Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridgette Wolleat.
Bridgette, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up young. My parents had me at a young age. From the time I was six, I was making my own breakfast and lunches, riding my bike to and from school. And I didn’t really have anyone to model how to do things. I was always figuring them out as I went.
Throughout my school years, I became really involved in sports, skateboarding, biking and immersing myself in school. I love learning, playing, moving in my body and connecting with others.
My parents decided to move from California to Amarillo, TX when I turned 15. It was quite the culture shock to say the least. I had my whole life going in California.
I ended up getting involved with the wrong crowd in Amarillo and began skipping school and sports practice to hang with friends and do drugs. I moved out of my house at the age of 17 and kind of lost touch with all the parts of me that I used to love, become addicted to drowning my sorrows and immersing myself in unhealthy relationships.
I moved to Austin, TX when I graduated high school. After a few years of living in this city and being inspired by the health advocates around. I decided to get back into fitness and movement and signed up for a body-building competition.
After eight months of vigorous dieting and training, I did it: I had transformed my body, my lifestyle and I took 2nd place in the competition. Afterwards, I was scared to let go of this identity for fear that I would fall back into old patterns. I clung to the overexercising and under-eating diet mentality, even though I was not healthy and didn’t really know what a healthy diet was or how to properly nourish myself. I was training a minimum of 2-3 hours a day while working a 50-hour-a-week job as a fitness manager. Two years later, I was sick, exhausted, had complete adrenal burnout and was diagnosed with hypothalamic amenorrhea- meaning I lost my cycle and was experiencing intense symptoms of hypothyroidism.
I began to work with a functional medicine doctor. My hormones were depleted, my cortisol was through the roof and I was told that I could not exercise for at least six months and needed to eat and rest. A lot.
WHAT?! This was my worst nightmare. My whole life was built around movement and dieting. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I also worked in the fitness industry, managing and coaching others with high-intensity exercise programs and diet plans.
I was beginning to feel awful. I had severe insomnia, chronic fatigue symptoms, brain fog, dizziness, and I could barely crawl out of bed in the morning. My body was shutting down.
I quit my job and did everything that my functional medicine advised. I began resting, practicing self-care, stress management, meditation, eating a hormone healing diet, looking at my emotional world and forgiving myself for the abuse I had put on my body. It was a journey. I was also fascinated with the amount of food I was eating, the type of foods I was eating and how quickly my body was healing. I began school to become a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. I wanted to help guide others into holistic healing.
The perspective I had gained living so intimately in the fitness and diet culture world gave me beautiful insights on our hormonal health, adrenal glands, endocrine system and the emotional ties that connect us to diet and food.
Where I am today with my health has been a 10+ year journey of experimenting, learning and evaluating.
I am so grateful for every part of my journey. As it has led me to doing what I do today; helping other’s health through holistic lifestyle practices, nutritional therapy and mindful movement.
I am now a mother, a partner, a business owner, a mover, a player, a teacher, a student and a lover of life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
On the self-growth journey, I feel that there are always challenges.
And I am so grateful for them and how they help me continuously shift and evolve and connect on a deeper level with my clients.
My greatest challenge has always been finding balance. Tuning in and listening to my body, trusting my intuition and learning that we are always being guided by the emotions and symptoms of our body.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a holistic wellness practitioner, nutritional therapist, chef and movement teacher. The foundation of my work is based on reconnecting with our primal, intuitive nature to help and guide others to live with vibrant health, joy and confidence. I use nutritional tools, nervous system practices and embodied movement to inspire deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us.
I specialize in autoimmune, chronic fatigue, hormonal health and fertility.
I work with clients 1:1, in person or virtually.
I also run a personal chef and meal delivery business called Wild Eats, that focuses on local, organic, pasture-raised, paleo meals.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
LOVE YOURSELF. KNOW YOURSELF. And continuously allow yourself to grow.
Contact Info:
- Email: bridgettewolleat@gmail.com
- Website: www.bridgettewolleat.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/bridgettewolleat
