
Hashimoto's Nutrition Rx®️
Nataliia Sanzo is a registered dietitian, aka Nashville Thyroid Expert, specializing in Hashimoto's/hypothyroidism. She created this space to help you navigate the ever-confusing world of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and empower you with the knowledge to become your own advocate. Please don’t forget to subscribe and follow this podcast on the platform you’re tuning in from. Your support is greatly appreciated and important to this show finding its way to the ears of listeners just like yourself.
Contact Nataliia Sanzo at All Purpose Nutrition
Office Phone: (615) 866-5384
Location:7105 S Springs Dr Suite 208, Franklin, TN 37067
Website: https://allpurposenutrition.com/
Instagram: all.purpose.nutrition
This podcast was formerly known as Thyroid Hair Loss Connection Podcast.
Hashimoto's Nutrition Rx®️
Avery Schlereth’s Hashimoto’s Story: Struggles, Triumphs, and Practical Tips
Avery Schlereth's path to health and happiness wasn't as straightforward as she had hoped when she moved to Los Angeles to chase her modeling dreams. Facing unexpected hurdles like rapid weight gain, depression, and fatigue, Avery found herself dropped by her agency and spiraling into a frustrating quest for answers. It wasn't until a critical blood test revealed her diagnosis of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's that Avery's journey pivoted towards healing, underscoring the need for proper medical guidance and the power of blood tests in managing thyroid conditions.
Join us as Avery shares her transformative experiences with holistic health practices, exploring the balance of dietary changes and stress management that have become pivotal in her wellness journey. From experimenting with diets like keto and veganism to embracing sobriety and whole grains, Avery opens up about the importance of understanding personal health needs. The conversation touches on the gut microbiome and the controversy surrounding lectins, offering fresh perspectives on achieving a balanced lifestyle that supports both mental and physical well-being.
In a candid discussion, Avery discusses the misconceptions surrounding Hashimoto's, often thought of as an "old woman's disease," and the rise in diagnoses among younger individuals. She elaborates on her approach to fitness, combining high-intensity workouts with necessary rest days to maintain health and well-being. Avery advocates for enjoying a variety of foods without resorting to quick fixes, emphasizing the importance of balance and self-awareness. Her story is one of acceptance and adaptation, filled with practical tips for managing health challenges while fostering a fulfilling lifestyle.
Avery Schlereth YouTube
Avery's Instagram
Contact Nataliia Sanzo at All Purpose Nutrition
Office Phone: (615) 866-5384
Location: 7105 S Springs Dr., Suite 208, Franklin, TN 37067
Website: www.allpurposenutrition.com
Instagram: @all.purpose.nutrition
Formerly known as Thyroid Hair Loss Connection Podcast.
Welcome to the Hashimoto's Nutrition Rx show. I'm your host, natalia Sanza. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Avery Schlereth. Avery has been bravely and transparently sharing her journey with Hashimoto's thyroiditis on social media and YouTube, where she built a dedicated community of followers inspired by her honesty and determination. Through her content, avery opened up about ups and downs of living with Hashimoto's, offering insights, tips and encouragements for anyone facing similar challenges. In this episode, we are diving into her story what it's been like managing this condition, the strategies that have worked for her and the lessons that she learned along the way. Avery openness and positive approach make her such an inspiration, and I know her story will resonate deeply with so many of you. Avery, welcome.
Avery Schlereth:Thank you so much. That was quite the intro. It made me feel like a very special person.
Nataliia Sanzo:You are special. We are all special because we all have the same diagnosis right, we have Hashimoto's, and that's what connects us. Unfortunately, this Hashimoto's disease, which is an autoimmune disease, it manifests differently in all of us, so that's why I love having people like you or my clients, you know getting on podcasts to share their story, because I'm sure we all can learn from listening to each other. So let's dive into talking about your diagnosis. How did you first find out if you had Hashimoto's, and what were your initial thoughts and emotions?
Avery Schlereth:Well, when I first got diagnosed, I moved out to LA to pursue modeling from Denver and I modeled my whole life and I was pretty successful at it as a kid and I had an agency in LA. So when I turned 18, I graduated high school, I moved to LA to pursue modeling and after six months of being here I started to gain tons of weight, like at a rapid pace. I got really depressed. I was really lethargic and tired and like only wanted to wear sweatpants. And that seems like you know everyone's like oh, I only wanted to wear sweatpants. And that seems like you know everyone's like oh, everyone loves to wear sweatpants. But it was like I physically could not even bring myself to get dressed. So then after a while I I had gained. I wouldn't even dare step on the scale, but I had gained so much weight that I told my agency. I was like I cannot go on these auditions, I'm so sorry. Like can you just give me, give me a sec? Like I'm not comfortable, whatever. So then they ended up dropping me at 18. They were like well then we can't work with you if you know you're not skinny enough. So that was pretty heartbreaking as a young, or I think it was actually 19 when that all happened, but neither here nor there. So then after a while I was like I just don't feel right, like something is not right with me and I need to lose weight. Because, first of all, just for my sanity, like you know, I'm a young girl and I I wanted to look good and feel good. And I came out here to model and all of a sudden, like I'm 30 pounds overweight. It just didn't make sense. So I went to a specialist in Santa Monica that ended up just putting me on this cleanse for three weeks. That was really intense. I was drinking like all of these weird green juices and taking all this stuff and only eating like really specific things, and after the three weeks nothing happened. And so I'm just spending like so much money at all these different places just to get put on all these different cleanses.
Avery Schlereth:And then they they're like we should take your blood because nothing is happening. What a novel idea. Exactly like that's whenever I people talk to me about like I don't know I've been feeling this way, or feeling this way, or like gaining weight, I'm like just go get your blood taken, no matter what. Like yes, blood work does not lie. No, like go go to an endocrinologist. If you're even feeling slightly depressed or have no energy or gaining weight or losing weight, go, you know, see a doctor. So they took my blood and it came back that I had hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's. And I was like, hashi, what? I was like like what did you? What is that? And they were like oh you, you're the lucky one that uh got hypothyroidism, which is a slow metabolism, and then you also got Hashimoto's, which is the autoimmune disease that works against your thyroid. So I was like okay, How's it?
Avery Schlereth:look, yeah, and I was like okay, so now, now, what? So at that time I was on birth control to regulate my periods and I was uh, oh, they put me on cytomel for my hypothyroid or for my hashimoto's.
Nataliia Sanzo:and then they put me on which is, yeah, which is an active T3 only hormone.
Avery Schlereth:Right. And then they also put me on Synthroid for my hypothyroidism. I ended up getting more depressed, like crying every day, just like gaining more weight. I was miserable. My parents were like what is like? We can't have you be this unhealthy and this sad, like being in a different state. You know, you're 19 years old. We need to, like get a handle on this. So my mom was like all right, we're going to take care of your thyroid problem in Colorado, so you're going to fly back here. We're going to find you an endocrinologist and we're going to do it here so I can have find you an endocrinologist and we're going to do it here so I can have a handle on it.
Avery Schlereth:I mean, I was still a kid, so at first I was like no, but she was right to do that. So when I went back, the endocrinologist was like why are you on cytomel and birth control together? Like those two are pretty toxic with each other. And I was like, oh, I don't know. Just this natural doctor in Santa Monica put me on it and he was like this is very wrong, Like you should not be on all these medications together. So then I got off everything. He put me on tyrosine and I have been on that ever since and it was great.
Nataliia Sanzo:In the first month I lost 13 pounds just from the right meds and Tyrosine just from everybody that's watching and listening. That's one of the best and the cleanest T4 only medication. It has less additives, colors and stabilizers. So I'm glad you got it at the very early stage of your disease especially. It was like what almost 10 years ago.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, it was 12 years ago. After that, after I went back for that initial visit, he put me on tyrosine, put beyond tyrosine and obviously, like over the past 11 years, you have to like change up your medications just with like how your body is changing, not the type, just like the dosage.
Nataliia Sanzo:The doses and because the Hashimoto's is a progressive disease, as it gets worse, as it's progressing and destroying more thyroid cells, you have to increase your thyroid dosage. So for some it takes only two years to progress to their final dosage. For other people it may take 20 to 30 years. So it's all. We really don't know how aggressive your disease is, and your diagnosis was based on presence of TPO antibodies.
Nataliia Sanzo:I assume, because it's still the only way to diagnose Hashimoto's and TPO antibodies numbers. They still don't tell us how aggressive, there's no prognosis how well or not well you're going to do, so we're kind of in the dark, even with everything that we know about Hashimoto's.
Avery Schlereth:This is actually amazing. I love learning about this stuff and I'm like I feel like there's still always so much to learn about any disease, any autoimmune, any, anything like. There's always going to be new information that comes out. This is so fun to talk to you about this, because a lot of people don't know how difficult the disease can be.
Nataliia Sanzo:Yes, it impacts your mental health, your relationship with your significant others and family and your daily life, and it's obviously for you. It was very drastic because it stalled your modeling career. Did you go back to modeling so?
Avery Schlereth:my weight always kept. It kept fluctuating, obviously like and it does. You know your, your thyroid is an ongoing thing that you're going to always have to try and take your best care of, because there's not really a cure. But I did try to get an agent again. I did try to get an agent again and I wasn't skinny enough and which but now it's like it's very inclusive and they're very like body positive in the modeling world, which is amazing. But also you can get like all of your own jobs and everything on social media. I have done modeling stuff just from my own social media and I love it. I love modeling, but I've gotten more into like the health, wellness, fitness. I feel like my thyroid problem happened to me for a reason. I wasn't like maybe I wasn't meant to be just a model, maybe I was meant to like have a voice on health, and wellness and thyroid and you know.
Nataliia Sanzo:And you're doing an incredible job voicing and saying hey, I can still be healthy and look incredible and eat good food and exercise. You're very active and you're sharing all of that on your social media and YouTube. So I think you're such a great example for people to see that if you have Hashimoto's, it's not the end of the life. This is actually the beginning. Maybe it's forcing you to listen to your body a little bit more, right To realize that your body is trying to tell you something, to pause, to de-stress, to maybe eat better, to maybe exercise better. So I have Hashimoto's and have had it for over 10 years. I don't look at it as a curse. I look at it as, like this is a guidance. This disease is helping my body, or helping me to keep my body healthy, or as healthy as I can do it, because there are still a lot of challenges. So what is the biggest difference in managing Hashimoto's symptoms? Like what do you feel that you're doing that's helping you the most?
Avery Schlereth:So over the years it's changed. I feel like a lot for me because I'm I. I was chasing just feeling good, but I have tried like vegan, high carb, low carb, keto juice, cleanse uh, all greens client, like I have tried every single thing and my biggest thing was trying to lose weight, because I work so hard and when you don't see a change, it it's really you just feel defeated. And so I feel like over the years, you know all these new fad diets come in and I would try them. When I was younger I was like, oh, keto is the thing to do. I'm going to do that.
Avery Schlereth:I got fatter. I gained a lot of weight actually when I went vegan because we need protein, it just wasn't enough for me. But I feel like what I've done now to kind of get the energy and feel lean is stress management. Yeah, I have had a lot of stress and feel like I kind of operate on high stress levels and I actually got anti-anxiety meds and I have had anxiety my whole entire life and just being able to manage my cortisol levels, I dropped a lot of weight. But also I eat really clean. I'm high protein vegetables like avocado, vegetables like avocado, nuts, not too many carbs like good, healthy carbs like Ezekiel toast. Great If you had a really hard workout. Have a little bit of white rice, but I don't do too much of that. Most of my meals consist of tons of vegetables, seasoning and me.
Nataliia Sanzo:So it sounds that most of your carbs do come from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And this is so important because when people want to lose weight and they think that they get, they gain weight mostly from eating carbs. So the first thing they do is cut out carbs to lose weight, but then they substitute healthy carbohydrates from apples and pears that are high carbohydrates. They substitute them with saturated fats, with steak, with even eating a ton of avocados. But what they don't realize, that our gut microbiome that controls our immunity, that controls our Hashimoto's autoimmune disease Our gut microbiome is literally being starved if we don't give carbohydrates or, to be more specific, fiber. Yeah, you're following keto diet or very low carb diet to lose weight. You're literally starving your microbiome and your Hashimoto's gets worse and your stress level increases, your cortisol or any kind of hormone gets out of whack and you gain more weight. Yeah, so now it sounds like you. You went back to basics.
Avery Schlereth:Can I interrupt you really fast? I got sober a year ago and thank you, and I was drinking a lot of wine and like on the weekends, going out with my friends. But I was, like you know, drinking a good amount and I was like, oh, it's just tequila, like it's healthy. But then it started to be like a ton of wine and I wasn't eating fruit, I wasn't eating carbs, because I was like, oh, I had my calories and my sugars in the wine. So like the next day I'll punish myself and like not eat anything. And once I stopped drinking, obviously alcohol is going to deplete you. It's just not good for you. Once I stopped drinking alcohol, I shed so much weight and I added in all kinds of fruits and some rice and some whole grain toast and like actually added stuff in that is just a part of a healthy diet. But I was, I cut out of my diet for so long and alcohol.
Nataliia Sanzo:Not only it's not good for us, it's not good for our liver and kidney, which those two organs are our detox system. Alcohol also influence our judgment right so when we drink alcohol, we tend to eat not so healthy foods, and for you, it was this vicious cycle of if you're drinking your calories, that you're not going to eat your calories the next day, and of course, your willpower does not last that long. If you're not eating for a day, the next day you do what Binge Exactly. Probably you're not binging on carrots and hummus.
Avery Schlereth:So for you.
Nataliia Sanzo:It was a great idea to completely cut it out and it made such a huge difference. Did you see any difference or improvements in your blood work over the time that you've made all these changes?
Avery Schlereth:I went completely lectin free for a while and that actually brought down my numbers, my Hashimoto's, a lot, just from eating the way I was eating.
Nataliia Sanzo:What I see with lectins. The research is so inconclusive. Our bodies are so well-made and they're so strong and they can digest fiber. Just think about fiber, our stomach acid, which is one of the most acidic things. It cannot break down the bonds, the fibers in vegetables, but as soon as that fiber gets into your small and large intestines, the little microbiome, the brainless little organism, they're able to break the strongest bonds that we have.
Nataliia Sanzo:Aside from this anecdotal example, there's not really scientific evidence. That is like lectins are toxic or it's hard for our bodies to digest. What I see when people remove lectins you need an anchor, right, you need to find one thing to concentrate on, because as human beings, we like to follow a plan, a direction. Right, because we like to zone in and we like dig our heels in, and that's why we're successful in certain things, including weight loss. But what I see when people find this anchor let's say it's lectins or it can be, you know, eliminating saturated fats or eliminating just another nutrient, just pick one, but in your case it's lectins. What I see? That people eliminate a lot of processed foods, a lot of baked goods, eliminate a lot of processed foods, a lot of baked goods packaged foods, because they all have lectins.
Nataliia Sanzo:So we kind of see, we don't know what worked.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, no, totally. I did that for a while and it worked really well. But now, like I'm going to eat tomatoes, I'm going to eat red peppers, I'm going to eat like eggplant, you know, I'm going to eat whatever I want to eat. I know what's healthy for me and I know what's not. And, like I said, I've just, I've tried every single diet there ever was. So just, I guess, for my own research, just to see if it would work.
Nataliia Sanzo:And you never know, maybe eliminating lectins, for example, that would be an answer for all of your problems. But as we see, you know, in the medical world, just by eliminating one nutrient you're not going to fix the problem, because autoimmunity affects your whole body, because you said you had anxiety. So autoimmunity affects our mental health. You had probably, I assume, chronic constipation, bloating, especially at the beginning of your diagnosis. So it affects our digestive system. It affects our hair we have hair loss it affects our skin and how fast we're aging. So you see, there's so many body parts that are affected. So we have to take a comprehensive approach and it has to be a diet, stress management and being active, getting the blood flow going. So we talked about the medications. You know what worked for you, right? You said you have your own tyrosine and it's working for you. Are there any supplements that you're taking that feel making a difference? Or you've taken before and now you're not taking?
Avery Schlereth:I have taken like iron and like zinc and like just normal things to keep me healthy. I tried to go the holistic route and this doctor tried to put me on all of these different supplements. Like I said, I have literally tried everything just to feel right. And uh, I went to this holistic doctor and he put me on all these different like herb supplements and I was taking like 70 pills a day.
Nataliia Sanzo:Oh boy.
Avery Schlereth:And yeah, but they were all like herbal and I was like drinking this weird drink. And after a couple months of that he was like, okay, you're ready to get off your thyroid medication. And so I stopped taking it and I went crazy. Like I got a crazy rash all over my mouth and my hips. I started gaining all the weight back. I got super depressed and was crying. Holistic stuff, like with a thyroid problem, is just not for me. Some people might be able to, but like for me it was not. I'm not. I take just stuff to keep myself healthy, but not any one particular thing to like help with my thyroid, except for the medication.
Nataliia Sanzo:And I'm so happy that you're sharing it honestly that, oh hey, I've tried everything, because when we don't feel good, we're desperate. So we tend to jump to the easiest solution and I'm not saying the holistic way is the easiest way. It's obviously the hardest and the most expensive way.
Nataliia Sanzo:But it just sounds like oh, there is a plan, there is a protocol to get off the medication. But what most people don't realize, that Hashimoto's. When it destroys your thyroid gland, it doesn't just grow back. The only organ that can regenerate itself and grow back it's what it's our liver. So if thyroid cells die off, they don't come back.
Nataliia Sanzo:So how do you expect if you're taking, for example, 50 mcg of tyrosine right now? That means that your thyroid gland is making 50, whatever you know percent of thyroid hormone and you're taking 50 mcg to have a hundred. So if you take all of the pills and herbs, even though they're natural, they're not necessary and obviously your body reacted but if you're taking all of the herbs and stuff and you remove the tyrosine, what are you left with? You're still left with 50% of your thyroid gland making hormone, or maybe less, because by the time you took all of those or you did all of those approaches, maybe you actually destroyed more of your thyroid gland, because we have no idea what those herbs are doing to our thyroid gland.
Nataliia Sanzo:When we have this full body, systemic inflammation and just like our gland is on fire, what we need to do is we need to calm the fire, go back to basics eat your fruits, eat your vegetables and take supplements that you actually need, like iron, especially, you know, women menstruating. We have to replenish that iron. It's very hard to get all of your iron in the diet, especially if someone is doing an elimination diet of some sort or following some kind of diet for weight loss. So iron and vitamin D would be another one, because 80% of people with Hashimoto's are deficient in vitamin D.
Nataliia Sanzo:And what the research shows, that bringing up the levels at the diagnosis, if you were deficient in vitamin D and you brought your levels up to normal, your TPO antibodies, which is a marker of inflammation it goes down. It decreases the level, meaning your immune system fire goes down. So just by doing that simple step, so the vitamin D, selenium is a big one. Yeah, brazil nuts, Brazil nuts, yes, you can do what two or three Brazil nuts a day to get all of your selenium needs. We have like a handful of vitamins and minerals that we truly, truly need as people with Hashimoto's daily. And I always say, you know, like, take a multivitamin, yeah, take a multivitamin to cover all of your bases. So I always say, just take multivitamin and get like a B-shot injection done every six months. Yeah, well, actually you have to start like every six weeks and then bring it up.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, I feel like I struggle with energy, still to this day.
Nataliia Sanzo:So when was the energy? You know, every time somebody mentioned that to me, I'm always like what's our nutrient deficiency? Let's zone in, let's make sure you're not anemic, low iron or you don't have low vitamin D level. And the second thing I'm looking at is T3 levels, your free T3. And most doctors don't measure those levels because it does not affect how they manage your condition.
Nataliia Sanzo:So if free T3 is low, it's if it's like below three, you will have chronic fatigue and it doesn't matter how much green juice you're going to drink or how much sleep you're going to get, you're not going to get that energy because your T3, remember Cytomel that you were taking, wasn't it like? It's almost I like to give comparison it's like a cup of coffee in the morning. That's Cytomel, t3, thyroid hormone that's the only active hormone that gets into your cells. But I'm saying all of this to tell you to check your free T3 levels, because if it's below three, then you're going to feel like you don't have enough, because it doesn't matter how much tyrosine or T4 you're taking, it's what matters, what gets inside your cells, right, right. So make sure you check that, because you're a proponent of blood work, so let's get that done.
Avery Schlereth:Yes, love blood work, love answers.
Nataliia Sanzo:Now, Avery, tell me why did you decide to share your journey, your personal journey, on social media and YouTube channel. What prompted you?
Avery Schlereth:You know, I can't remember exactly what prompted me. I think it's just it became such a focal point in my life that, like everything revolved around my thyroid and feeling good and losing weight and like what actually worked with the disease. And it's like I was young, I was 19, and I was going to all these different doctors, I was trying all these different diets, I was trying all these different workouts. I was like what is gonna work with this disease, like, and so then I started just sharing it because I was like this is I. My mom always said, like this is an old woman's disease, like you should not have this at 19 years old. And I was like because, like, when they first told me that I had hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's, I was like what is what is all of that? Like, what do you mean? And so my mom always said she's like it's an old woman's disease.
Avery Schlereth:And the fact that it happened to me so young and it became everything in my life. My whole entire life revolved around figuring out my thyroid. I was like I should share with people just what I'm going through, because it changes all the time. You could go back in my YouTube channel and finds that I was talking about, like I think, being vegan. That didn't work for me. You know like it's. I just would share my story. I was just sharing it because I felt like other people could relate to it and learn something from it. And I mean, I'm I still learn all the time Like Absolutely.
Nataliia Sanzo:I still learn all the time. Absolutely, I still learn all the time because when a client shares with me an approach that she just figured it out and it worked for her, I take that knowledge and continue to share with my next and next and next client, or on my YouTube channel as well, just to see just in case it works for somebody else. And some of the accounts say gluten is killing us and the gluten-free diet is the only way to go for Hashimoto's and I'm like it doesn't work for me, it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for another 50%, millions of women. So when somebody, it's actually a red flag. When you see an account that is just zoning in on one specific fault that's causing Hashimoto's or preventing you from getting off your medication, this should be a red flag.
Avery Schlereth:Listen, holistic is going to preach holistic, Western is going to preach Western and a vegan is going to preach veganism, like it's just. You know, whatever people are behind or they're selling, that's what they're going to believe in and that's what they're going to push on you. And what I have learned from trying everything is that you are your own best like pig.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, you're your own best skinny, but you're your own best skinny, but you, you're your own best doctor as far like I mean not like getting blood checked and stuff but as far as what is working with your body. You see yourself naked every day. You know what's going to be best for your body. You know that if you feel energy or if you don't, so you have to like really be in tune with yourself. One of the things that my friends always say is like you really know, like your body really well where I'll be. Like I can't eat that that makes me break out in a hive, or, you know, that makes me feel really bloated. And they'll be like you know your body really well and I'm like I have had so much practice on just figuring out what works with me.
Nataliia Sanzo:Exactly and you know, going to what you said, I've tried everything. I know my body, what people tend to do? They go and get this food sensitivity test done and they find out that raspberries or avocados they're sensitive to those fruits and vegetables. We have a very short time on this planet so you have to maximize your time here. Do not first believe in this food sensitivity test, because your body knows If you're eating raspberry and you're breaking out in hives that you're sensitive. If you're not breaking out in hives, it doesn't matter what that test says. Listen to your body. It knows better and you know. And another thing you mentioned that your mom said that this is an old woman's disease. It used to be the case. Now most people with Hashimoto's get diagnosed at age like 25, 25 and 40.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, I had a like a 13 year old. Reach out to me about it. It's just getting younger and younger, which is crazy. But when I got diagnosed 12 years ago, my mom was like you should not have this. I don't understand.
Nataliia Sanzo:And you don't have a history like family history of Hashimoto's I do.
Avery Schlereth:My grandma's both had it. My mom, I believe, had hyper, but for some reason she doesn't take medication, she like doesn't have it or like it hasn't affected her anymore. But my grandma's had it. So the endocrinologist actually said that I would have gotten it regardless, but the birth control sparked it early.
Nataliia Sanzo:If you have a history of Hashimoto's, chances are that you will get it sooner or later. But you always wait for that switch. It's like a light switch. You don't have it, you don't have it and then something happens like taking, you know, overburdening your body with hormone therapy. It puts the switch on. But it's not something you did wrong. Dealing with Hashimoto's is hard already and we have to kind of look at it and make peace with it. We can't blame ourselves because we're already doing so much. We're already, like you know, trying our best. So just beating ourselves up thinking that we did something wrong, it's not going to get us anywhere, right? So let's make friends with Hashimoto's, because it's not going anywhere.
Avery Schlereth:Exactly.
Nataliia Sanzo:Let's learn how to live well with Hashimoto's instead of constantly, constantly fighting and starving your body. What was the one thing that you wish you had known earlier in your journey? Like if you were diagnosed right now, what would be a few things that would help you?
Avery Schlereth:Be patient with yourself. Your body is already working so hard for you and I. I was looking for a quick fix. I'm going to go vegan, like this person lost a bunch of weight. I'm going to go vegan or I'm going to, you know, try this diet. I'm going to go holistic and you just need to like, sit with yourself and be patient, and you know what's good for you fruits, veggies, protein, some whole grains, water. I think that just telling my younger self to have patience instead of I think it would have taken away a lot of the stress that I put on myself for so many years.
Nataliia Sanzo:Yes, and following the rules that don't have any scientific background actually puts so much stress on us that it escalates the autoimmune disease and some people are in that rut for decades. I mean, I always do. I feel like I do damage control with most of my clients. I always like let's take a deep breath.
Nataliia Sanzo:Like you're not going to fix your whatever chronic constipation or lose so much weight right away because you have had this disease, whatever you know symptom, for decades. Don't expect to fix it all in one week, right, rajla, be patient Now, avery, the only thing we didn't talk about is exercise. What do you do for your Hashimoto's?
Avery Schlereth:I find that to look my best high intensity, like I lift pretty heavy. I'll do some hit stuff, hit classes like a bootcamp or something like that, but I'm more like weights and hit kind of workout. I've been better about actually giving myself a break because I was so in my head about like the only way that you're going to lose weight and feel good and look good is if you work out every single day, and that's just not the case. Like you do need rest days, you need to let your body replenish or you're just going to like store fat and be really exhausted.
Nataliia Sanzo:You cannot out exercise a bad diet. You lose weight in the kitchen. You don't lose weight in the gym.
Avery Schlereth:Yeah, you, you have to, it's all. I tell people this all the time too. They're like how did you get to where you are? I'm like you have got to be diligent about your diet. Obviously, have a cheat day, order a pizza, have ice cream, live your life, but then just get right back to it and I eat really, really healthy during the week. I will say, since I cut out booze, I do like to have a little bit more sugar than I once did. I mean, I was having like sugar out of wine, but now I'm like I need some chocolate, I need a little bit of candy. Just at the end of my day. I'll do, like you know, four days of really intense, and then let's add a Pilates class or like just walk for a day. So I like to mix it up.
Nataliia Sanzo:I am with you. I like high intensity. I do my high intensity on a spin bike, yeah, and I do it at home, and I just push as hard as I can and I also lift heavy weights. If you Google how to improve your metabolism, a lot of articles come up. Foods that improve or speed up your metabolism, do this, do that.
Nataliia Sanzo:The only way to speed up your metabolism is to do what Is to build muscles. So if you're on treadmill running 10 miles every day, sure it's great for your cardiovascular health, which is great for your cardiovascular health, which is very important for mental health, right, it pushes the blood flows increases to your brain and stuff, but you're not really building muscles. And when you're lifting heavy weights, you replenish or replace fat with muscles. So you may stay the same weight, but you will get smaller because muscles weigh less than fat and, scientifically speaking, you will speed up your metabolism. So I'm such a proponent like go lift heavy weights, you will never bulk up. It's impossible to bulk up for a woman that doesn't take a pound of protein powder a day. Right, be reasonable. I completely agree, avery. What are you working on now to further improve your health Like? Do you have like an ultimate goal that you're still working on.
Avery Schlereth:I mean, I'm constantly just trying to keep my body in check and keep myself feeling healthy and energized, but I'm always trying to get a little bit leaner. A little bit leaner, you know. But I will say I I've been boxing as of late and I I started doing privates. So I think that just getting really good at boxing, having something to focus on, has been really, really great for my mental health and just my overall physical health. I mean, I'm constantly, I'm in the gym all the time, I'm eating healthy all the time, so I'm just constantly trying to like, look my best all the time.
Nataliia Sanzo:Well, it sounds like you do. You truly have a balance, you're in a good mental place. I think you're doing everything right and I'm so glad you're sharing your journey online. Yeah, you too. I feel like this is my calling and this is my job, and I get so much pushback because I do advocate a holistic life in the sense we should be eating everything that we want. We shouldn't be only doing yoga for Hashimoto's or God forbid, you do HIIT workout, like all of this is nonsense. So for me, it's like it has to be common sense. You need to enjoy your nightshades and whole grains and all that stuff, but people online are very aggressive.
Avery Schlereth:I mean I have cut out everything in my diet before I've added it all back in. I've gone halfway in, halfway out it. Like I said, it took me like 10 years to actually figure out a balance. Like, if you want to eat a burrito, go eat a burrito and eat a salad for dinner, or so you know you have to figure out a balance. You can't like if you're just punishing yourself all the time, that's just going to raise your cortisol, raise your stress, and it's also going to put stress on your thyroid.
Nataliia Sanzo:Absolutely Well. Avery, I want to extend a huge thank you for joining us today and sharing your journey with such honesty and heart. I'm sure a lot of people will resonate with your story and listeners. If you're listening or watching, please go to Avery's page. I'm going to link all of her information in the show notes, instagram, youtube. She's a wealth of knowledge and I'm sure you can relate and learn a thing or two.
Avery Schlereth:Thank you so much for having me and having me be a part of this. This was so fun.
Nataliia Sanzo:Of course, Avery. Unfortunately we have to wrap up this episode, but I would love to have you for another episode and maybe we'll do deep dive on medication or supplements or something. I'm sure we can find something to talk about, because I love having you on this podcast. You have such a good energy. So until next time, stay nourished.
Avery Schlereth:Thank you so much. Yeah, I look forward to coming back.