In 2019, I experienced a moment that planted the seed that would eventually inspire me to become a health coach while still healing from my own chronic illness.

It was during a time in my healing journey when everything started to click.

I’d been following the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) for about six months, and it was working—I felt better. I looked better. My energy was up. My hair was finally growing back. I was starting to get the hang of the protocol and had a few go-to recipes I truly enjoyed.

I had just completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training (yoga has always been such a powerful support in my healing)—a huge accomplishment I had been working toward for over a year and a pivotal part of my healing journey.

And I had taken the huge and vulnerable leap to get on thyroid medication after dealing with doctors who didn’t listen, didn’t believe me, or didn’t want to dig deeper.

But it was worth it. I was on an upward climb.

The Seed Was Planted

I remember planning a dinner party for my family—an entire AIP-friendly feast that I hoped would show them everything I had been working on over the past 6 months. I made butternut squash soup, meatballs, roasted root vegetables, a harvest kale salad, and ginger chew cookies. It was delicious, comforting, healing food I was proud of.

My mother-in-law at the time was stunned. “This is so good,” she said. “You should do this Erin. You should help people do this.”

At first, I didn’t understand what she meant. I am doing this, I thought.

But she meant something bigger.

She meant that I should help other people—especially women like me with an autoimmune disease, learn to feel better. That I had something special to offer: lived experience, real knowledge, and a passion for healing that came straight from the inside out.

I was proud in that moment. Something in me heard her, and it planted a seed.

But I also thought she was nuts. I was still healing. Still learning. I had definitely not figured it all out. How could I help others when I was still in the messy middle of it?

That conversation happened six years ago. And it’s taken me until just a few months ago to believe that maybe—because I’m still on this path—I am ready.

I Took the Leap

In January of this year, I made the commitment to become a certified health coach—while still healing from my divorce and the autoimmune flare it put me in.

It took me two weeks of coming back to the site I had bookmarked for years to get the courage. But eventually, I ripped off the band-aid. I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and I said yes to something I’ve dreamed about for a long time.

It felt huge. Real. Like a turning point in my life I would look back on and feel so proud of.

The truth is, deep down, I’ve always known I’d be good at this.

My background is in nursing—I studied health science in college, worked in occupational medical triage for years, and was surrounded by nurses and doctors during my early career. I love the human body. I’m fascinated by how it works, how it breaks, and how it heals.

The Turning Point

Then in 2016, during my junior year of college, everything changed.

Right after my 20th birthday, my body started to unravel. I gained 80 pounds in four months. I was exhausted all the time, dealing with constant stomach issues, chronic pain, and a body that suddenly felt unfamiliar.

Stretch marks appeared on my stomach overnight. I remember looking in the mirror and not recognizing the person staring back at me. And I was terrified.

It took months of tests, unanswered questions, and seeing three different doctors before I finally got an answer.

I had develloped Hashimoto’s thyroiditis—an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid and causes hypothyroidism.

The doctors told me it was incurable. That I’d be like this forever.

But I refused to believe that was the whole story.

When I Started Healing

I am so grateful for my mom—who raised me with a deep respect for functional medicine and holistic healing—because I knew there had to be a way to support my body from the inside out.

Together, we began researching, and with her encouragement, I started cutting out foods, experimenting, and digging into the root cause of my symptoms.

At first, it was gluten. Then dairy. I swapped my usual college-student-level meals for whole foods and raw vegetables. And I noticed small changes. I started to feel… different. Not perfect, but a little more like myself.

I tried Paleo next. Then I gave up alcohol. And I really began learning what worked for me.

Eventually, I found the AIP Protocol. It felt so intimidating at first. I had no idea where to start, but I was desperate—and determined.

I bought cookbooks, watched YouTube videos, read blog posts. Then, taking another leap of faith, I started the 30-day elimination phase and hoped for the best.

And slowly, I got better. Not all at once, and not without setbacks—but I started to trust myself again.

That long stretch of trial and error is a huge part of why becoming a health coach while still healing myself makes so much sense for me now.

Here are just a few of the AIP meals I made when I first started that supported me through my healing—simple, beautiful, and nourishing.

AIP Chicken Taco Salad

AIP Salmon Dinner with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Collards

AIP Dinner Plate: Roasted Sweet Potato Fries, Zucchini & Summer Squash, and Grilled Chicken

AIP No-Mato Sauce with Turkey Meatballs

AIP Carob Cake with Coconut Date Caramel Frosting

AIP Summer Strawberry Chicken Salad

(Taking that first step was scary—especially when healing felt so uncertain. I wrote more about that fear in this post.)

Healing Isn’t Linear (And That’s Okay)

At around the 8-month mark of doing the AIP protocol, I developed symptoms of SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).

The diarrhea came back. Anything sweet triggered me. It was frustrating and scary—I felt so lost and discouraged, but I knew I had to keep going.

I followed a strict 60-day protocol to kill the SIBO, healed my gut again, and was finally able to eat fruit and honey again without rushing to the bathroom afterward.

Shortly after, I began my journey with thyroid medication. It took seeing two different doctors, many blood tests, and time to find the right dose, but once I did, I felt better than I had in years—maybe even better than before I got sick.

It wasn’t one thing that helped me—it was a thousand little things, layered over time, with trial and error, persistence, the support from my mom, and a deep belief that healing was possible.

That belief—plus my lived experience, my background in both Western and functional medicine, and years spent learning to listen to my body—is what I want to share with other women now.

My story isn’t one of perfect resolution, it’s about resilience. And I know firsthand how having someone right there with you to help navigate it all can make all the difference.

And that’s exactly why I’m becoming a health coach. I’m still healing but that’s what makes it feel like the most honest and powerful next step for me.

(It’s often a journey made of small, often quiet moments of progress—like these ones I’ve reflected on before.)

I’m Still Healing. And I’m Ready.

There’s a voice that still whispers in my head sometime: But you’re not finished healing yet. Can you really help others if you’re still in it yourself?

And for years, that voice stopped me.

I thought I had to wait until I was completely healed, totally perfect, and 100% confident before I could help someone else.

But I’ve come to understand something powerful: healing is ongoing. It’s layered. It’s personal.

And being in it—being someone who still gets flare-ups, still experiments, still learns—makes me more, not less qualified.

The truth is, I know what it’s like to feel lost.

Feel like your body has betrayed you.

To not recognize yourself anymore.

To feel like no one is listening.

I know what it’s like to cry in dressing rooms, avoid mirrors, and feel anxious before every meal. I know what it’s like to wake up scared that nothing will ever change.

And I also know what it’s like to slowly, steadily feel better.

That’s why I’m becoming a health coach.

To walk beside women who feel like I once did—and like I still sometimes do.

To help you navigate the maze of autoimmune healing with knowledge, support, and compassion.

I’m not here with all the answers—just the lived experience and heart to help.

This is my calling. And my time is now.

If You’re Still Reading…

If this resonated with you—if you’ve been quietly struggling, Googling symptoms at 1 a.m., trying to figure it all out on your own—I want you to know this: you’re not alone.

Becoming a health coach while still healing from my own chronic illness means I bring not just knowledge, but a deep understanding to the work I do. I’m building something for women like us.

I’ll be sharing resources, support, and coaching opportunities soon. So if you’d like to stay in the loop, I’d love to invite you to:

• Join my email list
• Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok
• Or even reach out and say hi! I’d love to connect 🙂

You deserve to feel well again. And I’m here to walk beside you.

If you’re in the middle of a personal turning point—like I was not long ago—you might also find comfort in this post about me starting fresh after my divorce.