The LET Story: Chronic illness and altered plans
There has always been something about science and nature that has simply fascinated me. During my childhood years, I told everyone I wanted to be a vet. Everyone in my family thought I would grow up to be a doctor of some kind. And while I’m definitely not a doctor, that love of science and fascination with creation is still a huge part of me. Much to my surprise, however, a turn of events in my early teenage years inspired a deeper passion for science- one that turned my heart towards people and the human body.
At thirteen years old I became sick, but not in the traditional fever, chills, or chicken pox kind of way. This kind of sickness could not be seen from the outside looking in. While those around me could not understand, I knew deep down that something was wrong. My body was constantly sending out signs only I could feel, which eventually led to me becoming familiar with terms like “invisible illness” and “autoimmune disease.” After years of tests, hundreds of doctors appointments, and the gradual decline of my health, I was diagnosed with a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis- an autoimmune form of arthritis that attacks the spine and hips. It’s a systemic disease that attacks not just the bones encasing your nervous system, but it attacks your entire nervous system as well. As a result, my eyes, organs, heart, lungs, and more are affected by the disease. If the inflammation is not controlled over time, you run the risk of your spinal column fusing into one big bone. This spinal fusion is what earns this disease the nickname “bamboo spine.” Unfortunately, autoimmune diseases cannot be cured, and while there are “treatments” for the disease in western medicine, those treatments lower your immune system and come with all kinds of side effects. For some people these medications work wonders- as they did for me for a handful of years- but they aren’t truly a solution for the ongoing condition.
So what does this have to do with LET and how it got started?
The ONLY true treatment, according to Western Medicine, for autoimmune conditions is a lifestyle shift that includes the fundamentals of health like:
Eating to nourish your body properly
Movement!! To help reduce inflammation, support a health body composition, and create a strong support system for your joints, and to support a better quality of life
Proper hydration, including minerals and electrolytes
Getting enough sleep
Managing stress
Building a strong support system around yourself
The more I studied how to support MY body, preserve the lifestyle I dreamed of, and achieve the closest thing to optimal health I could get, the more I learned how true it is that this is what we ALL need: a life centered on the simple, fundamental habits of health.
This pivotal point in my life led to me getting my Bachelor’s degree in Applied Exercise Science, assisting in Nutrition research, teaching Nutrition under a team of Dietitians at my University, and later furthering my studies in Behavior Change. After working at two of the best gyms in the country, LET was born during the global pandemic. After the coronavirus made its way to the Midwest in March, my (now) husband and I got engaged in April and planned to get married that coming December. However, with the climate of the world at the time and some personal factors, our wedding got bumped up to late July of 2020. Facing a wedding, moving, and uncertain jobs my fiancé and I had to make a tough choice: send me (immunocompromised and chronically ill) back into working in gyms or clinics or take the risk and start the Holistic Health company I was dreaming of during a world crisis. Obviously, you can probably guess what we decided.
Starting with offering virtual personal training in the summer of 2020, we slowly added on Nutrition Coaching about a year and a few months later. Shortly after, I obtained my Behavior Change Specialization and we began transitioning our practice into a Holistic Health Coaching model that emphasizes Sustainability + Habit Coaching. The main way we serve our people is by helping you maximize the foundational habits of a healthy lifestyle in these six categories: nutrition, movement, hydration, sleep, stress management, and community. We call these the six fundamentals of health. My little dream of working in the science industry morphed into a much bigger dream of helping people create LIFESTYLES they love that cultivate health in a holistic way.
Being able to see the intense ways small actions could influence my health and the health of those I loved broadened my perspective and helped me understand why the health industry is failing to truly help people achieve lasting change. It is my belief that we way over complicate health, while also drastically underemphasizing what actually creates a healthy life. We have been trained to manipulate the body rather than support it. As a result we have produced a culture that relies more on quick fixes and pills than the lifestyles that produce many of the issues in the first place. Here at LET, my goal is to help people optimize their lifestyles by sticking to JUST the fundamentals of health.
Today I help people personalize, simplify, and own their habits so that they can create a lifestyle they are proud of and that cultivates progress towards their overall health and life goals. Nothing makes us happier at LET than walking alongside our clients so that they feel seen, heard, and respected as the expert they are at their own lives. All of our services- workout programs, holistic health challenges, coaching services, resources, and online courses- are aimed at helping you create your own Limited Edition life from a habit-based approach.
The best part?
The LET story has really only just begun. On behalf of the LET team, we really hope you stick around for what is coming next.
