Hi! My name is Jill Eleson. I am a Certified Holistic Health Coach, wife, mom of 3, lover of mountains, reading, cooking and finding a few minutes to myself. I created WholeListically Nourished to my clients gain back their identity, release themselves of the barriers that weigh them down, and help them find the happy, vibrant lifestyle they desire. Here is my story.
Living with food allergies and intolerances has been a way of life for me. At age 7, I had an anaphylactic reaction to fish. Thus began a journey to discover I was allergic to dairy, gluten, soy, corn, and more. Thank goodness for very supportive parents, and a mom who spent countless hours in the kitchen creating recipes that were delicious and followed the food rotation diet I was put on.
In college, I mostly abandoned my food rules. I commonly would tell my mom that I did not feel good when I ate too much gluten or dairy, but kept eating them anyway. Fast forward to a social young adult life and marriage where we thought we were fairly healthy…..
……and then, I started having some health issues that plagued me for several years. I had IBS-like problems everyday. BAD! Doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on and had no suggestions for me. But before I could really figure out what was going on, we had 3 kids in 4 1/2 years! Whew! They are our pride and joy, but it was very hard on my body and our stress levels.
The baby years kick started healthier eating and being more environmentally conscious. We made more changes to our diets, rid our house of chemicals, recycled more, and made conscientious personal care product choices.
My IBS symptoms ‘seemed’ to have gone away, and we liked our eating and lifestyle choices, but our stress levels were pretty high for the period of years surrounding the birth of our youngest two children. To combat the stress, we both found our secret ways of trying to cope that ultimately harmed our bodies. For me, one coping mechanism was eating chocolate chips in the pantry when I actually got all three kids napping at the same time. At least it was dark chocolate and I’m not overweight, is what I told myself.
The birth of our 3rd child brought the big wake up call that we were not as healthy as we would have liked to think about ourselves. My husband was suffering from ergonomic issues in his hands and ankle injuries making him unable to do things he enjoyed, or help with the kids and house. I was suffering from stress, lack of sleep and a yeast overgrowth, while trying to recover from childbirth, care for a newborn, and take care of the entire family. My daughter’s health seemed okay, but my older son (who was 19 months at this time) had significant developmental and speech delays and had not gained weight in a year. My infant son suffered from severe eczema and vomited on me all day long for 9 months.
Doctors had not been able to help us much. That was when I began to realize ‘food is medicine’ and through this figured out that my boys had autoimmune disorders. Once I figured out which foods were making us healthy and which ones were hurting each family member, my husband kept suggesting I do something with my passion for health and wellness. I always said, “I don’t know how to make liking kale a career”, until a conversation with my friend Meredith. She told me about becoming a Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I immediately looked into the school and before I knew it was enrolled!
I received my training as a Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s cutting-edge Health Coach Training Program.
During my training, I studied over 100 dietary theories, practical lifestyle management techniques, and innovative coaching methods with some of the world’s top health and wellness experts. My teachers included Dr. Andrew Weil, Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine; Dr. Deepak Chopra, leader in the field of mind-body medicine; Dr. David Katz, Director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center; Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of Nutrition at Harvard University; Geneen Roth, bestselling author and expert on emotional eating; and many other leading researchers and nutrition authorities.
My education has equipped me with extensive knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and preventive health. Drawing on these skills and my knowledge of different dietary theories, I work with clients to help them make lifestyle changes that produce real and lasting results.
Together, we will create a personalized “roadmap to health” that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals. To learn how you can benefit from a health coach, schedule a free health consultation with me today!
