Each client sets one, three and six-month goals along with their health coach when they begin their journey with us.

In revisiting our latest Member of the Month’s history, we noted that Tom’s included multiple mentions relating to diet, refining a work-life balance to revolve around health, and “ensuring true commitment to the program as a baseline for long-term health and longevity goals.” And the short version of Tom’s story is that he achieved all of this (and more). But the real story as to how he got there is much more interesting than just that.

A former wrestler, 31 year-old Tom admits that, like many other proponents of this particular sport, he had an “interesting” relationship with food. Even if you yourself didn’t participate, most of us have heard stories of wrestlers taking extreme measures to “make weight”. These are, without a doubt, tactics that we, as healthcare professionals, would not necessarily deem “healthy”. Nonetheless, they are practiced and some of these ideas stick, even if in our subconscious.

Tom wanted to have a “normal” relationship with food. But in addition to this, there were foods that were just not making him feel great. Digging deep with his health coach and his provider (Anya Wallace, PA-C), the three began noticing and unraveling some habits as well as unearthing some problematic foods (via various tests).

Some other areas of concern that Tom had in the beginning included musculoskeletal issues (from wrestling), anxiety and ADHD. Anya worked through the bloodwork, specialty GI and neurotransmitter testing and devised a plan that helped heal his gut–an integral part of the whole process. But his nervous system was overtaxed, which was exacerbated by lifestyle.

To paint the picture further on Tom, we share this: he’s extremely driven, your stereotypical 1st child (in terms of being very responsible and a leader), and eager to do well. The problem was, he was taking this too far.

Work weeks were adding up to be 90 hours+, and boundaries were a thing of the past. Oftentimes when recapping a weekend, Tom would note that work time was logged there as well; there were no actual days off.

As mentioned above, Tom knew that things needed adjusting, and yet he kept plugging along. Until change presented itself.

Sometimes life has a way of offering us just what we need, and collectively Tom and his care team at Companion Health agree that Tom’s layoff that happened earlier this year was actually a blessing in disguise. But that’s the spoiler alert version, what was not mentioned was the work that went into supporting him through this change, because as you can likely appreciate, seeing the layoff as a blessing was not the first impression that Tom had.

Having ample time on his hands was not a comfortable spot. So it was time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. To work through this extra space, it was time to focus on Tom. Some ways that he did this:

• Tom leaned into meditation, which he had started early on after joining Companion Health. At the time of this writing, he is 404 days strong, doesn’t miss a day, and attributes so many positive health effects to this.
• He began using an infrared sauna a few times a week
• Nutrition became more important, with a focus on protein
• Outside walks with his dog became more frequent
• He realized that his days that included exercise were better days overall (and therefore is working out 5 days a week)
• Hikes and outdoor activities moved up on the priority list, as did doing these with friends and family

Suddenly self-care became a part of his routine. The need to be “on” at all hours was decreased.

While all of this alignment was happening, he looked to further improve other areas, to include hormone optimization and peptide therapy.

Tom has achieved his initially-determined goals, but the personal growth he’s had along the way has been equally monumental, in our opinion. “It has been a joy getting to know Tom and watching him grow into a happier, healthier version of himself,” says Anya.

We can’t wait to see how he continues to grow and evolve, and we will be supporting him every step of the way.