Testimonials

Teena’s Story, Testimonial (Exhaustion, Panic Attacks, IBS) 

“When I first started working with Sheri Levy, SexyStrongLife, I had known her for over 50 years but had never taken the time to ask her advice or listen to her words of wisdom. 

But as I approached my early 50’s and beginning stages of perimenopause my world began to unravel, I was miserable. My anxiety was through the roof. I had full-blown panic attacks that would land me in the hospital several times a year and my exhaustion level was at such a crippling low, I would weekly feel like a curtain was falling on me and think in my head “oh crap, here it comes”. 

There was a time I was so exhausted literally from the time I woke up in the morning until the time I went to bed, that once I walked into a clothing store, took a look around, and thought “I don’t have the strength to walk across the store”. Instead of shopping, I drove straight to the hospital thinking for sure “this time” was it, something was seriously wrong with me. This time they would find it. But just like so many times before, I heard the same sentences, “you're absolutely fine, you're so healthy, all tests were great”. 

I left the hospital lower than when I arrived if that was possible because again, I heard "I was so healthy. I was fine". Then why, did I feel like crap all the time?! Was I crazy? Every time I would eat, my stomach would make such loud noises, grumbling and churning that I would have to apologize to people in the room. My friends would constantly hear me say, “my stomach hurts”. I was not capable of having a “regular bowel movement”. I would go several times a day but there was no form, no structure, it was like I was peeing out of my rectum. My gut was a mess. 

When I finally got to my lowest point, anxiety sent me to the hospital once again. I recall sitting in my car, so no one would see me crying and thinking, “I can’t live like this”. I am not one to ever take my own life, but I did have moments of thinking, “if this is how I am going to be for the rest of my years I would rather be dead”. I was in such a state of despair I can’t even recall what I first said to Sheri when I called her for help, maybe I don’t remember because I was blubbering my head off. I do remember swearing that I would do anything to feel better, I remember telling her that “if someone told me to eat dog sh** and I would feel better, I would!!!” Sheri just giggled and said, “I won’t make you eat dog sh**, but you are going to have to change everything”. 

When I started working with Sheri, I had been forcing myself to exercise for about 2 hours a day multiple times a week. I am a curvy Italian girl and go squishy the moment I stop, I wanted to be the girl of my 20’s not what my body had become so I would push and push myself trying to recapture my youth. What was crazy to me was that I exercised so much and still couldn't take any weight off. When I had my breakdown with Sheri I was at the high end of my weight and no matter what I did, I was not losing weight. 

When we started working together, Sheri asked me what felt like a million questions. I was used to maybe 10 minutes with my doctor, she was giving me hours of her time. She also asked to see my previous Doctor’s labs. Here I thought I was clear with my doctors that I felt like I was dying, and she told me after looking at them that they barely checked anything meaningful. I told her I had HMO insurance and she said, PPO doesn’t check enough either. That was eye-opening.

Since my labs were old and limited, she asked me to begin her testing process, which she warned me Insurance wouldn’t cover but told me we would get to the core of my problems faster. I was ready to do anything that would help. Seriously, I had already spent so much money on hearing “nothing was wrong with me”.

I had never seen anything like the labs she showed me. We started to find answers. I found that I was low in several important (nutrient) areas and needed to add supplements to my daily routine to catch my body up to where it needed to be but that taking them wouldn’t be forever. I remember when I first got all my supplements, I thought “wholly, crap, I will never take ALL of these” and then I remembered saying “if you told me to eat dog shit to feel better, I would” so down the hatch they went every day. 

Sheri also explained to me that with all my excessive exercise over the years I had burned out my cortisol and she showed me where my levels were tanked. She limited me to 30-minutes a day. She found out that I would stop eating each day at 11:00 am to try and keep my weight down. I told her it was because I worked early, went to bed early, and wasn't hungry after 11 am. And she told me that it was more about my years of not eating later that had trained my body not to be hungry, but that my body was starving for proper nourishment. The low calories were destroying my metabolism and limiting my energy. 

She explained to me what my plate should look like based on my genetic lab results and every night, I would have to send her pictures of what I was having for dinner. I remember thinking “uggghhh, I am not hungry” and then thinking “put the food in your mouth and chew, it is better than dog sh**”.

I have done most, if not all, of Sheri's recommended tests and have learned incredible things about what my body needs and is screaming at me to do to help make it healthy.  I have found that some of the foods and beverages I consumed were actually pushing my exhaustion into the red. So many of the (processed) meals that I thought were smart choices were toxic options. My eating style now is more Paleo, but it is customized to who I am using Sheri’s genetic testing. 

The craziest upside that proved to me I was turning my body around was that even though I was exercising less, and eating more, I woke up one day to notice that I had miraculously lost 10lbs! 

Those supplements I dreaded in the beginning, changed my life. Now the thought of not having them, even for a day, I go into a panic because I feel the change in my body when I miss a day. 

When I have an off day and put something in my mouth that I am not supposed to eat I can now truly feel the effect it has on my body, and I am realizing diverting is so not worth it. I still have a long journey ahead of me to repair the damage that years of eating unhealthy food and over-exercising did to my body, but my stomach no longer hurts after eating, my curtain of exhaustion has left, and my bowel movements are now formed and normal, my complexion has improved, and my level of anxiety has greatly lowered. I haven’t gone to the hospital with a panic attack in over 6 months. This is all due to Sheri.  Am I perfect now, no, but each step is a step closer. I remember telling Sheri one day when she asked how I was feeling that I felt so much better, but I said “let's face it, I will never be like everyone else, I am the energizer bunny running on cheap batteries” she laughed and said “No that is unacceptable. You have to stop thinking like that. It can take the body a full 2 years to repair and get back to being the healthy machine it was intended to be, every step you take forward is a step closer to rebuilding your SexyStrongLife. 

Every day I say my blessing that I met this amazing woman all those years ago and that she loved me enough when I was at my bitter end to take my hand, walk by my side and say, “I am here for you, together we will heal you.”

- Teena C