Functionally Whole

Functionally Whole I help women who struggle to build and maintain healthy habits finally break through while connecting with themselves, community, and nature.

Certified Primal Health Coach
Certified Transformation Coach
Girls Who Hike Ohio Ambassador
Market Manager

Traveling AIP lunch! 🐟 🍠
10/22/2025

Traveling AIP lunch! 🐟 🍠

Did you know that tracking HRV is one way to help manage chronic illness? HRV (heart rate variability) is a measure of t...
10/07/2025

Did you know that tracking HRV is one way to help manage chronic illness?

HRV (heart rate variability) is a measure of the time variance between heart beats at rest, and reflects the health of our autonomic nervous system - how much stress we are under and how our bodies are handling it.

This is why I wear my Garmin - and if I had paid closer attention, I could have caught this autoimmune flare earlier before it really exploded and started doing things to mitigate it. But although I noticed my HRV had tanked, I kept pushing through to do all the things. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I still don’t exactly know what’s going on with me, but my doctor thinks it’s an undifferentiated or mixed connective tissue disease. My testing showed autoimmune activity and high inflammation but nothing specific (besides Hashimotos, which I already know about).

It’s been over a month and this flare is still going, although I have seen some improvement and even had a good day Saturday. Things are flared back up now, but I’ll just keep on doing the things to lower inflammation, calm my immune system, and heal my gut.

Here’s a screenshot of my HRV for the last 30 days. For reference, my normal is in the 90s. Also a screenshot of an article talking about how HRV could potentially be used in the management of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. 🤓

There is about a month and a half between these two photos. In the first, I was feeling on top of the world. I felt like...
10/01/2025

There is about a month and a half between these two photos.

In the first, I was feeling on top of the world. I felt like I was in better health than I had been in ever in my life, and could take on anything.

In the second, I was three weeks into an autoimmune flare with scary, serious new symptoms that I had never experienced before. I was trying to smile through it, but I was in constant pain, had a low grade fever, covered in a rash, and a few days after this my jaw would lock up, keeping me from eating any solid food or even truly smiling for about three days.

It’s a reminder of the fact that things can change in the blink of an eye.

But it’s also a reminder of resilience.

Resilience to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. To be able to keep looking ahead and moving towards the light, even when the darkness is all around you.

This doesn’t mean that we ignore our fear or our grief. Quite the contrary. True resilience requires you to feel it, to sit with it until you’ve learned what you need to learn. Then, and only then, you can start moving forward.

I’ve been to urgent care, my chiropractor twice, and my doctor once so far. I’m having a lot of tests ran to see if we can figure out what the heck is going on with me.

But I already understand autoimmunity. I understand that no matter what the specific disease is, that I need to calm the root of the issue - which is my immune system. I need to calm inflammation and focus on gut health.

I’ve done this once, and I will do it again - because I refuse to live a life that’s less than what I’m capable of.

💖
09/25/2025

💖

08/18/2025

Impeccability is love in action.
Your words moving in the direction of truth, beginning with you.
🌻

08/12/2025

As we head into summer, it’s the perfect time to take stock and see which elements of the Primal Blueprint you're doing well most of the time and which you might be neglecting.

Is your plate mostly filled with real food? That’s great, but also, how much are you moving every day at an aerobic pace? Are you getting enough sleep and a good amount of sun exposure? Taking time to play? Lifting heavy things and throwing in the occasional sprint session? Using your brain?

Nobody does all these things perfectly all the time, not even me. But true health, energy, and vitality come from more than eating a healthy diet sometimes and exercising when you get around to it. So I have to ask: what’s lacking for you? Where are you called to do more and invest in yourself?

For the next couple months, I’m going to be using the MDA newsletters to revisit the pillars of the Primal Blueprint—food, movement, and lifestyle—and hopefully inspire you to get back to Primal basics, where humans feel their best. Their Primal Roots.

This isn't a challenge or a "cleanse." It's an invitation to reflect and realign. No special registration necessary, but if you aren’t already getting the MDA newsletter, join the mailing list now at https://www.primalkitchen.com/pages/marks-daily-apple?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=app.dashsocial.com%2Fmarks-daily-apple%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F544101418 or link in bio.

08/12/2025

After walking a lot, probably the most fundamental and non-negotiable aspect of Primal fitness is lifting heavy things. It's key for muscular strength, bone density, and balance, which are the foundation of staying mobile and capable as we age. Here's how I do it:

Get in and get out. I'm not a fan of protracted gym sessions. I like to keep my dedicated strength sessions brief but intense, prioritizing full-body compound movements like deadlifts and weighted squats.

Use whatever equipment you have on hand, including your own body weight. As long as you're challenging yourself, it doesn't matter whether you use free weights, kettle bells, resistance bands, sand bags, or rocks and logs. The Primal Essential Movements (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks) don't require any special equipment except something to hang from, and they can be modified for almost any fitness level.

Eat enough protein. That doesn't mean you have to eat hundreds of grams per day, but enough to provide the building blocks you need. I’d also include some collagen. Lifting heavy things trains your connective tissue as well as the muscles, and all those tendons and ligaments need collagen to get stronger and repair themselves. At this point I consider collagen to be the 4th macronutrient.
Lock in good form before adding weight. Piling weight on top of bad form is a sure way to get injured.

How do you incorporate "lift heavy things" into your life?

It’s Sunday! Are you ready to start a new week? What are your intentions for the week? ✨
08/04/2025

It’s Sunday! Are you ready to start a new week?

What are your intentions for the week? ✨

“Do it scared.” It can be easy to slip into our comfort zones, repeating the same routines and staying safe. But sometim...
07/29/2025

“Do it scared.”

It can be easy to slip into our comfort zones, repeating the same routines and staying safe. But sometimes we have to make an effort to push outside of that into discomfort if we want to continue to grow.

That’s why I wanted to do the Via Ferrata in West Virginia, so when a trip came up in the Girls Who Hike Ohio group I jumped on it. So this weekend we all packed up and headed over to Seneca Rocks to camp, hike, and do the NRocks via Ferrata.

It was the most terrifying thing I have ever done voluntarily 🤣 and honestly the thought of quitting crossed my mind a few times. But with encouragement from others (I’m so thankful for this group!) and some deep down grit, I kept going and completed it!!

And man, was it worth it. ❤️

I did another Nourish presentation at a Treplus community today! It’s always so much fun to talk and teach about how to ...
07/16/2025

I did another Nourish presentation at a Treplus community today! It’s always so much fun to talk and teach about how to give our bodies what they need!!

🥩🍅🌶️🍊🥕🍋🧈🧅🫑🥦🥬🫛🫐🍆🍇

It’s a good day! Got our Bartram Trail maps and guide and I passed my Primal Health Coach recertification exam! 🥳
07/15/2025

It’s a good day! Got our Bartram Trail maps and guide and I passed my Primal Health Coach recertification exam! 🥳

I have really enjoyed talking with the Treplus communities about nutrition!
07/12/2025

I have really enjoyed talking with the Treplus communities about nutrition!

Address

Lancaster, OH
43130

Telephone

+17404229696

Website

http://www.facebook.com/groups/becomingfunctionallywhole/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Functionally Whole posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Functionally Whole:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category