This newsletter is dedicated to supporting you with nutrition tips, hormone balance insights, metabolism-boosting strategies, weight loss advice, mindset tools, and guidance on integrating it all so you can wake up every day feeling like your most vital self. Plus, I’ll be sharing recipes and details on upcoming live and virtual events!

Hi Reader,

I have a teacher named Dr. Terry Wahls. I’ve been studying with her since March of 2020, and I am a Certified Wahls Practitioner.

If you haven’t heard of her, she’s a physician from Iowa who developed two autoimmune diseases over the course of her life, Multiple Sclerosis and Trigeminal Neuralgia, both of which profoundly affected her nerves and quality of life. When the promising MS medications failed to help, she pivoted away from the strictly conventional medical path and turned toward what her body needed nutritionally and metabolically.

She radically changed her diet and movement routine, and within a couple of years, she went from using a wheelchair to riding her bike again. That transformation changed how she practiced medicine and how she helps others manage their chronic illnesses. Her story has never stopped inspiring me. She reminds me that so much more is possible when we show up fully for ourselves, and put our whole selves in, hokey pokey optional.

Earlier this week I opened one of her emails, and she was talking, as she often does, about creating a BHAG: a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

It got me thinking.

I’m someone who loves the power of small steps. Inside my community, we call the successes that come from small steps our “happy dance moments.” Those moments matter. I love celebrating the wins from my clients, the Vitality Club, and the Blood Sugar Reset Bootcamp, especially when they notice that a small change turns into a lasting habit that improves their quality of life.

For example, a client recently shared that after she began drinking a large glass of warm, electrolyte-rich water first thing in the morning, before coffee, she started sleeping through the night for the first time in years. Instead of waking multiple times to use the bathroom, she now hydrates earlier in the day and absorbs her water better. Her sleep and energy have both improved.

That’s pretty incredible, and absolutely worth a mini dance party.

(If you're curious: she adds ⅛–¼ teaspoon of whole salt to 16 ounces of hot water with lemon and drinks that before any caffeinated beverage.)

These are the kinds of small changes that, layered over time, can transform health, especially if you already have a decent foundation or if big changes feel overwhelming. We have to start somewhere.

But where does the BHAG fit in?

Sometimes we feel truly stuck, and small steps aren’t enough to shift things. A BHAG often comes on the heels of a diagnosis or a moment when our health forces a 180-degree turn. But a BHAG can also come from your inner knowing, your future self calling you to rise to a bigger, more courageous commitment to your health, even without a frightening wake-up call.

I’m bringing this up because we’re at the end of the year, and wow, what a year. This is a beautiful moment to reflect on what you want, what your future self wants, what your BHAGs might be, and what level of change your health is truly asking for.

Perhaps next time I’ll share more about the difference between motivation and discipline, because consistent eating habits and self-care absolutely require a bit of discipline, and discipline leads to freedom.

Since I’ve had the honor of interviewing Dr. Wahls several times for my Food Solution Summit, I invite you to watch the interview I did with her last year, it’s deeply inspiring.

​Watch the video here. ​

And if you feel called to reply to this email and share your goals or your BHAGs, I’d love to hear from you and cheer you on.

Your Vitality Ally,

Mary Sheila

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P.S. The final Better You Class of 2025 in Calistoga will be on December 18th. These classes are fun, restorative, and always full of community, I’d love to see you there. Learn more here​

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