Welcome to another case study blog post, where I’m going to share the exact protocol & plan someone went through with me and the results they got - in their own words!

You can check out some past ones here:

• A Case Study on Curing Chronic Migraines, Naturally
• A Case Study On Curing IBS, Naturally

Today I’m actually sharing how I helped a friend of mine, Samantha. I should tell you (and this is completely unrelated to today's post) that Sam has actually just launched a podcast, called Your Best Version. It’s a really refreshing take on self love, self care and how to be the best version of yourself. I highly recommend it - click here to listen.

Anyway, back to the important topics at hand - inflammation & excess weight. :) Here’s why Sam came to me and what was going on, in her own words.

Why She Came To Me:

• I initially came to Mandy because I was having trouble losing weight. 
• I felt bloated all the time and when I looked in the mirror I felt as though I was puffy all over. 
• It didn't make sense because I eat extremely healthy and work out regularly. 
• I was frustrated and confused and was desperate for someone to point me in the right direction and show me what the missing link was.

How It Was Impacting Her Health:

• To put it simply, I didn't feel at home in my body. 
• My clothes weren't fitting the way they used to and I always felt uncomfortable, as if I'd eaten too much food. 
• But I felt this way all the time, even after a full night of sleeping! 
• I didn't feel confident in myself and felt frustrated that I couldn't figure out what was going on with my body.

What She Had Already Tried:

I had tried:

• adding more vegetables to my diet
• drinking more water, 
• working out more, 
• working out less
• taking fiber supplements. 

I felt like I'd exhausted all my options by the time I reached out to Mandy for help.  I felt like she was the only option I had left and I was hopeful, because of the work she does with other clients and how'd she'd treated herself, that she could help me. (I was right!).

What We Did:

The very first thing we did was test her food sensitivities, using an IgG Food Sensitivity Test. When someone feels puffy and has bloating, those quickly make me think of food sensitivities. Why? Because food sensitivities are creating an immune response in your body, leading to inflammation. Bloating, of course, is a more obvious sign that you aren't digesting something properly.

Here's the thing with testing IgG food sensitivities:

1. Not all testing companies are created equal. If you have had this test done in the past and were told there were like 40 foods you couldn't eat, either you have a really leaky gut and need to deal with your overall gut health, or it was not a reputable test.
2. IgG food sensitivities are very hard to diagnose through process of elimination because symptoms can show up as many as 4 days after ingesting the food. Plus, symptoms can be quite basic and 'common', like bloating, gas, headaches, migraines, fatigue, feeling moody or depressed or difficulty losing weight - as examples.

Here were her food sensitivity results:

As you can see, her main issues were cow’s dairy, eggs, walnuts and wheat/gluten. Walnuts aside, these are some of the most common sensitivities for people. But, getting results like these can also be super overwhelming because cheese, bread and eggs are staples in a lot of people’s diets. Luckily for Sam, she fully embraced it!

It is always super important to me that if someone needs to make modifications to their eating, that I give them the recipes they need. Sam had access to meal plans and recipes that met her new dietary requirements, with a focus on quick & easy 30 minute meals and crockpot recipes to save her time.

Sam cut out these foods for 3 months, and then tried a reintroduction. Her symptoms on reintroduction were bad enough (digestive and just generally feeling awful after the food) that it was motivation for her to keep going with her new way of eating. When you feel better removing a certain food, all of a sudden it becomes a lot easier to stick with.

Note: Many people are ok to reintroduce these foods after some gut healing work and taking a 3 month break, but everyone is different.

The Results - In Her Words:

“After speaking to me and listening to my concerns, and discovering what I had tried to deal with this issue in the past, Mandy immediately suggested food sensitivity testing. It wasn't anything I'd ever considered before and what a surprise it was to see what I was allergic to! After cutting out the offending foods, I lost 6lbs in less than 2 months! And half of that time was spent on vacation in Mexico…

(Comment from Mandy: This is amazing given she was on vacation drinking margaritas and eating tacos most days!! Not that I recommend margaritas and tacos for weight loss hehe, but you get the gist.)

…so I can attest to the fact that Mandy's approach is about getting to the root cause of the issue rather than putting you on a restrictive diet or creating a protocol that is one-size-fits-all. Mandy's ability to individualize her approach and make recommendations based on her client's unique needs and lifestyle is a game-changer. I am so grateful to Mandy for her help in making me feel like me again!”