Meet Belinda Southall, IFMCP
Ok, this is long but worth the read….
I live a very private life, but feel this is important to understand why I created TVW.
I have always been interested and invested in health since a teenager. When I went to undergrad I would read health & fitness magazines and cut out articles and recipes. I had stacks of 3 ring notebooks FULL of recipes, workouts, & diet tips. I was obsessed! While I was in chiropractic school, I worked as a personal trainer & also learned how to starve myself to get fit. While in school, I survived on little sleep, caffeine, ran 30+ miles a week, and ate "healthy” low fat food. I was TERRIFIED to eat fat, terrified! After graduating chiropractic school, I started eating a bit more balanced, but started running alot due to work stress! I ran 3 marathons in one year with my last one being Boston 2013 (the year of the bombing). I felt like I could push my body to do anything, and I LOVED IT! After running Boston, it took me 3-6 months to recover from the race, but I kept running and ignored the fatigue. In 2014 I started doing crossfit, cut back on long distance running, & I tried Whole 30 for the first time. I felt so much better overall, and have continued to eat a paleo diet to today. At this point I had dealt with infertility for over a year.
In 2014 I got pregnant with my first child, had a really hard pregnancy of nausea/sickness, took a very short maternity leave, then back to full time practice with a baby with me. I slept 4-5 hours/night, exercised 6 -7 days/week, survived on caffeine, ate relatively well, but ignored that I was very tired. In 2018, I had my second child after experiencing another very hard pregnancy of nausea and sickness. I continued to work full time on little to no sleep, exercised 6-7 days/week, but eating healthy.
In 2019 my body started failing. I started experiencing monthly sickness, sinus infections, random fevers, etc. In November I hurt my back really bad one morning lifting weights. Then in January 2020 I got really, REALLY sick! I was in bed for 5 days with a 105 fever that no one could diagnose. It was worse than any flu or illness I could have experienced, and no it was not COVID. After seeing 4 doctors, I finally saw an Integrated MD who dug deep & diagnosed me with Lyme Disease, Bartonelliosis, Mold Toxicity, and EBV (Mono).
How could this happen to me? I was honestly shocked and confused at how I could be so sick.
Basically, my toxic load was boiling over. After going through treatment with a Lyme Specialist for 1 year, I spent over $20k in office visits, tests, antibiotics, supplements, herbs, ozone therapy, etc. & felt no better than when I started. I was desperate to do anything to get back to how I felt 5 years prior. At that point, I decided to quit all the treatments, give my body a break, and figure it out myself.
All this led me to going back to school to learn functional medicine to get to the root cause of my illness. I enrolled in the Institute of Functional Medicine in 2021, moved my chiropractic practice to Tuscola, cut back on my patient load, and dove deep into educating myself in holistic healing.
.Turns out, I was being treated ALL WRONG & there was no quick fix for my illnesses. I was chasing a treatment for Lyme Disease, Bartonelliosis, Mold Toxicity, and EBV (Mono) which yes has made me very sick but was not the root cause of my sickness.
My unrealistic lifestyle of working too much, exercising too much, sleeping too little while raising 2 babies, and being stressed to the max was my root cause. Over the past 3 years I have learned lifestyle change, MAJOR detoxification, adrenal support, proper supplementation, and continued daily work to help my body & mind function properly. It has not been an easy or simple road, but I am getting there
With all that being said, I want to use my journey, education, and knowledge to help you! Let my story be a lesson that you cannot burn the candle at both ends before you body starts sending smoke signals. BUT, there are answers to getting well even when your labs look “completely normal”.
Do you have a desire to feel better, be the best version of yourself, or is your body sending you smoke signals that no one can figure out?
Functional Wellness may be right for you!
