Wholistic Jen

By Jennifer Whitmire, MS, MEd, MH, CHES, NEP

I started studying health and nutrition, because I was obsessed with understanding how the body works. The real mechanisms. I wanted to understand how people who lived “healthy” lives still got diseases like cancer (The only autoimmune disease I had heard about was AIDS, at the time). I wanted to know the real science. I also wanted to know what actually made people healthier and feel better, not just what looked good on paper.

So I studied, read the textbooks, and earned the degrees. I trusted peer-reviewed studies and detailed biochemical pathways. I memorized nutrient functions and metabolic cycles. And I applied them in my life, in my home, and with my family.

But all of that still didn’t stop me from getting sick.

When the “Right” Way Failed Me

I was doing everything “right,” and yet my body was screaming at me. I had anxiety. My face would flush and stay red-hot. My heart would race. I’d fly off the handle over nothing. I couldn’t recover the way I used to. My brain felt fuzzy. My energy would be high one day, and I tanked the next. Graves’ disease wasn’t part of the plan.

That’s when I realized something big. I had to stop outsourcing my health. I had to stop listening to people who didn’t know me, didn’t understand my story, and definitely didn’t understand my gut. 

And that included my doctor who told me no one knows what causes this, it doesn’t matter what I eat or do. I just “got the short end of the straw.”

So I turned inward, and that’s when things started to shift.

Some of the advice I followed actually made me worse.

I tried cutting out all fruit, because someone said it feeds pathogens. Guess what? My energy tanked, my digestion slowed, and I felt more anxious.

I went full keto at one point. That backfired. I gained weight. My LDL cholesterol shot up, and my hair started falling out. 

Even AIP left me completely depleted. I lost a lot of weight, which I liked, but my antibodies went up!! Definity not the protocol for me. (You can read more about my story here).

The lesson? Just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Even if it comes with before-and-after photos and a catchy name.

We are ALL UNIQUE!

My Body Was Talking, And I Just Didn’t Know How To Listen

I didn’t need another protocol or another restrictive diet. I had to how to listen. Really listen.

Like listening to my cravings. Cravings are signals.  They could be telling you about a mineral you need, OR they could be telling you that you’re eating the wrong foods. Sugar, caffeine, even chocolate can create cravings, not because you need them, but you have a gut imbalance.

Bloating is another signal that you’re eating too fast, you have a microbial imbalance, or you have a food sensitivity.

Your poop also tells a story. You can tell by your poop if you are hydrated enough. You may need to chew more. You may need to eat more raw foods or more cooked foods.

We are ALL UNIQUE! What works for me may not work for you.  You have to learn what YOU and YOUR BODY needs.

Listen to your body after meals, after a stressful event, after poor sleep. Your body doesn’t whisper, it yells. We’re just trained to ignore it. Once you learn to pay attention, you’ll start noticing patterns.

That post-meal bloating? For me? My microbes weren’t happy.
The cravings for bitter greens? My liver was waving a white flag.
The sluggish digestion? I need to slow down and work on that stress, work on rebuilding my gut, and eat more raw foods.

Also, the thyroid has a big role in the speed of digestion. Hashimoto’s slows everything down, everything!  That can lead to sluggish bowels. And when I didn’t have a good bowel movement for a couple days? That was a full-on siren.

Our body is created to have a large bowel movement after every large meal. Think about a baby or training a puppy. They eat, then they poop. You should do that, too!  We learn in school to hold it.  Don’t do that in public.  

Maybe we felt shame about having to poop? Or, maybe you go even more often 4,5+ times a day. You need a diet change.

We have nerve endings on the stomach that run down to the ileocecal valve near your appendix. When the stomach swells after a large meal, it triggers that nerve to open the valve, so things can move along in the large intestine.  That should trigger you in about 30 minutes that you need to go to the bathroom.

We all want a quick fix! Me too!  But, we’re so quick to follow someone else’s food rules that we forget our body has its own rulebook. And it’s far more accurate than anything on a podcast or in a book.

From Macros to Microbes

You can eat a “perfect” diet and still feel awful, because it’s not just about macros, or clean eating, or cutting sugar. It’s about feeding your microbes and increasing absorption.

I used to think that we needed to follow the food guide pyramid. Lots of whole grains, 5-A-Day. A little meat or chicken. And you had to have milk for calcium. Now I teach terrain rebuilding and increasing diversity in the gut microbiome.

Everyone needs fiber. Polyphenols (Eat the Rainbow). Bitter herbs and greens. Prebiotics. Ferments. Foods that speak the language of the microbiome. That being said, now may not be the right time for you to include ferments-we have to check you as an individual.

And I care about how you eat.

• Are you chewing?
• Are you relaxed or stressed when you eat?
• Are you mixing 27 supplements with a cold smoothie and wondering why your gut’s a mess?

It’s not always about the food. Sometimes it’s how you’re living.

What I Eat Now (and Why)

I follow how I feel. I don’t count. I don’t track. I don’t follow a rigid food list.

If I’m feeling puffy, I focus on hydration. I eat cucumbers, sprouts, lemon, hydrating fruit vegetables (squash and zucchini, tomatoes), water with a little sea salt.
If I’m dragging, I’ll have a hearty salad with lentils, greens, and maybe some root veggies.
If my gut feels off, I go straight for kraut, blended soups, green juices, and extra prebiotic veggies.
If my skin flares, I check my stress first, then magnesium, then my plate.

I didn’t learn this from a course or Instagram. I learned it from trial and error, paying attention, and choosing to trust my body over a food trend.

Sometimes it’s subtle like skipping my apple one day, because I feel a little gassy and off. Sometimes it’s big like pausing all nuts and nut butters when I notice my skin reacting.

Sometimes it’s emotional. I’ll crave chocolate, but what I really need is a time out (my Qi Gong), sleep, and connection with an in-person human instead of my computer. Sometimes I want to eat, because I’m stressed. And that’s not hunger, that’s a need for stillness.

Tuning in is a skill. It gets stronger the more you practice it. And once you start to trust those nudges, food becomes empowering again.

You Can’t Heal If You’re At War With Your Body

Let me say that in another way:

You can’t heal if you’re constantly battling your own body.

The bloat, the fatigue, the cravings, the skin flares, the heavy legs, the irritability… these are feedback. And when you stop labeling them as “bad” and start asking, “What do I need?” that’s when things change.

That’s how I got into remission. Progress over perfection! Do the 1 thing you know you can do better today. Don’t try to be perfect.  Start tuning in, responding, and rebuilding trust.

What I Teach Now

I teach my clients how to listen to their gut.  Literally and metaphorically. I like them to create a Food, Mood, Poop Journal.

What is your gut telling you?

Stop being afraid of food and start listening to what you body really needs.

Don’t panic when symptoms show up. Symptoms are signals. They tell you to slow down and investigate. Reflect of what you last ate, how did you sleep, how is your mood? Make the adjustment and give your body time to rebalance.

That’s what we do inside the Culinary Healing Circle. And that’s what I want for every woman who’s ever felt betrayed by her body. Because chances are it was a cry for attention.

Real healing is messy. It’s intuitive. It’s full of adjusting and corrections. When you stop chasing rules and protocols and start responding to your own body’s wisdom, you experience real healing.

Ready to Stop Following Rules That Don’t Work for You?

Join the Culinary Healing Circle, my monthly membership for women who want to eat smarter, heal deeper, and feel better for real this time.

We focus on microbiome-centered, blood sugar-friendly, hormone-balancing foods that work with your body.

No gurus. No dogma. Just whole-body wisdom, therapeutic food, and a supportive community that gets it.