Ashlee Symcox Functional Nutrition
I create an educational experience to equip you to know how to heal your life so that you can be all
08/11/2023
I would love to work with you! Finish 2023 strong! I know the holidays are a time when our health takes a backseat in our priorities but, I just so happen to believe that there are some of you that want to go into the holiday season with a better approach to your health and nutrition this year. Some of us want more energy, less regret, and more accountability and freedom these next few weeks! If that’s you, click the link in my bio to book a free Discovery Call and take advantage of this sale! I hope to see YOU soon!
26/01/2023
If you have followed me over the past few years you've seen me document my health journey and share all the health and wellness things in an attempt to help you heal. And while, yes, some of what I used to share could be helpful but I began to realize how it really wasn't helpful in the way I believe I am meant to help people with chronic illness (at least from a social media aspect).
I began to see patterns in my practice that looked like this: get sick > no answers from doctor > get on social media > scroll health accounts for hours being exposed to every illness, symptom, and disease believing it may possibly be the issue > buy all bio hack devices, detox protocols, and supplements seen on social media > make no progress and end up information overladed and conflicted because what is shown on social media isn't going to have the right answer for everyone specifically.
My client appointments were filled with conversations like "So and so said to take this" or "This Vitamin is bad but this one isn't" OR "I need that expensive thing but I cannot afford it so, I will never heal" and none of this helps anyone!
It became clear to me that I didn't want to contribute to the chronic health cycle here on social media that I once loved sharing about. Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for learning on here and there are great accounts run by amazing and knowledgeable people but at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if it's helping or hindering you. There was a time it helped me, for real, but that time has passed and if it's passed for you, welcome to a new chapter in your healing journey!
**CONT IN COMMENTS
20/01/2023
In the midst of the resistance you may be feeling today, I encourage you to give yourself grace as you navigate your illness. I know it's easy to feel discouraged and even angry when we cannot do what we want to do because our illness is holding us back.
"Grace happens to give us some space, acceptance, and room to take a hard swallow or step back." - Dianne Bondy
02/01/2023
Getting sick is hard. It's gut-wrenching at times and often it involves feelings of despair and survival. It is NO walk in the park. Can I get an Amen? However, make sure that you aren't unknowingly telling yourself that you will only begin to enjoy your life once all of your symptoms are gone or that you are completely healed from your illness. This is an example of a story we tell ourselves because our primitive/survival brain kicks into overdrive when we are sick.
But I am here to tell you that you CAN enjoy your life or parts of your life right now no matter where you are in your illness journey. Sure, some seasons of your illness journey will be easier to do this than others but you absolutely can elevate your emotions and your state while on the journey. You can think better thoughts and believe different beliefs that serve you. You can live in a body that doesn't feel good at the same time as finding things to enjoy or having experiences that are not rooted in survival. It can be something as simple as finding the joy in snuggling up in your favorite blanket or watching the sunset or it can be realizing you are so loved when you're in the company of those you care about the most.
Being sick is hard friends. I was miserable for so long. I bought into the lie that if only I could heal and feel like I did before I got sick that I would be happy. If I could hike, go to Orange Theory, travel, etc (all of which I was not able to do when very ill) I would be happy. I was delaying enjoying my life and I don't want this for you any longer!
This may be a stretch but is it possible you can enjoy your life before you get better? I promise it's possible! If you read this and feel even the slightest bit of resistance just know that that is your mind's way of attempting to keep you safe. New information can feel like a threat. Take notice and then work towards elevating your experience!
16/12/2022
If you feel challenged with cutting out gluten, you're not alone my friend! It's not the easiest thing for A LOT of people! There is actually a change to your brain chemistry that takes place when you remove gluten.. and it's pretty powerful!
Removing gluten can be VERY beneficial for those of you dealing with autoimmunity and other inflammatory conditions! It's one of the single most game-changing things you can do to heal from your illness but it gets some people tripped up and discouraged! I've been there! I turned into a monster getting off gluten but it passed and I felt better than ever off of it!
Be prepared! Go into it with intention and a full understanding of what it is that you are taking on! Remember the benefits outweigh the risk and keep your mind right about it! You can do it just like you CAN do other hard things in your healing journey! I am cheering you on!!
08/11/2022
But you can and it will take you far on your healing journey! You just have to understand how YOU build healthy habits and stop entertaining habits that keep you stuck and remember that this completely comes down to you and that nobody is going to do it for you!
It's so exciting at the beginning of working with a new practitioner, doctor, etc. OR when you start a new program, nutrition plan, etc. Then time starts to tick and the excitement wears off and you wonder what happened. You may ask yourself why you're stuck or think that your practitioner isn't helping your or that program doesn't work... whatever it is!!
Unlike a hair stylist, car mechanic, or accountant, a health practitioner does not directly fix your problem. They don't color your hair, fix your flat tire, or do your bookkeeping. They give you recommendations based on their very best expertise and motivate you to the best of their ability but ultimately it will be you that directly changes your life!!
I can't tell you how much I wish I could go home with every client and clean out their pantry, wake them up in time to spend time journaling or sweating, and take them grocery shopping to choose the best foods for them, but I cannot!
I give them ALL I have and send them on their way to implementing a good plan! Some of them absolutely kill it. They have conviction and grit and are determined to heal and these folks actually do but, I have some that come back time and time again and are stuck!
What's the difference? Those that heal know that it comes down to them, they know their practitioner is their guide but they take the tools and make it happen! They are in radical self-responsibility and know that "if it is to be, it's up to me".
They know that nobody can do it for them and they cultivate the right mindset that produces the right behaviors that build healing habits!!
Want to get started? Download my FREE Get Unstuck Guide here:
Get Unstuck Guide: – Ashlee Symcox Free pdf Download Ashlee’s Get Unstuck Guide: 5 Steps to Transform Your Mindset While Healing From Chronic Illness You don’t have to stay overwhelmed and defeated while navigating chronic illness! There is an easier way to get through this and overcome the challenges you’re facing! My Get Unst...
20/10/2022
Author of The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton says “Our beliefs control our bodies, our minds, and thus our lives...”
If you truly believe you won't get better, you probably won't and it's going to be a long ride on the chronic illness train.
I have clients that truly believe they will never get better and in all honesty, it's VERY hard to help them as their practitioner!
Sometimes it's like we pursue our healing journey by throwing things at the wall to see if they will stick instead of moving forward with the belief that what we do will actually help us heal from our illness.
You need to believe the TRUTH to back you in this journey and the truth is that people are healing all over the world.
You're in that club!
Your thoughts make up your beliefs and if you truly believe and know that not only is it entirely possible for you to heal, people heal from what you're going through all of the time.
Don't stay stuck in "I will always be sick" or navigate chronic illness believing deep down that you won't get better because more than likely, you CAN get better!
It will be a risk and you will have to have a little faith (and I know that might be really hard for you right now, I get it) but believe that you can heal. It's the first step. It's a pre-requisite to all of the healing things - nutrition, detox, biohacks, etc.
In the beginning of my chronic illness, I truly believed I wouldn't heal. Life as I knew it was gone and I settled into my new reality because of what I believed to be true only this wasn't the truth! Are you believing the truth or lies that so easily tangle us up?
In case it's a bad day and this seems too far out there to you, know that I am believing for you that you WILL heal from this!
19/10/2022
Guys! I gotta tell you!
There is a much better way to walk this thing out! I WISH I knew this 4 years ago when I got sick. I had no idea that while I was navigating chronic illness, I was developing some severe mindset issues and negative belief systems about my illness that were keeping me stuck and making my illness worse for a while! I had bad daily habits and made poor choices because I didn't really have a compass to show me the way. I hadn't figured out yet that there is a BETTER WAY!
I was consumed with all things "Ashlee's Illness" and completely handed over my power and my identity. I forgot who I was and became my illness and all things illness. I didn't have good boundaries and opened myself up to all kinds of information, horror stories, and watching people that were sick NEVER GET BETTER which all reinforced that I would never get better too. Yikes!
Don't get me wrong, I encourage you to inform yourself and do research. Learn about your illness but don't let it consume you and develop the right boundaries to do it in a healthy way whatever that is for you.
For me, I learned not to google symptoms when they first appeared. I waited until I was a bit more at peace before looking into it. It's okay to take some pauses! I know this can be hard at first because new symptoms have a way of sending you into fight or flight and the need to figure it out and fix it fast! I get it but, just practice holding off for just a bit, you will feel better about it!
I got really intentional about what I was thinking about and letting take up residence in my mind. THIS IS EVERYTHING! The outcome of your healing journey is largely dependent on how you think about your illness and your healing and nobody is talking about this!
This is why I am creating an online course to give you the tools to walk this out better than we are now! Stay tuned!
14/10/2022
When I got sick, I felt like a shell of myself. I (all of a sudden) became someone I didn't recognize. I actually had friends tell me that I needed to hang out and get to know their other sick friends. Ouch! Without even really realizing it, I handed my identity right over to my chronic illness. So long, Ashlee as I knew her...
.. until I realized what I had done! I had to take my identity back! I realized that if I was going to overcome this that I needed to remember WHO I WAS and ditch the identifiers I had given myself or that others had given me.. yes, my diagnosis was one of them.
I got unafraid to look at pictures and videos of myself before getting sick. They used to break my heart and I grieved when seeing them but I got to shift that thought process and realize that those old pictures and videos were fuel to my fire to keep going! I am still her!! So, I looked at them often because that girl was and IS me and SHE is an overcommer and more resilent than most!
Is this how you see yourself or do you see yourself through the lens of your chronic illness identifiers? A moldy? A spoony? Are you living with labels others have given you? Crazy? Sick? What is it? Take your identity back, friend.
Nobody knows you like you do, don't let the murky waters of chronic illness cloud the greatness of who you are. Don't let it make you forget about what you have overcome in the past because you're overcoming so much right now! Let your identity be rooted in that.
YOU ARE > YOUR ILLNESS
It cannot rob your identity any longer unless you let it!!
11/10/2022
Setting the appropriate boundaries is MANDATORY for healing from chronic illness. I cannot tell you how many clients I have that tell me stories about how they've lost control of their current circumstances. Their energy is depleted, they are stuck in fear, and are spiraling! I have been there yall! This chronic illness journey is not for the faint of heart!
Don't leave yourself open and available for any and everything that comes your way. Get a pen and a notebook and write down what you are willing to tolerate and what you simply will not.
How to know what needs to go: think about how you feel about certain aspects of your life. What brings you anxiety? When are you more tense? Conversely, what brings you life and inspires you to heal? Add more!
For the things that need some serious boundary setting, get passionate about kicking it out of your life (of course with love and grace) but so many people with chronic illness are stuck and sick because they cannot set boundaries. What relationships need to go? What daily habits don't serve you? How much social media time will you have a day that feels right for you? What are you ruminating on?
You get to determine what you CHOOSE to let your energy (and for a lot of you - you already have limited energy), time, finances, etc go to.
It's going to be hard to heal if you're boundary-less. You don't have predetermined Yes's and No's and when you don't it's easy to be tossed to and fro with the waves of chronic illness.
When I got clear about what I chose to let in and what I chose to kick out, my chronic illness journey became easier to navigate. I gained a sense of control that I had missed. It instilled hope in me because it sent a lot of negativity packing!
I didn't realize how much of what I was letting in and how my lack of boundaries was keeping me stuck!
07/10/2022
Let that bring you hope!
When I first got sick and even throughout my healing journey, there were times I was plagued with thoughts of "I will never heal". I would read stories of people that didn't get better from the same illness I had... bad idea!! This was SO DEFEATING and for a while, I made it up my mind that there was no way I would be able to heal from this.
Thankfully, I took on the mindset that I will heal (and became determined) because I did find stories of people who have healed and taken their life back from the very struggles I had. I had to choose to focus on those success stories more than focusing on the beliefs and ideas that I will be sick forever.
Here's the thing... You will need to work at this because subconsciously, your brain goes to worst-case scenario thoughts much easier and automatically than it does thoughts of hope. It's part of being in survival and you know that you don't want the worst-case scenario to unfold in your life so, you get to shift out of that and KEEP SHIFTING when you get stuck in hopelessness and "I won't heal from this".
If other people have healed from what you're currently navigating, get knee-deep in reading success stories and spend time filling your heart with hope. Because, friend, you can heal. It will be hard to heal when you truly believe you cannot!
A lot is out of your control in chronic illness! I get it, friend! I have been there! But you can control where you let your mind go! Keep hope alive in this! Sometimes, hope is the only thing you have because being sick is so defeating! Things will get better! Other people have healed from this, so can you!
30/09/2022
If you’re stuck, you gotta SHIFT!
Are you in a mess, feeling defeated, or just down on yourself or your situation? Hello! I’ve been there… but I didn’t stay there and neither will you!
Pay attention to what you’re thinking about and ruminating on. If it’s got your down and defeated, shift away from it. You and only you have the incredible power to shift your thoughts. You just have to harness that power.
Did you develop a new symptom? Are you fearful it’s a terminal illness? This is a perfect time to shift.
Mindset Shifts:
“I have this new symptom but I know my body is working to heal. I will focus on how my body has had worse symptoms and healed from them in the past. I’ll come back to it persists.”
“This feels uncomfortable but I’ve been in worse shape. I’m confident this will pass or I’ll do what I need to do to support it and refrain from obsessing over it”.
“I’m going to hold off on googling my symptoms and asking about them on Facebook groups for a bit. Those resources are there if I need them later.”
“Im choosing to support my nervous system by taking deep breaths and finding ways to calm down more than I choose to think worst case sceneries about this new symptom. “
Your new symptom is REAL and sometimes there isn’t much you can control about it but you CAN control how you react to it. Choose to SHIFT when you find yourself in fear over new (and old) symptoms!
22/09/2022
What is drainage and what do you need to do? Swipe to see the main organs and systems associated with your body being able to drain toxins.
Drainage is not detox! It’s the way toxins are released from your body! Check out my stories to get practical action streps to optimize your body’s drainage! There will also be a free resource for you at the end of my stories!
15/09/2022
Check out my last guest appearance on Dr. Morgan Nolte's Reshape Your Health podcast. I discuss Antidepressant Withdrawal which is how I personally got sick in 2018. There is a lot of good information on this podcast surrounding Antidepressants and mental health.
https://youtu.be/lyRA78gb1sc
How Antidepressant Withdrawal Sparked Chronic Illness With Ashlee Symcox, RN, FNTP In this week’s episode of the Reshape Your Health podcast, we are joined by Ashlee Symcox, RN, FNTP to learn how antidepressant withdrawal wrecked her health...
09/09/2022
The body doesn't just randomly break down. You don't become sick out of happenstance. There are factors that contribute to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome to name a few.
If you're sick and you don't know why chances are that one or more things above could be at the root of it. If you're not actively working on these things and/or are using band-aid approaches to treat symptoms of these issues, it's going to be hard (if not impossible) to fully heal and take your life back from chronic illness.
As always, remember to keep the hope that you CAN and WILL get better from chronic illness. These things are not greater or more powerful than your ability to heal from them!
08/09/2022
Be sure to check out Part 2/3 of my time with Dr. Morgan Nolte on the Reshape Your Health Podcast!
This one is all about gut health and how to optimize digestion. Any GI symptoms? Be sure to listen. We also talk thyroid and gallbladder health! There is something for everyone!
I have really enjoyed my time and conversations with Dr. Morgan Nolte. She is doing some really amazing things in helping people balance their blood sugar and truly reshaping their health! She is someone I really look up to so, to be a guest on her podcast is the ultimate win for me!
https://youtu.be/BQBQzDVulwk
How to Improve Gut Health and Digestion Naturally with Ashlee Symcox, RN, FNTP In this week’s episode of the Reshape Your Health podcast, you’ll learn how to improve gut health and digestion naturally. We are joined by Ashlee Symcox, RN...
19/08/2022
What does the healed version of yourself look like? Feel like? What are you doing? What does life look like? What do you see?
Have you spent much time thinking on these things or are your thoughts consumed with being and staying ill?
I hope to interrupt your sick, symptom, fear-based messaging found on the gram (and perhaps in your thoughts) with a reminder that spending more time focused on what life is like healed is crucial for your healing! Get unstuck. It starts with what information/messaging you're letting in!
You're going to heal, friend!
02/08/2022
What are you working on this week to get to the next level of healing!?
I’ll go first - my husband and I created a health and wellness plan including a family health and wellness mission statement, planned meals, written individual plans, and ways to keep each other accountable. I’ll share more in my stories later!
27/07/2022
Please do not spend your money on food sensitivity testing. These tests are usually highly inaccurate and yield results that can produce so much anxiety, fear, and restriction.
Clients come to me all of the time with a laundry list of foods (healthy foods even) that they say they cannot eat because the food sensitivity test says so. I tell them to completely disregard that test. Then I ask how they feel when they eat those foods and most of the time they feel fine.
It's not the foods that are the problem. It's the underlying cause in your immune system, nervous system, thyroid, and/or gut that is causing you to not tolerate certain foods.
Instead of getting food sensitivity testing, check in with how you feel after eating certain foods. Do you have an increased pulse, skin issues, gut issues (bloating, stomach pain, etc), histamine response, anxiety, etc? After eating a certain food? Perhaps you need to take a bit of a break from that food while addressing the reason your body is having a reaction to it in the first place. The goal is to add it back in.
With the exception of processed foods, gluten, soy, processed dairy, goitrogenic foods, and some grains.. healthy, nutrient-dense foods should be tolerated by most people.
A food sensitivity test and the subsequent avoiding certain foods for life is not a root-cause approach to your issue. You can simply tune into your body after eating certain food and determine if that food serves you or not. Set it aside. Fix the issue and come back to it.
If you're told you can only tolerate 5-10 different foods - that's not sustainable and not healthy and not accurate.
26/07/2022
If you run a business, you definitely want to partner up with Oakes Creative House! Crystal is the absolute best and her team nailed the vision of my brand!! I’m beyond thankful for this team of brilliant and creative geniuses!
❤️ Our clients are THE BEST ❤️
I don't think we can say that enough. We are honored to build brands with entrepreneurs making a difference in the world 🌎
Ashlee Symcox Functional Nutrition gave us the keys to refresh her logo and website and take her brand photos. What an honor to help make a difference in the field of health!
Thank you, Ashlee, for your continuous support. We are thrilled to be on your team. We had a great time creating a brand that radiates your passion for your business. ✨
22/06/2022
How toxic relationships are making and/or keeping you sick:
At the very root of many chronic illnesses is a nervous system that is dysfunctional. At its core, the nervous system's job is to make you feel and be safe. If survival is threatened, the nervous system sends signals to us to go into protection mode to either fight or flee the situation. This sends a rush of stress hormones, inflammation, and oxidative stress especially if the signals are prolonged. This keeps us sick and it continues the nervous system dysfunction. You cannot heal with a chaotic nervous system.
Toxic relationships can be anything from an abusive marriage to girlfriends that sit around and gossip about and criticize everyone. Tune into how you feel in your relationships?
Do you feel your jaw clenched, your shoulders tight, your heart beat faster, deep compassion for those that are being gossiped about (this is your heart telling you it's wrong), sheet exhaustion after being with certain people, a worsening of your symptoms?
We cannot separate the body and its physical symptoms from our emotional and relational health.
In my journey, I have had to set boundaries and distance myself from those that I feel more sick around. It's hard but it's harder to continue to engage in relationships that don't bring peace, joy, and love. It’s okay to do what you need to do to heal.
After all, all we are truly wired for is love and acceptance. These cannot usually coexist in toxic relationships of any kind.
20/06/2022
Antibiotics cause nutrient depletions in the body in various ways including:
- blocking the absorption of nutrients
- inhibiting nutrient storage in the body
- blocking the body's own synthesis of essential nutrients
- interfering with the metabolization of nutrients
Not to mention that they wipe out beneficial flora in your microbiome leading to opportunistic infections that further deplete nutrients and lead to illness.
Don't worry too much if you have had to take an antibiotic for a UTI or a serious infection. There is a time and place to use anti-biotics. I am not anti-antibiotics. However, the chronic use of them (which I often see in my practice) is where these nutrient depletions occur.
If you're taking antibiotics more than once every 3 years or so, you need to address the root of recurrent infection and be sure you're replenishing:
- calcium
- magnesium
- B vitamins
- Vitamin K (especially when taking Cephalasporins - Cephazolin, Rocephin, Keflex, etc.). If you notice bruising or bleeding, reach out to your prescribing provider... You may be depleted in Vitamin K.
- a good spore-based probiotic. I like MegaSpore by .
CITATION
Shimada K, Matsuda T, Inamatsu T, Urayama K. Bleeding secondary to vitamin K deficiency in patients receiving parenteral cephem antibiotics. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1984 Sep;14 Suppl B:325-30. doi: 10.1093/jac/14.suppl_b.325. PMID: 6389475.
16/06/2022
I win when my clients win! It's not about numbers, money, growing a massive following, or gaining a huge platform.. for me, it's when someone who has trusted me to help them heal actually starts getting better! This is the ultimate litmus test to determine what I define as success! Here are some recent WINS in my practice (while I was on maternity leave I might add.. my clients are amazing):
- Eczema is better!
- Sleeping 8 hours!
- More energy!
- No longer needing supplements to support blood sugar, doing it with diet alone!
- CRP and ESR (inflammatory markers) are down!
- More confident!!
- Actually like the taste of vegetables for the first time in my life!
- Bloating is gone!
- Less anxiety and less fight or flight!
- Liver enzymes back within optimal ranges!
- No longer need digestive support supplements, digesting well on my own!
- Thyroid symptoms are less!!
- Free of sugar cravings and binges!
- Overall sense of well-being!
- Feeling understood and less alone in illness!
- More energy just with getting in good minerals!
- No longer need thyroid medication (with prescribing provider's discretion)
- Able to tolerate dairy again for the first time in years!!
While it was hard to leave my baby and come back to work, coming back to celebrate my client's wins made it much easier and more enjoyable! And here's the best part... they did these things! I am simply a guide! I have very little control over what my clients choose to do with the recommendations I make, they are the ones that make it happen! I am beyond blessed and daily inspired by the commitment and intention my clients put into their healing!!
13/06/2022
If you haven't read Atomic Habits by , run don't walk to the bookstore, or get on Amazon and get it!
I recommend Atomic Habits to pretty much every client because in order to make the changes you need to make to heal your life, you have to establish new habits.
Building better habits does not come naturally. Why do so many New Year's resolutions fail? Why do so many of us have bookshelves full of books we haven't read? Why can't I remember to take my supplements or how do I get into the grove of planning healthy meals? It all comes down to building habits and getting them to stick. It's not just about thinking about doing something, you want a strategy to work at it.
One way to do this is to habit stack... Think of habits you already have down pretty well.. for example, brushing your teeth. Hopefully, by now, you don't have to give brushing your teeth too much thought. Stack a new habit on top of that to get it to stick. Maybe after you brush your teeth, you take your supplements. Leave your supplements next to your toothbrush. Your brain loves this association and before you know it, it will become automatic, and voila you have a new habit!
Maybe you put your walking/running shoes on to go check the mail.. you're already outside and at the front of your yard so, now you can get that walk-in that you keep wanting to take but not finding the time to do so. Checking mail = going on a walk! Your brain will catch on!
Stack your already strong habits with new habits you want to create and watch your life change!
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