. So I'm a very open book and I'm always happy to share more and talk about my own experience with health and what I'm currently working on.

Speaker 1:

So absolutely, oh, thank you, Lizzie. If anyone would like to contact Lizzie during the week, everything will be in the show notes. If you'd like to have her on for your speaking engagements at corporate events or just be interested in one-on-one coaching, check her out in the show notes and thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for having me, Jessica. It was a lovely conversation.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for tuning into the Sober Living Stories podcast. If you have been inspired, consider subscribing and sharing with anyone who could use hope in their lives. Remember to stay tuned for more inspiring stories in the episodes to come. To view our featured author of the month or to become a guest yourself, visit wwwjessicastepanoviccom.