Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Nicole.
Hi Jamie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Jamie Nicole, the Founder, and CEO of The Natural Healing Coach. Over the years, I have established myself as an expert in the health & wellness industry as a certified holistic health & certified autoimmune strategist, fitness instructor, health & wellness motivational speaker, and health equity advocate.
In 2013, I fell in love with dance fitness and the energy I felt when working out in a group atmosphere. What I was not aware of at the time was that movement was my medicine, as these classes helped to manage the symptoms of my autoimmune diseases that I had not yet been diagnosed with, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in 2015 and Narcolepsy in 2019.
In 2016, I obtained my first fitness certification and seven additional ones since. These certifications have allowed me to provide services for anyone on the fitness spectrum, from those who like high-intensity interval training to those with mobility issues who need low-impact movement.
My passion for fitness at all levels stems from my journey in dealing with health issues. I know that year-to-year, month-to-month, week-to-week, and especially for those with autoimmune disease, day-to-day, your body may not operate to the same capacity as it did the day before. I want everyone to experience the benefits of fitness as their body allows because movement of any kind, low-intensity or high-intensity, is medicine.
In a time where self-love, body awareness, and inner healing reign supreme, my success in managing my autoimmune diseases has provided hard-won and extremely valuable firsthand knowledge on integrative wellness solutions. My experience and methodology have proven to reduce pain, improve energy, increase productivity, and manage stress.
More recently, my holistic approach has led me to coach others with autoimmune disease on the verge of losing faith in healthcare and wellness solutions. My clients have gained confidence, achieved better relationships with food, and discovered the keys that unlock their freedom from being shackled to their disease because I’m able to help them identify what might be triggering their symptoms, empower them to value their choices, teach them how to take control of their bodies and gain freedom and balance through healthy eating and active living.
If you are not familiar with autoimmune disease, autoimmune diseases are a family of more than 100 chronic, often incapacitating and, in many cases, life-threatening illnesses including Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, just to name a few.
Autoimmune disease occurs when your immune system starts attacking healthy tissue in your body instead of foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria. The area attacked determines which disease you’re diagnosed with. For example, Multiple Sclerosis is when the body attacks the nervous system, and Hashimoto’s is when the thyroid is attacked.
According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 23.5 million Americans (more than seven percent of the population) suffer from an autoimmune disease—and the prevalence is rising. Autoimmune disease often takes years to be correctly diagnosed, and even after diagnosis, without the proper nutrition and lifestyle support, sufferers often fail to find wellness solutions that help mitigate their flares without adequate support.
Everyone with autoimmune disease has different factors that trigger it, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the root cause for each person. Not knowing the root cause or causes makes it much harder to live with the disease.
Because I understand from personal experience the challenges faced with autoimmune disease, I’m able to guide others like me and create a customized holistic plan that unlocks their freedom from being shackled to their disease despite the associated challenges of fatigue, joint pain, concentration blocks, inflammation, hair loss, anxiety, and depression.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My passion for Natural HEALing was born out of finally finding the keys to improving my health and wellness after years of pain, disappointment, and struggle. After discovering that I had food sensitivities, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, leaky gut, and fatty liver disease, working to find answers to reverse them, and doing so successfully, I had a newfound peace and joy that I didn’t have before. I was able to find the root cause of those illnesses, research ways to manage them, implement a plan of action and have success.
Prior to the above diagnosis, I struggled with dieting, and my weight fluctuated. I was at my highest weight when pregnant with my first child. I gained a whopping 80 pounds. As life slowed down, I began to focus on my health again. However, I wasn’t successful on diet, exercise, and supplements like I was taught to believe. At that time, I dabbled with supplements (legal ones!), fad diets, and pills for weight loss, muscle tone, and sports performance. I went through many phases of eating highly-processed, ultra-convenient, and nutrient-free “foods” under false pretenses that these were healthy for me.
I was eating the right things (so I thought). I was working out daily (as we had been told to do). My calories in were less than my calories out, yet the movement on the scale was not commensurate with the effort that I was putting in. Although I was able to lose some of the weight, it was difficult balancing work, school, family, and a healthy lifestyle. Lack of sleep, stress, and fatigue derailed my weight loss goals and worsened my health. I wanted to GIVE UP.
I was tired, frustrated, and confused. I couldn’t help but feel totally and utterly discouraged. How was I working so hard with such negligible results? My confusion was because at the time, I didn’t have the knowledge to recognize what my body really needed. My weight gain, inability to lose weight, and chronic fatigue were symptoms. I needed to find the root cause of my weight gain and associated fatigue.
As I transitioned from the long days and sleepless nights of college-life to the grind of corporate life as a single mom with two kids, my health continued to spiral out of control. Despite the symptoms I was experiencing, I continued to put my health on the backburner. I began relentlessly focusing on climbing the corporate ladder because my type-A personality would not allow me to do anything less.
At the time, I had managed to get a promotion to upper management. I prided myself on my capacity to get the job done at work with excellence. However, over time, my ability to perform at a high level decreased at an increasing rate. My symptoms started to take over my life. I had a hard time with memory recall. I would space out. It took three times as long to do things I used to do easily. I had become accustomed to downing coffee to help me through projects and deadlines. However, the caffeine began to lose its effectiveness.
At night, I would have difficulty getting to sleep, and my brain wouldn’t cut off. When I finally fell off to sleep, I was awakened by debilitating acid reflux that would choke me out of my sleep. As a result, I was always exhausted when I woke. After multiple alarms and sometimes a few tears, I managed to gather myself enough to fake it through my day yet again like everything was ok.
As would be expected, my personal life started to be affected. I didn’t have the time or the energy to go out and do things that were fun. I was working later because I took longer to complete tasks during the day due to brain fog and excessive daytime sleepiness. On weekends, I would still be in catch-up mode… and exhausted. I would get cranky. I would snap at my family, my friends, or anyone that caught me at the wrong time on a wrong day.
This was one of the most frustrating periods of my life. I had hit a dead end with my attempts at getting better. I felt as though my symptoms were holding me back from achieving my dreams and aspirations. I would often mourn the person I thought I could have been if I did not have these debilitating symptoms holding me back. Luckily, I didn’t give up on myself. This was when I decided to shift my mindset by focusing on the root cause of my health issues instead of focusing on a symptom, weight gain.
I researched my health issues religiously on the internet and by reading books. I went to my family doctor and other specialists to address my health concerns and obtained diagnostic tests. In 2015, I received an initial diagnosis of an autoimmune thyroid diseases called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
After finally getting the correct diagnosis, tons of research on autoimmune disease, and lots of journaling, I was able to find the root cause of my health issues. As a result, I could start preparing a roadmap for my journey to better health and reversing my symptoms.
I regained control of my body by learning what it needed to thrive. Unfortunately, I had to do this alone because the doctors only prescribed medication and provided no information on the diet and lifestyle changes I needed to address my health issues and live an optimal life.
Overcoming my health complications associated with food sensitivities and autoimmune diseases provided me with hard-won and extremely valuable firsthand knowledge of integrative wellness solutions. In a way, I was my own first client.
Healthy eating and active living – along with changes in my lifestyle – including eating organic, detoxing, and proper nutrition, changed my health and my outlook on life, so much so that I started to share this information with everyone I knew. Sharing this information was easy because my friends and my family saw firsthand how my lifestyle changes improved me physically and mentally, so they wanted whatever information I had that could help them on their journey as well.
Once I moved from surviving to thriving with autoimmune disease, I became passionate about sharing what I learned with others outside of my friend and family circle. In 2016, this passion led me to become a certified health coach and subsequently become certified as an autoimmune coach to help others with autoimmune disease who are on the verge of losing faith in healthcare and cookie-cutter wellness solutions. I know firsthand the difficulties of living with, getting diagnosed with, and then finding the root cause of autoimmune disease. But I also know the freedom felt and the burden that is lifted when you can find solutions that lead you to better health.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Natural HEALing Coach. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
All coaches have different methodologies. However, what sets me apart and what I am most excited to offer is my signature Autoimmune Health Restoration System. The Autoimmune Health Restoration System is a comprehensive approach to managing autoimmune conditions that involves a combination of diet, lifestyle modifications, and natural remedies. It is designed to help individuals identify and address the root causes of their autoimmune symptoms and to support the body’s natural healing processes.
The system involves the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) elimination diet, which removes foods that can trigger inflammation and autoimmune symptoms. It also includes other dietary modifications, such as reducing processed sugar and processed foods, increasing nutrient-dense foods, and incorporating natural supplements and herbs that support immune function and reduce inflammation. In addition to dietary changes, the system includes lifestyle modifications, such as stress management techniques, gentle exercise, and sleep hygiene practices.
What makes my program different is that I take my clients through 3 different stages of progression:
1. Recognize, Evaluate, Survey: A signature assessment designed to recognize wellness inefficiencies that interrupts daily functionality, evaluates client wellness behaviors, and surveys the effectiveness of previous wellness efforts.
2. Train, Optimize, Regulate, & Amend: The client and I then implement a four-step holistic approach that trains the client to recognize optimal health versus deficiencies, optimizes behaviors that demonstrate positive reform, and leverages my experience in the health and wellness industry to regulate and amend lifestyle management techniques that impede optimal health.
3. Transform, Inspire, Operate, & Nurture: Finally, I support my clients in transforming their old habits to a newly cultivated formula, which in turn inspires my clients to operate with healthy intentions, not lose hope despite chronic health conditions, move forward, and nurture a lifestyle that produces lasting results by way of healthy eating and active living.
I have found that the phrase “being healthy” means something different to everyone.
For me, being healthy means that my body, mind, and spirit are all connected and functioning to the best of their ability. I strive for excellence and balance in all areas of my life, including my mental health, career, relationships, nutrition, emotions, and spirituality. My purpose is to help others omit the overwhelm and frustration preventing them from surviving to thriving by finding what healthy means to them and is to them.
I’m not a Health Coach because I have discovered the “perfect” diet or fitness routine. There is no perfect!! We often set ourselves up for failure by expecting unrealistic results. I’m very much a work in progress, and part of my journey has been learning to accept and embrace this process.
It brings me joy to share with others what I’ve learned on my journey and to be a cheerleader for those looking to better and lengthen their lives, improve their physique, and decrease their risk of illness through their lifestyle and food choices. If done in a sustainable and practical way, these choices will lead to long-lasting, healthy habits for life.
Any big plans?
In addition to my autoimmune program, over the next few months, I will be offering one-time sessions for various health issues I’ve found people have concerns about the most, including weight loss, hormones, thyroid, chronic fatigue, gut health sleep, stress, etc. Oftentimes, clients have singular concerns, but with the plethora of confusing information out there, they don’t know where to start, so they never begin. With these sessions, clients are given specific information, guidance, and resources to help propel them on their journey to better health. With the one-time session, they have an opportunity not only to get accurate information but to get direct guidance from me and get their questions answered.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.naturalhealing.coach
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/healcoach
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/healcoach
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/healcoach
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/healcoach
