Part One: Share my Journey to become an “FDN Practitioner” in 2019!
If you follow my blog, podcast and read my personal story I shared in my book LIFE IS NOT A RACE as well as THE WHOLESTIC METHOD Manual… you know by now I am passionate about sharing the impact on living life as a race on the WHOLE you! Chronic stress impacts every system of the body – creating a cascade of dysfunction or as the founder of FDN says … “METABOLIC CHAOS”.
Chronic stress impacts your ability to burn fat, optimize health and performance in daily life! I should know as I have had all of this happen to me since 2013! Now as I become an FDN Practitioner, or specifically a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I will be adding additional services to my “The WHOLESTIC Method” coaching program.
I learned first hand that any type of excessive, non-stop stress that become CHRONIC:
• disrupts our natural homeostasis
• leads to loss of function or rather creates DYS-Function
• dysfunction of our body’s systems leads to loss of ease or … DIS-EASE!
• Then we find ourselves with multiple dys-function which results in “METABOLIC CHAOS”
If we don’t identify our RED FLAGS our body sends us – we start to experience unexplained symptoms. Suddenly we begin to feel fatigued and not our “normal” selves anymore. Perhaps you have felt this way as I did starting back in 2013… and then we begin the search for answers and for someone to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I just wanted to feel alive and thriving again- plus I was depressed because I didn’t have the ability to train and race anymore as I was weak, over weight, over fat and exhausted. Personally, after I searched help from various medical doctors, practitioners and naturopaths on my search to find someone to “FIX” me and bring me back to life – I realized we were only treating my long list of symptoms. I would feel better then try to do what I used to do – then I felt tired, over fat and depressed again. One step forward and two steps back. WHY? Why was this happening to me?
If we only treat our symptoms, even if getting functional detailed labs to find out our imbalances, we only feel “good” temporarily. As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and soon to be a FDN-Practitioner, I am implementing my training into my coaching program – The WHOLESTIC Method. In order to feel alive and thriving each day- we need to work on putting the pieces of the puzzle together with a combination of WHOLEIST method approach:
• Functional Lab Testing
• Nutritional Therapy Assessment
• Nutritional Therapy Functional Evaluation
• Genetic Testing assessment via DNAFit
• The WHOLESTIC Method Lifestyle Improvements
• Metabolic Typing Assessment
• Metabolic Efficiency Testing
If we don’t find answers…we should look at the WHOLE picture as lab testing and supplementation is only part of the solution. Treating the symptoms is similar to placing a band-aid on the problem- instead we should look at the WHY and work on correlating the answers. We need to put the pieces of the puzzle together- or else we continue to have symptoms downstream. We need to work north and work our way south with the use of labs, nutritional assessment, food log with symptoms, lifestyle habits and genetics. As a FDN-Practitioner and a NTP, my job as a health coach is to use all the “tools”, including functional labs, to identify healing opportunities to restore function and balance back to a client’s body- “Optimal NORMAL” is their homeostasis. The secret sauce on restoring health and vitality, is a client’s commitment to adopting new lifestyle behaviors, nutritional therapy and healing therapy plan. If a client is not motivated to do their homework, then we are not able to work together. In FDN as a practitioner, we coach clients with the tools to rebuild their vital and metabolic reserve while we “coach down” their contributors to “METABOLIC CHAOS” to help the client return to the land of vitality. As we work together to create an individualized plan to solve the reason a client experiences “METABOLIC CHAOS” – their symptoms ideally disappear! We don’t treat anything specific since we don’t treat the symptoms- but we treat the WHOLE body as one system and get the “engine” running back at optimal level. Healing takes time, and I know it as my healing journey has taken years to rebuild and renew myself. The client needs to have reasonable expectations as we all should learn from my errors or mistakes- there is not an easy fix or a magic pill (or supplement) that fixes you. A new you must be built with a new approach to how we live life each day!
“Symptoms may be far removed from the causal factors or stressors found upstream” ~ Reed Davis
As a practitioner, we help improve the function of body systems with the right assessments including identifying internal and external stressors. The internal “HIDDEN” stressors with functional lab testing:
• Hormones
• Immune
• Digestion
• Detoxification
• Energy
• Nervous
The individualized healing program for clients ideally will improve function as we remove the HIDDEN internal stressors. The lab testing we use as a FDN Practitioner will help identify dysfunction and sources of imbalance leading to METABOLIC CHAOS. As we identify the individual’s healing opportunities and find the right nutrition plan with Metabolic Typing, we can implement the right protocols for success along with observations, re-evaluation and re-testing as appropriate.
The lab testing packages include:
1. Biohealth 205A – saliva for hormones (or DUTCH test)
2. Biohealth101 Metabolic Assessment Profile- urine for assessing protein digestion, liver detoxification and oxidative stress
3. Genova Intestinal Permeability- signs and symptoms of leaky gut
4. Biohealth 401H GI Pathogen Screen – stool testing for gut infection and infestation (parasites, bacteria, fungi, yeast and Biofilms)
5. Oxford Mediator Release Test (MRT) or ELISA/ACT for identifying food sensitivities that may cause stress via inflammation and irritating the gut. Stool culture to assess pathology and dysbiosis including tri-chrome stain, stool antigens, yeast, Occult blood and H. pylori.
Part Two:
As we learned as well in Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program, digestion and nutrient absorption is fundamental to optimal health. No matter how many main health concerns or complaints are connected to the digestive system, blood sugar dysregulation, HPA axis dysfunction, essential fatty acid balance, mineral balance, detoxification, hormone balance and immune function … we always work North to South. As a practitioner, a and in my “The WHOLESTIC Method” coaching program, we always work on digestion and absorption. It isn’t just what we are eating but also when we are eating, where we are eating and how we are eating! Is our digestive system turned off or on? How fast are we eating? Are we chewing our food? Is our stomach acid and digestive enzymes being released on time to help in nutrient breakdown and absorption?
Most individuals are constantly stressed and eating when stressed become ‘stuck” in Sympathetic Dominance mode. If we lose our ability to switch back from sympathetic nervous “’fight or flight” nervous system back to the parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system then we increase our chance for becoming sympathetic dominant. Ideally we are switching back between the two nervous systems and have “balance” in between. You can measure your strength of our nervous system be using your wireless heart rate monitor with a heart rate variability apps as Sweetbeatlife or HRV Elite. Plus you can measure your low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) against your heart rate variability (HRV).
Why should you measure and track your HRV? We want to have resiliency with stress- be able to bounce back and recover after a dose of “stress”. If you want to optimize your health, we want to focus on not only WHAT we eat but HOW we eat and WHEN we eat. Also we know that most all disease starts in the gut – so focusing on proper digestion, absorption and gut health is key to optimizing our health. Chronic stress impacts our digestive processes and our gut health partially because we are eating when in the sympathetic nervous system. If we track our HRV and measure the strength of our nervous system with the apps to track our LF and HF then we can understand more about our health from the inside out- and if what we are doing is working! Optimizing our intestinal health is key for reaching and maintaining optimal health as we age up. Chronic stress impacts our digestion and our gut health which is also connected to “METABOLIC CHAOS”!
The first step to becoming fat adapted and reducing the signs and symptoms of “METABOLIC CHAOS” – we want to prioritize three of the elements of The WHOLESTIC Method coaching program: nutrition, stress, digestion. Then of course the other elements of The WHOLESTIC Method are essential to balancing and transforming the WHOLE you- exercise, movement, sleep, hydration, happiness and play. To optimize our fat burning metabolism, we need to improve the food we eat, our digestive processes and nutrient absorption by adding stress reducing techniques, lifestyle habits and digestive supplements as HCL Betaine, Berberine, Digestive Enzymes and Megasporebiotic (varies per client- test and not guess with a NTP and FDN Practitioner). Everyone is unique so there is not a one size fits all approach to regaining balance in our body systems (homeostasis) and restoring our gut health. I work with clients to reclaim their health and well-being! We put the pieces of the puzzle together to transform the WHOLE unique individual. Gut dysfunction could be a result of living life as a race and living with chronic stress (becomes their new “normal”) or it could be the source of stress as we have external stressors and HIDDEN internal stressors we need to identify. The HIDDEN stressors (hormone, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous system) should be identified with specific functional lab tests and contribute to creating “METABOLIC CHAOS”.
Remember- we don’t treat labs by themselves but use the data to put the bio-individual puzzle back together to be complete!
We get used to feeling crummy, sluggish and heavy… and then we start to feel that these new unexplained health complaints are the new “normal” and we blame the aging process! This is one of my biggest pet peeves in our society- yes we change as we age but we should be THRIVING and embracing our vitality in life by taking ownership for our wellbeing. We can take control of our health and improve the aging process- we just need to add more support to the body systems as we do to our own cars as they age! We need to get tune-ups and repair…sometimes look under the hood to find out where the sources of stress are hiding and which parts are out of alignment creating chaos in the life car when set in motion.
As the founder of the FDN program, Reed Davis, says “the symptoms appear far, far removed from the actual cause” and doing a thorough investigation of the “crime scene” may be beneficial instead of spending months or even years chasing symptoms and putting a band-aid on the problem. Instead wasting our time feeling sick, tired and out of balance- we should choose to take the road to thriving and embrace the change of life as a positive experience and a new journey! Taking lab tests as the GI panel (stool test over three days) may help identify an imbalance of your gut microbiome flora and identify hidden gut bugs, infections or bad bacteria. Another lab can help provide additional insights on our protein digestion (protein-amino acids-neurotransmitters-gut health), liver detoxification (bile removes toxins) and oxidative stress (aging process) via a simple urine sample. As we improve the function and health of digestive system, we are able to improve our gut health which improves the function of our immune system, reduce inflammation and enhance brain function (gut-brain connection). Gut pathogens are difficult to identify without specific functional lab tests but they are essential to rebuilding our WHOLE self and they contribute to CHAOS in the body! Pathogens can contribute to creating havoc to the HPA Axis (adrenal function), maldigestion, malabsorption, toxicity, liver congestion, detoxification issues, elimination and leaky gut (mucosal barrier) problems. Our body should thrive with EASE – instead we tend to live with DI-EASE. We are to have our body systems FUNCTIONING at optimal levels- instead we get used to our body systems being in DYS-FUNCTION.
It isn’t just one test and one supplement that fixes everything – instead we treat everything to improve the WHOLE body from the inside out. My goal as a practitioner, is to reduce and eliminate factors than our contributing to what Reed Davis calls “METABOLIC CHAOS”- and gut bugs are a main piece of puzzle. As we correct the body’s inefficiencies with nutritional therapy, lab testing, genetics and lifestyle changes (The WHOLESTIC Method approach), we can finally restore balance and bring the body back to normal function (homeostasis). Those HIDDEN internal stressors need to be identified or else we may not complete our puzzle! If we keep living life as a race and ignore healing the HIDDEN internal stressors, we keep the body in CHRONIC STRESS mode which as we know will impact our ability to burn fat, optimize our mitochondrial function and enhance our daily performance in life. This cycle can go on for years unless you make the commitment to take care of the WHOLE you today. It is a commitment and it does take motivation to want to feel your best in life! Just as we need to get off the blood sugar roller coaster from what we are eating (as well as when and how!), we also need to get off the CHRONIC stress cycle. If you want to heal, thrive and improve your vitality finally – then you need to get started now with The WHOLESTIC Method approach to healing, rebuilding and recalibrating. It is a total transformation process and program that is individualized – (or take the group online 30-day total transformation fat adaptation program)
As a practitioner, my goal is to guild a client back to health by identifying healing opportunities together and creating an individualized plan for the client to return to their optimal self!
We do not treat the test results but put all the information, assessments and lab testing into a protocol to help the client with a specific detailed plan designed for their needs, concerns and goals only.
Ideally, over time with the right commitment, the client’s main health concerns or complaints will improve as they transform through “The WHOLESTIC Method” total transformation coaching program. The goal should be to improve function and health for the client but to do this takes work and patience. In the FDN-Practitioner Program, we use the “D.R.E.S.S. for Health Success” program, or their blueprint, to help the client transition into the their total transformation program and we work together to adjust and make corrections along the new healing journey! The client just needs to commit to staying with the program and to stay on course as we adjust and adapt along the way with retesting and re-evaluation periodically to re-confirm we are following the correct protocol for that individual as we are all unique and there is NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach.
Our constant addiction to busyness and living life as a race catches up to us! Chronic stress leads to a domino effect of dysfunction to our body systems as you can read from my personal experience in my book LIFE IS NOT A RACE (on Amazon). Healing from “chronic stress disease” (my term!) takes time as we need to remove all of the internal and external stressors to bring the body back to optimal balance (homeostasis)… and we can never stop seeking underlying causes of dysfunction. If you are like me (Type A personality), we always need to be aware of our triggers and red flags as it is so easy to take one step forward and two steps back from feeling vivacious again. Please don’t blame the aging process- and think this new tired, overweight and depressed you is your “new normal”. You can feel amazing, energetic and happy again… just try my coaching program and we can restore your vitality but you have to be ready to make the investment (financial, time and energy) into healing the WHOLE you from the inside out.
Let me know if you need more information. If you are struggling to burn fat, regain energy and gain peak performance in daily life then you need to talk to me.
Trust me.
The struggle is real … and it is not “normal” to feel this way at any age! Warning … there is no guarantee of results as we (coaches) do not control the outcome. Sign up for coaching with reasonable expectations and understand healing takes time.
Let’s get started on your new journey onto healing your WHOLE self to improve your ability to thrive ach day. The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching program will your metabolic flexibility, optimizing mitochondria function and enhancing performance.
Don’t you want to improve the aging process instead of blaming the aging process? How about reduce inflammation and even reverse chronic disease? Transforming the WHOLE you takes times and success isn’t guaranteed but you don’t know what you don’t know! We need to identify external and internal stressors top optimize our body functions and reduce METABOLIC CHAOS! Sounds like a plan to me!
Enhance your performance in daily life and athletic sports.
Embrace the aging process instead of blaming it for our health status.
Who is Debbie Potts?
Owner, trainer and coach of a unique coaching approach with her design of “The WHOLESTIC Method” based in Bellevue, WA. Debbie shared her personal story in her book “Life is not a Race… it is a Journey” and created “The WHOLESTIC Method Manual and Workbook”. She hosts “The WHOLE Athlete” weekly podcast to help athletes improve their ability to burn fat and enhance performance with Nutritional Therapy and more where she interviews expert guests on Tuesdays then shares her own opinion on Thursdays for “Real Thoughts with Debbie Potts”!
Debbie walks the talk and practices watch she preaches. After being a top personal trainer for twenty-five years, she has also become a NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), USAT Triathlon coach, CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Kion Superhuman Coach, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), DNAFit coach and next Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). She took her health in her own hands and combined therapy, labs and lifestyle changes to transform her own life to heal, reclaim energy and reboot her own system. Be a part of the journey to transform the WHOLE you from the inside out with The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching program. There isn’t a one size fits all approach to healing, rebuilding and restoring the WHOLE you as we are all unique bio-individuals.
Debbie’s focuses on training the WHOLE individual from the inside out with elements of “The WHOLESTIC Method” program. Her services include: Personal training, Nutritional Therapy evaluation, assessments, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner services, Sunlighten Infrared Therapy Treatment, Chronic Stress, Detox and Digestion Reset Fat loss programs. She teaches groups and individuals to become fat adapted with her three-phase program in the 30-day Total Transformation Program. “The WHOLESTIC Method” coaching program includes lifestyle elements, Nutritional Therapy, FDN-lab testing, DNAFit reports and more.
Debbie also leads her signature “The WHOLESTIC Method Fat Loss” group 5-day Reset and 30-Day Total Transformation program online to help enhance the fat burning metabolism and digestive health. The program offers online coaching on ZOOM for those out of the area. The online ZOOM video conference calls add support, motivation and accountability as well as help educate clients. We can reduce chronic fatigue and inflammation by improving what we eat, when we eat and how we eat including eliminating common inflammatory foods as gluten, commercial dairy, soy, corn and peanuts (plus limit/cut alcohol and caffeine) for 30 days plus more of The WHOLESTIC Method elements to transform the WHOLE you from the inside out.
Debbie was a top age group triathlete and runner for many years until she broke herself with chronic fatigue and “METABOLIC CHAOS”. Now, she is following her purpose, passion and mission to help others avoid going through the exhaustion, weight gain and hormonal cascade that she experienced starting back in 2013. Debbie coaches groups and individual clients in person as well as online to reclaiming their optimal health for performance and longevity. Whether you are training for running, trail running, cycling and triathlon events to thrive and enhance performance via becoming a low-carb fat adapted metabolically efficient athlete.
Specialties: Personal training, NASM-CPT, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, CHEK HLC, Superhuman Coach, Kion Coach, DNAFit coach, Pilates Mat, Yoga, Rehab training, Metabolic Efficiency Testing, Triathlon, and Run Coaching for athletes of all levels. Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner.
The WHOLESTIC Method Coach,
Debbie Potts
NASM-CPT, NTP, Kion Coach, DNAFit, USAT
FDN-Practitioner: Fall 2019
Debbie Potts
The Low Carb Athlete
The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching Program
Train the WHOLE Athlete from the Inside Out!
Burn Fat. Optimize Health. Improve Performance.
NTP, Kion Coach, CHEK HLC, USAT, NASM CPT, DNAFit Coach
Host of “The WHOLE Athlete” podcast
Author of ‘LIFE IS NOT A RACE’ & ‘The WHOLESTIC Method Manual’
www.debbiepotts.net
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