Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle McCoy.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Certainly! To begin we need to go back 21 years to when our daughter who was 5 at the time, was sick with daily headaches coupled with 3-4 migraines a week. She was also having severe psoriasis and eczema at the time. As her mom, I of course took her to all the specialists and she had all the testing done to try to figure out why she was having migraines.
After numerous tests she was seeing a top neurologist at a children’s hospital and was taking medications that were frankly not helping. Every time I asked if food could have something to do with why she was sick, I received the same answer, no matter which doctor I asked: “Food has nothing to do with this. Feed this girl whatever she wants, she doesn’t feel good.”
A nice sentiment but something wasn’t right. I was determined to get to the WHY she was sick.
The doctors were saying it all was related to her brain. They actually weren’t focused at all on her skin, they just wanted her headaches and migraine to go away.
My God given intuition was telling me it HAD to be food related.
This went on for 3 long years. I started a food diary to track what she was eating and her headaches. I researched the medications she was taking and realized they had potential side effects that I wasn’t willing to take chances with so I refused them one by one. Some were anti seizure medications which were unnecessary for her issues. I felt they were guessing and putting Band-Aids on her symptoms. I knew in my gut it had to be her food so I was putting her on an elimination diet in my own way and trying to see a connection. I mentioned my food theory to all of her doctors and not one agreed with me OR supported me in my concerns.
Finally I quietly fired her doctors and went out of state for holistic help. The practitioner I saw took one look at her and knew what was wrong. (Remember, all tests had been conducted over this time from several doctors involving lots of poking and prodding. They simply couldn’t find out what was wrong with her.) She then proceeded to show me and explain that our daughter had a wheat allergy. I had slowly been ‘poisoning’ her unknowingly as I was trying my best to help her. After all, whole wheat is good for you, right?
Once we knew what was wrong we had a game plan and our daughter healed very quickly. Within 6 months she was a healthy little girl again.
Throughout this whole time, I myself was dealing with my own health issues including migraines and gut issues. I was in my 30’s doing what moms do… putting all focus on the family and work and putting myself on the back burner.
I was exhausted daily, my gut was a mess, unable to lose weight, I was not sleeping well, irritable and basically struggling all the way around.
Around this time, I was still teaching at a private Christian school and I was ready for a career change after 14 years working with children. I absolutely loved my teaching but I felt the Lord was leading me to go back to school for nutrition so I could help families to BE WELL. My passion for wellness had been lit through helping our daughter to heal. In my mind, I wanted to help moms with sick children. I went back to school for Certifications in Holistic Nutrition and Functional Health Coaching.
And it changed my entire life!
I put into practice everything I learned. Not only was my health changed for the better and I was no longer living with syndromes and symptoms that I was told would be lifelong, but my husband’s health was drastically changed too.
Being that I left a career in teaching, I DID start out helping moms with kids with food allergies and other health issues but then I quickly started helping the moms themselves. They too were exhausted from years of putting their health on the back burner and their health was declining.
More recently, I decided to exclusively help women in the midlife season to regain energy and be able to think clearly again. To stop feeling like they’ve been “hit by a bus” each day.
Interestingly, shortly after launching my coaching business, Treasured Wellness, I was asked to help out with full time patient care in a weight loss clinic.
I was so blessed to be able to still pour into the patients I saw and help them to make healthier changes that would benefit them for life over the course of 7 years.
However, within a year, I no longer had the time or bandwidth to continue on with private clients so the business had to take a back seat for about 7 years. I was so blessed to be able to still pour into the patients I saw and help them to make healthier changes that would benefit them for life.
The last few years of working in the clinic were especially difficult on me physically and mentally. It was a slow fade into a serious health issue. As most high achieving driven women do, I only gave myself drips and drops into my bucket of wellness. I ate really well and exercised regularly but the self care part was seriously lacking.
Experiencing a debilitating Fatigue Crisis about 7 years ago really shaped how I approach my work. As I went through a time of emotional stress that went on for 3 long years, the stress and fatigue depleted my cortisol and all my hormones. Which kept me chronically tired and led to stage 3 adrenal fatigue which in turn, threw me into total burnout.
It wasn’t pretty and I had no choice but to lay down. To stop DOING so much. I realized that I needed to stop trying to be everything for everyone and focus on ME and my recovery. To seriously, REST.
This involved a level of self care no one talks about. But the Lord was patiently teaching me this.
There were times I was trying to make dinner and I was overcome with such dizziness and weakness that I would have to turn everything off and go lay down for 15 minutes until I could stand up again. The constant heart palpitations and “rushing” sound in my ears told me my body was really struggling.
As a result of my education and certifications, I had the ability to order lab testing that really helped me get to the root cause. Thereafter, I was able to devise a plan to begin recovering and help my body restore itself back to great health. This launched the Fatigue Recovery protocol I now use in my coaching.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road but honestly if it weren’t for the struggles and challenges I have lived through, beginning with my daughter’s health, I wouldn’t be the woman and coach I am today. I wouldn’t have the same drive and passion to see women BE well. My own health challenges and my fatigue crises have shaped me. The body has the amazing ability to heal and repair given the proper tools and support.
Even with what I know about the body and modalities that help facilitate healing, I am human. I ignored a lot of my body’s signals when I was in my consistent stress phase. I put “band-aids” on like supplements, clean eating + exercise to give myself drips and drops but my bucket was consistently empty.
The phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup” is extremely true. Oh we try all right but our body will always make us lay down. And that is exactly what happened to me. My body forced me to give up my façade that I could handle it all and that I could continue to push through. My stress levels were so high it began taking a huge toll.
That was the 2nd fatigue crisis that I had and it took me months to recover from it. But I am proud to say a shorter time than my practitioners said!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a Fatigue Expert & Holistic & Functional Health Coach, I love to dig deep to help my clients get to the root cause of WHY they are feeling so badly. So exhausted. So foggy brained. Every. Single. Day. Even if they have been getting routine lab testing, but still feeling exhausted, we don’t take “fine” as an answer.
My clients have all been told that what they are feeling is normal and they are “fine.” But I say, just because something is common doesn’t make it normal.
They are smart women. They know when something isn’t right. But they keep pushing through because they are high achieving women, getting things done. What I have found in working with women over the last several years is what I call “High-Functioning Fatigue.” This is when women in the midlife season are living in a state of exhaustion daily, feeling physically drained, mentally foggy and emotionally overwhelmed. Yet they keep pushing through juggling their responsibilities even as their energy levels drop and motivation is waning.
They are coming to me because they aren’t getting the answers they keep looking for. They have tried diets, workouts, supplements and prescription medications. They are so tired of being exhausted day in and day out. They don’t want to take “it’s your age” as an answer. (Spoiler alert: it’s NOT your age.)
When it comes to women’s health it’s really important that we take a fresh approach with a functional view.
We do this through a detailed and personalized care plan that is very individualized to each client. There can never be a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to our health. That is an irresponsible way to help people in their health.
There must be a customized plan of action for each client that works for THEM.
Inside my MidLIFE Health Makeover Program we do this deep work that ensures whole health, in body, mind and spirit. AND recovery from High-Functioning Fatigue. We cover 3 pillars of health: Physical, Mental and Spiritual. There are several aspects to my program that allow my clients to see transformation like my STEER Belief Map or my Stress Perception Shifts.
We use an Advanced Biblical Mindset and Fatigue Freedom Framework including the ABC’s of Fatigue Recovery that is unique in the wellness space. Customizing an anti-inflammatory nutritional and lifestyle plan they can live with (without feeling overwhelmed) is important for sustainability. In addition, with targeted lab testing and and implementing the 7 Essentials for Optimal Health, women are truly able to master their midlife season (and beyond.)
I love to work with women in the midlife season who are struggling with debilitating fatigue and brain fog plus other health concerns they aren’t getting answers to. Watching their transformation from daily exhaustion and foggy thinking to energy they haven’t felt in years plus clearer thinking is so fulfilling. My clients are driven in their careers and having energy and clear thinking daily is vital. But what is also important to them is having the energy even after work to fully be present with their families.
Women are the heartbeat of their homes. Everything they learn and do trickles down into the family unit. This is the beginning of Generational HEALTH!
It’s really so exciting especially in the world we live in where chronic illness is rampant. We truly can take control of our health for ourselves and our families. And to do this we need to be our own best ADVOCATE for our health. Watching women take their God given power & control over their own health really lights me up!
What sets me apart from other holistic health coaches is the “whole health” approach I take right from the beginning.
We MUST address the spiritual component of our health for true transformation to happen. So we are diving into things like Identity & Purpose. Giving our health to God, as it is He who created our bodies and He knows best what we need to heal and recover. In body, mind & spirit. A whole health approach means getting to the root of the issue and addressing what each woman needs to heal. It is very individualized and customized to what she needs. Spiritually, Physically and Mentally.
God does not desire us to be sad, sick and stuck. He shows us a better way.
But even over the energy & health restoration my clients are getting I would say it is this Biblical mindset GROWTH that I am most proud of in the work that I do.
As driven women, we tend to allow some specific mindsets to shape how we live. Possibly a lifetime of mindsets holding us back that we have adopted even from childhood.
Recognizing and breaking FREE from those mindsets that are holding us back is truly liberating. When we give our health to the Lord, we relinquish control over what is overwhelming and feels impossible. And that surrender is truly freeing. This is the work I have done myself and it was vital for my healing from High-Functioning Fatigue, Stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue, Burnout and Hashimoto’s along with some other health challenges. This is the work that can be hard yet so doable when you walk through it with faith & someone who understands the process.
My client Kate found this out when she came to me with undiagnosed Adrenal Fatigue and Burnout. Working on the mindsets that had been keeping her stuck, along with the targeted testing, intentional nutrition and continuous support, she now has amazing energy and feels empowered to care WELL for herself and her family. Without the overwhelm and stress.
Like me, women reading this today may feel like being “tired” is just the way it has to be. Like I did, (and Kate) you may feel like you have to ‘push through’ at the expense of your own health. I am here to promise you, you don’t. There is a better way.
Treasured Wellness was founded on the principles of Faith, Family & Freedom and the verse that continues to be the foundation of my business is 3 John 2: Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health as your soul also prospers.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Because of my high energy and drive and passion to help women to BE well, this work thrust me into the spotlight when it was not something I ever craved. And so I speak at conferences & on podcasts as well as host a weekly podcast called Treasured Wellness. In the last 4 years especially, I have put myself out there more to share light and hope over women’s health. It honestly doesn’t come naturally for me as I really enjoy a quiet but full life and do not crave the “spotlight”. However, God has clearly called me to this work and it really lights me up when I can encourage other women. One interesting thing about me was that I moved out of my parents home at the age of 16 and entered the health field at the tender age of 17. Working through my Junior and Senior years of high school meant that I missed out on a lot of typical teenage activities. And yet, I developed a drive to work and to do my work WELL whatever job I had at the time. As a Junior, I had the opportunity to take CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) classes and I was Certified by age 17. Which led me to my job in healthcare at a nursing care facility.
Without a doubt, my passion and my joy is to help other women take control over their health, recover from their fatigue and feel better in midlife than they have in years! I would love to offer a free blueprint for your readers that will walk them through 3 days of intentional actions they can take to begin to regain energy naturally. It’s my Foggy & Fatigue Freedom over 40 Blueprint and they can download it at: https://treasuredwellness.com/blueprint/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://treasuredwellness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelletreasuredwellness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twellness/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@treasuredwellness/featured
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/treasured-wellness-biblical-mindset-holistic-health/id1587216535
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