Julie Michelson is a National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach, successful writer and host of The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity Show. She helps high achievers struggling with inflammation take their power back from autoimmunity, putting them in control of their symptoms, their health and well being.
When she was in her early 30s she began struggling with symptoms of autoimmunity. Being a single mother of two, whose energy kept tanking and whose pain kept getting worse was not easy. But it was nothing compared to the frustration and helplessness of visiting countless doctors, who all said that it was only going to get worse.
Thankfully, she disagreed and chose to educate herself. Slowly, she began changing her mindset, diet, and habits. Today she is healthier than she was in her 30s!
Julie Michelson’s Experience with an Autoimmune Disease 
I did the conventional medicine route because I didn’t know there were other effective options and I continued to decline for over a decade. I was told the best possible outcome was just a slower decline and I believed it. It can sometimes take up to 8 years for someone with autoimmunity to get a diagnosis.
I was on 10 prescriptions by the end of those 11 years and couldn’t even work. I had to quit grad school and rest when my kids were in school so I could be a mom when they were home.
There was a point when I finally realized that maybe I hadn’t done everything possible. My youngest came to me one day and said, “Please don’t die and leave us.” To know that my kids were worried about that when I was worried about it too. I was in my 40’s and didn’t think I’d make it to my 50’s, and am now about to turn 53.
Nutrition
I started to notice a difference when I started to cut out gluten with my son. My pain began to become noticeably better.
I grew up low fat because my dad passed at 54 of a heart attack. Even consuming good quality fats felt strange. And fats ended up being the missing link that my body was deprived of for decades.
It took years of exploring different routes like intermittent fasting, paleo, keto, etc. I had no idea what I was doing but I was just trying everything I could. Nutrition was the beginning of my journey to feeling better and was a small component.
**Prefer To Watch? Check Out Our Livestream On Living Your Best Life Even With An Autoimmune Condition With Julie Michelson Here!**
Stress Management
The next thing that was huge for me was stress management. I began a really committed meditation practice and it really made a difference.
I had started with 20 minutes, twice a day and within 2 weeks my sleep had improved, my energy improved and my pain improved. Even my children noticed a difference in me.
Meditation is an exercise and practice to help you live a better life, it’s not an end goal. I’ve noticed that my practice allows me to respond instead of react and be mindful and intentional about how I live my life.
Functional Medicine
I learned a lot about functional medicine through Dave Asprey and the Bulletproof Coach Institute. That exposed me to biohacking and whole health, and just how important these things are. That journey led me to find a functional medicine practitioner.
I continued to up level through these different practices and now, I feel younger in my 50’s than I did in my 30’s.
We don’t need an autoimmune diagnosis to feel like we’re tired when we wake up in the morning or our brain just isn’t working the way it used to.
Julie’s 5 Steps to Move the Needle
- Nutrition
- Dedicated stress management practice, as in daily or regularly.
- Look at toxins – what are you using on, in and around your body?
- Movement – finding the right movement level for you.
- Sleep – optimize your sleep.
Not everyone needs to start in the same place. You need to figure out where you can get the most bang for your buck to start with so that you can get the energy to be able to do more.
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Your Body is Designed to Heal
The body is designed to heal. It’s not about finding the right anything or fixing it. It’s about, “What’s blocking the body from healing?” and it’s that simple.
For me, I had no idea about this or I would have been on my healing journey sooner. This reinforcement has come from years of watching my body struggle over and over and over again and watching symptoms and struggles that I knew could improve.
Your body is designed to heal.
Websites Mentioned
Inspired Living with Autoimmunity Podcast
