Restoring Mindy’s Vitality and Reversing Hormonal Weight Gain

Mindy’s Results

• Lost 50 pounds
• Improved energy
• Balanced thyroid and hormones
• Reduced ‘brain fog’

When Mindy rapidly began to put on weight early in 2022, she knew something was wrong because she had continued to maintain regular healthy eating habits and workouts.

“I was a fitness instructor for about ten years, and I had always been super thin, ate healthy, and worked out sometimes twice a day,” said Mindy, 38. “I was always really active, but I gained about 45 pounds in the course of a couple of months, and I had no idea what was going on.”

Another provider offered advice to exercise more and restrict caloric intake, and initial lab results turned up nothing unusual.

“But I knew in my heart it wasn’t diet or exercise,” Mindy said. “It was about six months before I finally said, ‘this is not working.’ There’s no reason it should have been that hard.”

One of Mindy’s friends who had visited the Wisconsin Institute of Functional Medicine with successful results recommended that Mindy make an appointment with Dr. Page.

Mindy’s Journey

During Mindy’s visit to WIFM in November 2022, more extensive lab testing revealed that Mindy had hypothyroidism. The very next day, Mindy started taking thyroid medication, and by the end of that week, she had lost 12 pounds.

While those results aren’t typical, it was a clear indicator that Mindy’s weight gain was the result of internal imbalances.

“Within the first month I lost 30 pounds—all water and inflammation from hypothyroidism,” she said. “During the next couple months, I lost the rest of the weight, and now I’m between 117 and 120 pounds, which is pretty normal for me.”

Mindy’s health issues may have been exacerbated by stress from running a business while going through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as sustaining a back injury in a crash.

“There was kind of a chain reaction within my body,” said Mindy, who learned with further personalized testing that her body wasn’t properly producing cortisol, leading to imbalances with thyroid hormones, progesterone and insulin. “I was probably just a little bit more susceptible to it because of some autoimmune issues—something that can happen to anyone.”

In addition to thyroid medication, Mindy began taking supplements, minerals, and bioidentical hormones to help restore the imbalances within her body.

“My energy levels are through the roof, and I feel normal,” Mindy said. “I sleep and wake up and I can actually function—I have less brain fog, I can get through a workout, and I actually want to work out, I don’t feel too sick and tired.”

Mindy’s Advice for Others

“The odds of our bodies being fully optimized without deficiencies is pretty slim—everyone could do something a little bit different and a little bit better,” Mindy said. “It’s just a different way of life.”

“As someone who had been in the fitness industry—and a female—I’ve had a lot of disordered eating and body image issues,” she said. “The Wisconsin Institute of Functional Medicine gives you a different relationship with wellness. I think anyone contemplating it should look at it as a different approach to being healthy.”

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