Episode 391: Healing Isn’t a Test Result: What TFN Client Meg O’Neill Learned About Mindset, Data, and Patience
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If you’ve ever felt frustrated by how slow healing can be, or caught yourself searching for ONE answer that will finally explain everything, this episode is for you. Erin is sitting down with TFN client Meg O’Neill to explore what happened when she learned how patience, mindset, and functional testing work together over time.
Together, they unpack Meg’s client case, including recurring infections, acid reflux, blood sugar instability, and elevated liver markers – and why none of those symptoms told the full story on their own! Erin digs into why testing matters, what “under the hood” data can uncover about gut bacteria and gluten reactions, and how to stop missing root causes by assuming hormones are always the culprit.
Meg also shares the small, but meaningful changes that helped her build momentum on her health journey, including removing dairy and gluten.
In this episode:
How Meg’s current season of life changed the kinds of health and work habits she was willing to sustain
Why putting labels on your health (like blaming all your symptoms on perimenopause) can delay real answers
How functional testing played a critical role in Meg’s care and helped move her beyond guessing or trial-and-error
The data behind low Secretory IgA and low beneficial bacteria, and what it means when you’re constantly getting sick
The small shifts Meg focused on to improve her energy and digestion without overhauling her entire life
Resources mentioned:
Apply to work with us 1:1 here!
Join the waitlist for Manifest Your Health.
Meg is a social media strategist and content creator who helps women show up authentically online. Connect with her on Instagram and TikTok.
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Meg O’Neill:
I was so disconnected from my actual physical body. Like I feel now so present and in my body and there was certain times where I had all non toxic things and it was like as life got harder as it does, I let those things fall away. I just didn't know how to prioritize it. It's often moms of two or three kids who are really in the thick of it and they're like, what did you do? What are you doing? And it's like no one has like a magic sauce or magic wand. It was just that I took each baby step and I said to myself, this is who I am now.
Welcome to The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast, spelled with a “K”, because we do things a little differently around here. I'm your host, Erin Holt, and I've got 15 years of clinical experience as a Functional Nutritionist and Mindset Coach, creating a new model that I call Intuitive Functional Medicine™, where we combine root cause medicine with the innate intelligence of your body. This is where science meets self trust. Your body already knows how to heal and this show is going to show you how. If you're looking for new ways of thinking about your health, be sure to follow and share with a friend, because you never know whose life you might change.
Erin Holt:
Okay, so I'm so excited today because I have my friend, my colleague, and a client of The Funk’tional Nutritionist, Meg O'Neill with us. Hi, Meg.
Meg O'Neill
Hi.
Erin Holt:
If you guys could see us now, we are wearing our Christmas colors. I mean green. She's in red. So Meg and I first met on Instagram like years ago. I was trying to think maybe like 2019. Do you think 2020?
Meg O'Neill
I was thinking maybe 2018.
Erin Holt:
Oh, even before.
Meg O'Neill
Okay. I think it was before.
Erin Holt:
So we met on Instagram. We live close-ish. So there was a lot of overlap of our friend circles and our family circles even. And then we became friends in real life and we've talked shop for a lot of years. She's helped me with some social media and marketing stuff. She's a Social Media Strategist and content creator and she's also part of FNA's faculty. She's our resident social media expert.
She works with our students and our grads on their social media strategy and presence. So so much overlap between me and Meg. And then in 2024, she officially became a client of The Funk’tional Nutritionist and that's what we're here to talk about today. Not so much social media expertise, but your health journey. So Meg is a 42 year old mom of three. She lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts. And in 2023/2024, she was experiencing a really long stretch of feeling chronically unwell, dealing with pneumonia, recurring sinus infections, burnout, and the sense that she could never really fully catch up or get back to herself. She was feeling really physically depleted.
She struggled with how she looked and how she felt in her body and began to believe she was likely in perimenopause. And this is just like how it went. This is just how she was going to feel. And I'll throw this into the mix. I would definitely put you in the category of somebody who has tried everything. So it wasn't like you were just ignoring all of this. You were doing a lot for all of this as well. So it was July 2024, you started working with our team and that completely shifted your health.
This is Meg's language, by the way.
Meg O'Neill
I am not saying that it's all true.
Erin Holt:
Did you use ChatGPT to write this bio?
Meg O'Neill
Yeah, I spoke it into, I spoke it in and I said, put this all together for me.
Erin Holt:
Let me read what ChatGPT had to say about Meg. The experience completely shifted her health mindset and quality of life. Through personalized support and data driven care, she learned that her symptoms were not inevitable. And today she feels better than she has in many years and more hopeful about her health than ever before.
Meg O'Neill
It's all true. So eloquent though by chatgpt.
Erin Holt:
It's so good we can potentially, maybe we'll get into some of the nitty gritty that we did in terms of lab testing and the functional medicine side of things. But first, what I really want to get into, part of your gig, your whole shtick, is that you help women and business owners show up authentically online and even outside of your job, just your existence, you really help people show up authentically as themselves. But there was a moment in time where you weren't showing up as your authentic self. I know that we've talked about this because we talk all of the time because we're actually friends. A lot of that had to do with how you are feeling in your body, but also how you are feeling in your life. So can you just take us through that a little bit?
Because I know so many people can relate to what you were experiencing at that time.
Meg O'Neill
I've had a lot of time to reflect and I think I could say it better now than years ago, but there was a lot of striving for a certain outside looking success. And I am a mom of three, I have a child with special needs. I have a very busy life and. But yet I was still trying to fit myself into boxes that weren't very aligned. And because of that, it had a real impact on my health. Not only because of the energy that I was expending, but also because I was just not ever prioritizing myself in a way that put my health first ever. Like, it was always about like striving to kind of look good on paper. Like, what am I going to do next? I've been the co-founder of two different facilities.
One was an actual in person wellness facility and then a marketing agency. And by doing that, I was putting all of my time there instead of like putting it on me or I was putting it towards my children and what they needed as well. So it just looked like always kind of bleeding out and not knowing where I could plug the hole. And I actually have always. And I think that you know this, but like, I've always looked at you as somebody who is an example for me of like, well, look at the boundaries that she set. But I always was able to look at that and say, like, that's not for me, like I'm not gonna be able to do that.
Erin Holt:
Yeah. Why do you think that is?
Meg O'Neill
I think that there's so many different things, but one is like conditioning. Like, I was raised by a stay at home mom that never prioritized herself. She gave her entire life to us and her family. And then I also had grandparents that kind of did the same. My grandmother was ahead of a postpartum. She was a nurse, so a postpartum nurse. But she gave herself completely to her job and her family. And then she died in her late 60s.
And when I think of my grandma in her 50s, she was walking so slow, she would wear, you know, like she was like an older, late, like what we would think now is like 95. So I think the examples that I had around myself really programmed me to say, like, a woman's job, this is what I took in. My mother never said this to me, but a woman's job is to serve her family first and her body, her physical body. I was so disconnected from my physical body. That's just like in the background. It'll figure itself out.
Erin Holt:
Modeled behavior is so big. I talk about this all of the time because you just said like those words weren't explicitly stated to you. Like, this is what it means to be a good woman. This is what it means to be a good mom, a good wife, a good partner. But because of the modeled behavior, you know, that you took in, that is what formed your belief at a young age. And those beliefs just, like, run programs that carry us right into adulthood. And this is why I think part of the reason that I am so fierce with my boundaries is because I am modeling to my daughter, like, this is what it looks like to take care of you. Because I think as moms, we want the best for our children, and we show up in the biggest, most bold ways for our kiddos.
And I know that you do because you're such an advocate for your son. Well, I mean, all of your kids, but definitely your son. I could tell my daughter all day, every day, you matter, your needs matter. But it just doesn't land unless I'm actually showcasing that this is how I'm doing this for myself. And that's why I kind of, like, joke that how I parent is like, wow, radical momming. Because in my house, it is very well known that mom has needs, too, and mom's going to get those needs met. So it's like, such an important thing that you just said, and I want to highlight that, too. Well.
Meg O'Neill
And I think my daughter is very, like, her personality is very strong. The child is going to do whatever she wants for the rest of her life. But my middle son was very reflective, and, like, he saw what I was doing, and he saw me gaining weight, and he's an athlete, and, you know, so is she. And he saw me not be able to do as much. And, like, he would say things to me and say, like, if you saw a video, he would be like, hey, look at this. Like, he was, like, trying to teach me. And I was very similar to that as a kid.
Like, I was very into that kind of, like, I wanted somebody to model that for me. And that really hit me. That was like, to me, it was like, I want my daughter to see it, but I also want my son to see that a woman is going to do this and that I can change my habits and that, like, people can grow and change. There was a big part of that for me, too.
Erin Holt:
And you want to pull up for your kids so they don't feel like they have to pull up for you, because I think, you know, we don't want to. I certainly don't want to burden my daughter with caretaking me, my emotional needs, my physical needs, like, anything.
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Erin Holt:
Something that you and I have talked a lot about is and you've really helped me with this question like at the cost of what? So this is something that I kind of run through a filter like I could do this but at the cost of what? I could say yes to that, but what would that cost me? And I really had to ask myself that a lot of questions over the past couple of years, especially as it relates to work in my business. But I think for a while I witnessed you kind of being like, well, I can do all of these things at the cost of my health. And you were kind of okay with that for a while.
But I feel like that is the biggest thing that has shifted and changed. Like, yeah, we can talk about the labs that we run. Yeah, we can talk about the dietary changes in all of that. Like, how do we actually make those changes? Because this was not your first rodeo, this is not your first attempt to change your health. I think that is the thing that changed. And what, how did you make that change to be like, no, no, no, I'm not going to do all of this stuff at the expense of my health anymore.
Meg O'Neill
The change was able to happen because I was scared. Like, I was not. There's a long internal process that's happened for me for years and years and years. And I am somebody who is fairly self aware and has done a lot of mindset work and all of those things. So I kind of like saw my blocks. But I did need to get to a place where I was like, oh my God, like, if I do not change this now, I could have like, what I was interpreting as some of the blood work that I had was that I could end up having lupus. And I read about it and then I was like, I'm going down the same exact path. I'm not breaking the cycles.
And that is something I am passionate about. We were just talking about, like, I gave up alcohol over seven years ago to break a cycle. And I was like, I could do that hard work. I did it. So, like, now I'm going to break this cycle. We don't all have to be unhealthy. Like, but the fear did get me. That was like, definitely a prime motivator.
But what it did, it was the catalyst for, is that I had to make a choice to live my life radically different. So when I say that I went to college, I have had many career aspirations and stuff, but my husband has a job that provides for our family and we require a lot of hands on assistance at home with the different things that are going on with our children. And I was fighting that for so long. I was like still wanting to work and still wanting to do, you know, be so present. But again, it was like, at what cost? So I finally got to this point and said, in this season of life, when my children are where they're at right now, I have to prioritize being at home and being present for them. With that, I have to also prioritize my health because I need to be able to be clear headed for the different. Like special education is like essentially when you are in an IEP, you're learning laws for the first time. Like you were never educated on.
You have to like uphold those laws and be present for your child in that way. And I was able to say, like, these are the two things that I can focus on right now. So with that, what happens? I drive a 2012 Honda Odyssey, like, because I'm not working as much and you know, we don't go on, you know, tons of vacations and stuff, I was able to say like, this is that season right now and I'm not trying to ‘keep up with the Jones’ anymore’. And not that I ever did, but there's like a part of you that's like, I really judged myself for thinking like, oh, I have to be a stay at home mom. And now I have to like, that's how I have to describe myself. There was something like that really hung up. I was hung up about. And when I was able to let that go and just say like, like, I'm me, I'm here.
And this is the season that I need to be present for my family and I need to be present for myself, I was able to give myself permission to just say like, at the cost of my ego and whatever, like, this is what I'm prioritizing. So when I did that, then for some reason I was able to then put in like a schedule for myself that felt like, okay, I'm gonna work out every day. Not every day, you know, five days a week. That means, like, I'm not gonna take client calls at that time. I'm not gonna do. And I'm just gonna sit. I know that in 20 years, I don't want to be reliant on my kids. I want to be able to be moving around and I want.
But that comes at the cost of going after some of the dreams that I thought I had or like kind of letting go of that story that we've been told that like you can do everything.
Erin Holt:
Well, everything can't be a priority otherwise it's not an actual priority.
Meg O'Neill
Right.
Erin Holt:
It's kind of like I think about it moving around like levers. Like, you've got a career over here and with that, you know, certain financial situation, you've got parenting here, you've got your own health. And I think for a lot of the years that I knew you, the health was kind of down the priority list. I don't think you would say that I don't think you would be somebody who says I don't prioritize my health. But it's kind of like embodied values, you know, versus like ideals. I've talked about this before where it's like you can say what your values are but you only know what your actual values are when you look around your life and see, see where you're showing up and where you're investing your time, attention and resources. So I would say that health, taking care of yourself is now an embodied value that you have, not just something that you talk about.
Meg O'Neill
It's so interesting because I was actually thinking of that when I was like doing my hair this morning. I was standing there and I was like, I actually feel embodied. Like I feel I was so disconnected from my actual physical body. Like I feel now so present and in. My body and health did feel very far outside of me. Like I knew what I wanted, I knew the things that I, you know, I was a listener of the show, you know, six years ago or whatever, before we even became friends. Like there was certain times where I had all non toxic things and it was like as life got harder as it does, I let those things fall away and I was afraid I was never going to get back there. Like I was like, this might just like not be for me.
I have to live. I just didn't know how to prioritize it. And I think so many women can relate to that because I do share about our work on social media and the people that have reached out to me. It's often moms of two or three kids who are really in the thick of it and they're like, well, what are you, what did you do? What are you doing? And it's like, honestly, no one has like a magic sauce or magic wand. It was just that I, I took each baby step and I said to myself, this is who I am now. Like that's what I feel like. I want to say that because two years ago I never thought that was possible for me. Like I hoped it was, but I felt like I was too far gone.
I felt like, I mean I spent, and this is absolutely no judgment on peptides and things like that, but I spent like $800 on them and they sat in my fridge. I never used them because I was like, I need something. Something's gonna help, has gotta help me. And I just had this little tiny like seed inside me that was like, if you do it a different way, it's gonna also heal way beyond your physical body. If that makes sense. Like, there was a journey that I knew I needed to go on, and I think that's what you're touching on. It was the embodiment piece. It was like, I could do all these other things, but I needed to actually become embodied in those beliefs and those desires.
Erin Holt:
Yeah, it's like an identity shift. It was like, I am the person who does this now. Like, our next podcast is going to be all about identity and how you need to actually change on an identity level before you can, you know, really, like, hit goals or meet your own expectations. And I think we, like, tried to, like, do the opposite. Like, once I get there, then I can xyz. And you actually have to set see yourself as that version of you first and make decisions from that place first. But there's a couple of things that you said. One is you essentially took a place.
You mapped over one area into another. So you showed your mind an example of like, I actually have done this before I quit drinking. I've been sober for eight years. And I have confidence that I like, you did that. So it built confidence for you to take that and map it over into another area of your life with food, with exercise, exercise, with taking care of yourself. And I think that's a really big, important thing that I want to highlight because people can get really frustrated with themselves and feel like I always try and I always fail. But, like, look at another area of your life where you've successfully done it. And actually, maybe we should talk about that a little bit because a lot of what I'm hearing from you is like, there was a readiness point and I want to circle back to the specific labs that kind of woke you up and potentially got you ready.
But I want to say speak into this because we got an email a couple of weeks ago and I've been thinking so much about this email. It came from a doctor, a gynecologist, and she wanted to send her patients to us for more of a functional medicine root-cause care approach. And she said this. I'm going to read it verbatim because it really stuck out of me.
She said, “more recently, I'm seeing more and more patients who have bounced around to different functional medicine providers, many of whom are very inexperienced and I feel not being honest about their limitations and taking advantage of the potential for financial gain. And patients are spending thousands of dollars and not getting better. I am hoping to send patients to you and your clinicians for a very experienced and thoughtful approach to whole body care.”
So first of all, this is like, probably the most flattering email I got all year.
And it's also like, it just, like, I don't know, something about it coming from an MD.
Meg O'Neill
Yeah, yeah.
Erin Holt:
We're doing some things over here and we're being witnessed in that. And that feels really, really good. And this is obviously like, this approach to functional medicine is something that I've been sounding the alarm bells on and speaking into for years now. It's a huge driving force of why we wanted to grow our practice this year, to create more opportunity for more people to have this comprehensive care. It's also why I founded the Academy six years ago, so we could train and mentor other clinicians. So it's important that we highlight this and talk about this. But I think something else that is also really under-discussed is that there's a reality that exists where previous experiences with other programs, other practitioners, didn't work. And it's not because it was a scam, and it's not because the practitioners or the programs were underserving, but maybe because the person just wasn't fully ready.
They weren't at a point where they were ready either on an identity level or life circumstance level. They weren't ready to implement the work. And I think that this can happen, and this can happen again and again and again. It can happen multiple times with different approaches. And I actually think this is pretty freaking common. And what can start to happen is that we start to form beliefs about ourselves. Like, I can't stick to anything. Nothing ever works for me.
I can't trust myself to uphold my own commitments. We might even label it as self sabotage. We might feel shame about it. We might judge ourselves. We can feel frustrated with ourselves. That shame can eventually, like, lead to disassociation or just like, I give up, like you said, like, hope is the theme that you keep bringing up, like you felt like this wasn't even on the table for you anymore.
Meg O'Neill
Yeah.
Erin Holt:
What I want to say is that it's rarely actually self sabotage. It's often-times more self protection, where if we try to do so much all at once, it's really, really hard to maintain that. And the nervous system and the brain is like, whoa, what's going on? Because the brain is always trying to pull us back into our old patterns, like the old familiar. And so trying to do too much all at once can be too much of a push or a stretch for our nervous system. And a lot of people actually need more of a titra process. So you talked about baby steps, and I think that that was part of why you were so successful this time, because you gave yourself the time and the grace and the permission for it to take a little bit of time. You allowed the time to rebuild that identity step by step. Like, I am somebody who does this now.
And these, what we saw with you and what you're speaking into is that these smaller steps compounded over time to lead to massive, incredible change. And so I think two things happening here. One is that you really gave yourself time to do this. But two, there was a readiness level. And do you think that readiness came from, like, being scared by your labs? Is that the thing that got you ready?
Meg O'Neill
I think that was a really big part. But I also do think it was like, kind of like just like wisdom and age a little, if I. If I could say. Because what really worked for me is releasing the perfectionism. So I have worked with a bunch of practitioners for years and years, all these things, and it was like, then it felt like I had to be perfect. Like, it felt like I had to get a whole new house and make sure there's no mold in it. And like, and I was like, that feels so overwhelming. So, like, years ago I have say it was when I have a six year old, a four year old and a two year old, my nervous system was in fight or flight, like all the time.
Like, that's just like where it was. So then on top of that, I'm like, okay, I'm tired of these things. I have to see this practitioner.
And they're telling me, you know, to do the GAPS diet with my kid, make sure there's no mold in my house, make sure there's like all these things. And I'm like, I'm going to combust. Like, I got to just live the regular American life and forget about all of this because I can't do it. So I had that knowledge and stuff, but at a certain point I kind of was like, I don't want to hear that knowledge anymore because I can't implement it. It's too scary. And that's some of the things that I absolutely love about all of you, is that you always bring it back to like, well, what can you do now? Or like, not the scare tactics that people use. And I think it is because the wealth of knowledge that you have and then you and your team also has. And it's not just a somebody who got like, like the doctor was speaking to a quick certification or something, and now they're just like telling you mold is all your problem.
Mold is people's problems. I understand that.
Erin Holt:
A lot of people have mold in their house and positive mold tests, and they're just fine. So there's that too.
Meg O'Neill
And we live in New England. Like, live somewhere where there's going to probably be, like, you know, moldy girls.
Erin Holt:
Moldy up in here.
It's dark, it's dangerous, it's moldy, it's moldy.
Meg O'Neill
We can't get rid of this. It was like this point of, like, I can't take in any more information until I was ready. And the fear factor of the certain tests. And then also, like I said, that release of perfectionism. So as I entered, you know, my 40s and stuff, I realized, like, you can't do it all. And, like, I'm not going to do a month. And then all of a sudden there's going to be no toxins in my life. And like, no, that's how it's going to work. My thought process was at the time, I would love to lose weight, but I don't. I'm not going to focus on that. I don't care. I just care that I'm making steps to be healthier. So I released it. Like, I was like, I'm not going to worry about that.
I'm not going to worry about how fast I can do this. I'm going to congratulate myself each time I get somewhere, like, new and make those steps. And if there is a time that I mess up, okay, whatever, I get to start again. Like, I didn't have that grace for myself years ago. That gave me that ability to shift my identity. And I guess, like, you can go back to. Also when I gave up drinking, it was like, one day at a time. If I have a sip of somebody's wine or something, like, I was like, we've talked.
I was not an alcoholic in recovery. Recovery. I decided to just give up drinking. So I then was just like, my identity is a person that does not drink. That's it. Like, that's what I needed to do in order to do it. And it didn't mean, like, it didn't have to be perfect to then say, my identity is still a person that doesn't drink. So that's kind of what I took.
I took that lesson and I applied it to. Especially when I started giving up gluten and. And dairy. I said to myself, okay, you did it before. Now you are a person that does not eat gluten. And it really worked. It's like this simple but not easy. You know, that concept is very simple, of course, to say, but it was not easy to do in practice.
Erin Holt:
Yeah. And this is like really good information for people to hear because maybe I said this earlier on when we were recording, but I think you're a really great example of slow and steady actually does win the race, which really flies in the face of a lot of the success stories that we see online. And honestly, some of the expectations that people bring to us is that like, why can't we do this in two months? You know, it's like, well, you've been struggling for literal years. It's going to take time not just to get your body healthy, but to rebuild the identity that you are a healthy person. And then you can do this, especially if you've had a lot of like, quote unquote failed attempts.
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Erin Holt:
Let's talk a little bit about your labs. Meg has given me permission to share her health stuff with you guys. So you came to us really feeling sick all of the time.
It was like pneumonia. It was like a sinus infection. It was a cold. I was like, in. You'd recover from one thing and then you'd be like knocked on your ass with another thing. You also had elevated liver markers. And that was the thing that I was like, to your point earlier, we don't do the fear mongering thing. But I'm also like the tough love friend where I'm just like, I'm not gonna not say the hard thing out loud.
And that was where I'm like, okay, we wanna provide Meg so much grace and so much compassion. And also like, this is the type of marker that like, this isn't going to go away. This is gonna get worse and it's gonna get to the point where you actually can't reverse the damage. Like, that's the, that's where we're headed right now. So, you know, that was real and that was true. You had 20 pounds of weight gain within a year, which is like, that's pretty fast weight gain.
Like that's enough to be like something's off here
Meg O'Neill
and make you feel uncomfortable. Yeah. Like in your body.
Erin Holt:
Yeah. And also that's like a sign that something is going on that needs to be addressed. A lot of fatigue and brain fog. And then you also did have some GI stuff. You had acid reflux, pretty nauseous all of the time. And just like, you know, some poop stuff that we don't have to get.
Meg O'Neill
A lot of poop stuff. But it's Rocks. Doing better now. So.
Erin Holt:
So the recommendations, you already had basic blood work, so we always like to start there, but we had that for you. So the first thing was to test your hormones and to run a stool test on you and hormones, because you had put yourself in a category. You were 41 at the time, and you were like, it's perimenopause. You were writing all of these symptoms off as perimenopause. I won't speak for you, but that was kind of what was going on. And I want to highlight this because that is, like, kind of the predominant message right now. I feel like I create a lot of content around this. Like, I'm not a perimenopause denier.
Like, I'm really, really not. And I'm so glad that we're finally talking about women's hormones. But man will stop at nothing to demonize and pathologize women's bodies and women's hormones. So now perimenopause is the big thing that needs to be fixed and needs to be solved. My concern, and I've said this a hundred times, if I've said it once, is when we really fixate and focus on perimenopause as, like, the be all, end all, it's like, well, all of your symptoms are chalked up to perimenopause. Then we miss all of the other things that could be going on, which you had some real things that needed to be addressed. And by the way, you're like. Like fertile Myrtle.
Meg O'Neill
Like, when Rachel told me that, I was like, first of all, I don't even know if I actually know what perimenopause is. I just think it's like a collection of symptoms. Like, that's what it's portrayed as. So then when she told me I'm for, like, how fertile I was, I was like, I think that means I'm not in perimenopause. Like, I didn't even know what I was talking about. Like, it's just like you said. Like, you're just taking all this information in.
Erin Holt:
You had a lot of other stuff. Stuff going on. And it was much more nervous system, it was much more cortisol, it was much more stress, it was much more blood sugar, it was much more liver, it was much more gut than it was your hormones. Looked like somebody that was going through perimenopause and perimenopause. Like, there's no real one test for it. Just to be clear, it is essentially a collection of symptoms, but, like, kind of not the symptoms that you were experiencing, just not these ones. Not these collection of symptoms, per se. So we were able to really address what was going on under the hood and address those things.
So you did have a lot of, really, a depletion picture, I think, is a really good way to put it, especially from the gut, really low beneficial bacteria, really low secretory iga, which is an immune marker, which kind of explains the frequent illnesses.
Meg O'Neill
That was, like, so interesting to me. I saw that. I was like, oh, my God. Like, this is. It made things very clear for me. Even though I'm not a numbers person, those numbers really were like. Like you said, like being able to see under the hood kind of was like, this isn't just all, like, there's actual thing science that is happening that is leading to these things. Obviously, we all know that.
But, like, seeing it on paper really cleared things up for me. It was like, oh, okay. And then you can put this plan in place. That was a big game changer for me.
Erin Holt:
So you had mentioned earlier you went gluten and dairy free, so dairy free was the recommendation right out of the jump. Can you explain a little bit more why that was?
Meg O'Neill
I have had previous testing in the past by other practitioners that said that I had, like, a sensitivity to dairy, and I just always got heartburn from dairy. So it was like, I would just, like, naturally kind of try to avoid it because I just felt better that way.
Erin Holt:
And then there was a certain point where we ran an actual gluten sensitivity panel. So we do the gut zoomer. The wheat zoomer. I'm sorry, the wheat zoomer to do that. And. And, like, why did that come up?
Meg O'Neill
We had not seen any indication of gluten being a sensitivity on the earlier testing because I think everything else was so haywire, essentially. Like, that's the message that I took from it that, like, you wouldn't have even seen any signs of that. So this was the other thing, too, is like, we were. We were really working at this for a while because the wheat zoomer I think I took in, like, April or May. I had already been working over nine months, I think, think with the team. And then once we did that, because I was still having the blood sugar symptoms, I had done a cgm, and Rachel's suggestion was, you know, said something about it.
I was like, you know what? I want to do that weed zoomer, because I. I want to see it. I want to see the numbers again. I knew that if I saw it, it would be able to help me make a decision. Because, like, it would have been very hard for me to just say like, I'm gluten free, like on vibes, like, oh yeah, I wanted the data. So once I saw that and that came back with the non celiac gluten sensitivity, I was like, okay, now I can kind of like, the way that I picture it is I can like strap in and change the identity and that. Like I am.
Because to me it was like if I kept eating that way and knew and had this information, it was like, what are you choosing? Like then I'm certainly not choosing myself. I'm certainly choosing like. So it really gave me like permission and I don't think everybody needs that, but I did.
Erin Holt:
I was going to say the data gave you accountability, which is such a, like, that feels like a little bit more strict and regimented. So the way you said that is so beautiful. The data actually gave you permission, which feels like the energy of that feels so much more like expansive versus like rigid and strict. So I love that the data gave you permission to actually be like, yep, because of the data I can take care of myself and I really relate to that. Back in the day when I would receive the diagnosis for autoimmunity, I believe that that diagnosis gave me permission to be like, okay, finally, once and for all, I am making myself a priority because I have this data. This is what's allowing me to finally step forward and do this. Like, it was the lab testing that really did that for me. Speaking of labs, I just in case anyone's a practitioner here or like really is like a data geek, I'll get in a little bit to the more of the specifics.
So the first gut panel or GI MAP that we pulled for Meg, her immune system was so tanked, was so depleted. And so when this happens, we won't necessarily see a lot of immune activity because everything's just kind of like suppressed in low. So we did a whole gut intervention and got protocol and then we reran the GI map which is just really good practice just to make sure like, hey, did the intervention actually work? Did we actually clear stuff? She was feeling a lot better, but not all of the way. So we did a second GI map and this one showed elevated anti gliadin IGA. Now so gliadin is a protein within wheat. And what I always tell people is this is not diagnostic for a gluten free diet. This is just telling us that right now in real time, your immune system is negatively Reacting to gluten into wheat. And so the typical recommendation for us is that we do follow up with a test, that wheat zoomer test to test for gluten sensitivity.
So either we say do you want to trial a gluten free diet? Or we can test for it. And so, so Meg obviously just explained why she wanted to test for that and that is what showcased that she did have the gluten sensitivity. But when your immune system is just like so depleted, not everything is going to necessarily show up on that first GI map. And so the anti gliadin didn't. Once her immune system was restored, then the immune immune system could show us what it was reacting to. I think is a good way to describe that. We don't have to go through your whole journey but, but like kind of like cut to now. So there's some visible changes, like external changes.
You did lose weight. Your skin is like literally glowing. It's like the first thing that I commented on, you've told me that people keep commenting on your skin. So there's some external changes, but there's also a lot of internal changes. One thing you, you mentioned earlier is you just feel more embodied not just in this work but like in yourself. And I think it's such a beautiful thing because, because you know, I love the mind body connection. You know, I love manifesting. But we can't bypass the physical body.
We sometimes the body is actually the entry point. And so this is a great example of somebody who has done so much mindset work, who's done so much subconscious healing, who's done so much of the manifesting like energy body, all the things. And what you actually needed to do is meet yourself at the level of the physical body to truly inhabit the physical body. So the embodiment, you can recover from colds. Now I talked to you like a month ago and you had like a little cold.
Meg O'Neill
You're like, no big deal. And then I've had in a year, I'm gonna knock on wood because, you know, but that is when I was reading the notes and then to know where I am right now, I'm like, oh my goodness gracious. Like, I feel like I also don't have that like fear of like germs that I did when I wasn't feeling well. Because like, you know, when you have three kids in school, it's Christmas time, everyone's talk about neurovirus or something. And I was teaching terrified before and now I'm like, I actually thought this to myself the other day. I'm a healthy person. Like, I was like, I'm a healthy person. Like, I don't have to freak out about this.
And it was a very, like, kind of like, whoa, Like, I got here.
Erin Holt:
You did. You did get here.
Meg O'Neill
We're so proud of you.
Erin Holt:
And then also you mentioned, like, less brain fog. Just feeling like your brain has. You feel like your brain inflammation went down. Is what you told me.
Meg O'Neill
Correct. Yeah. And I. The other, like, the numbers, too. What I found really interesting about the dopamine, I don't understand this. Like, I can't speak to the science like Erin can, obviously, but I had low dopamine, right. Like, in the, like in one of my first tests. And then when the last test that I went over, it had gone up, like, and I was like, that's crazy. That, like, you could actually fix that.
Erin Holt:
It's wild.
Meg O'Neill
Yeah, I was really excited about that. And I do actually, like, feel better. There was a period of time where I was, like, I felt really apathetic about life. Like, I was just like, kind of going through the motions. And now it's like, I feel very solid. I don't feel anxious very much at all, which I feel like is a very radical thing to say as a mom of three in 2025, you know, so I feel like there was a lot of, like, brain work that ended up happening for me.
Erin Holt:
And that has also influenced your presence, I will say, just as like a reflection to you. And I know we've talked about this, but you present as so much more grounded, just like a very grounded present presence. So I think that that just speaks to, like, the embodiment work that you were talking about. Here's the last thing that I want to ask you. You are busy mom, right? And you have three kids, and one of them requires, like, a lot more from you because you're advocating for his needs. Means all day, every day. Your husband travels for work a lot. So there's pockets of solo parenting.
And as you alluded to before, you genuinely believed that putting yourself first or making yourself a priority, you know, was not possible for you. And so that has really changed. One thing that I try to get people to understand, but I think it might have a little bit more weight coming from you is that, that when we take care of ourselves, we actually, yes, we do it for ourselves, but also we are women and we care. We are nurturers. You know, part of that is indoctrination and part of that is just good old fashioned biology, baby. So, like, we want to tend and Befriend is, like, in our, like, genetic makeup. We want to be able to show up for other people.
We want to be able to change the world. We want to be able to help people. Like, that's the beauty of being a woman is like, you know, give us the power, give us the money, we're going to show up and, like, get done. We also, when we take care of ourselves, can be more fully expressed, I believe. And so when we take care of our bodies, it creates more capacity. We have more capacity to do the things that are important for us, whether that's being a grounded and present mom, a partner, a friend, a boss, whether it's starting movements or doing advocacy work, growing a business, whatever it might be. We tell ourselves a tale that we don't have time to take care of ourselves because we have so much other shit to do. But the reality is, when you take the time to show up for yourself, you can actually show up for other people in a bigger way, a hundred percent.
Meg O'Neill
And there's two parts of it. And the first part is, like, for the actual practical, how to do this, like, make it simple, like. And I hope that this, like, hits for somebody, because it really hit for me. I saw a friend talk about how. How she would take. She has four kids, she's a principal of a school, and she would take her morning walk in her bathrobe with her jacket over. And I was like, oh, God, that's kind of genius. Because if you put.
The more obstacles you put in front of yourself, right, like, the harder it is to get the thing done. So to me, it was. The first step was just, like, giving up gluten. So, okay, when we go out, like, I'm gonna just start practicing that. I'm not gonna, like, just put that by the wayside. People are gonna have to go to places that I can eat at or whatever, like my family. And then that took. Putting that into practice and actually caring for myself in that way really cleared up a lot of my brain fog.
And, like, had me be able to see that I could do it, and I knew I couldn't do that. And, like, a workout regimen at the same time, like, it was just not gonna. I couldn't do all the steps. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do this, and I'm gonna feel better, and then I'm gonna start working out. And I found a program that I can do that's only half hour a day. So I know that when I do, do I go to drop off in the Same sweatpants and sweatshirt. That is my morning, like, bathrobe outfit. I come home and I wear that, and I do my workout and then take my shower.
That's not, like, radical by any means, but putting that into place and saying, I don't need a workout set. I don't need to join a gym. I don't need to go to a class. All I have to do is stay in my pajamas and do 30 minutes of work and then go for a walk. On most days, I don't say I have to do it every day. Like, that kind of permission just made a habit that stuck, and I can't even believe that I got there. So, like, just to get, you know, start small, put the little things in place, and maybe it is just walking 10 minutes on your treadmill after every meal to, like, bring your blood sugar down. Like, those were things that I was starting with.
It was, like, very small steps. And again, it just, like, led to this new identity. The second part of that is that so often as moms, we think that we're gonna raise good kids by telling them what to do, by just being ever present for them. And something hit me the other day in a conversation with my friend that it was like, isn't the most important thing that I do for them to live the most authentic life that I can, if I can do that and show them that? Because a lot of the things, like, you know, making them read every day, of course these are important. That's like. Like doing their homework with them. All those things like, that's showing them the care and the love and all of these things that we really value in our mothers. I want them to see that they can be exactly who they are meant to be, no matter what it is.
And if I can do that, imagine, like, all the bumps and bruises along the way that they'll, like, miss out on. Because so often we lived our lives because we were, like, trying to perform for our parents. So when that hit me, it was like, oh, the more embodied and authentic that I can be. That's actually my best version of motherhood, and that is very different than what society tells us.
Erin Holt:
Last question. This is truly the last question. How would you. Because authenticity and authentic is a word that can get used a lot. How do you define authenticity?
Meg O'Neill
I define authenticity by feeling completely embodied in my mind, body, and spirit. Like, I can say right now that anything could happen and I could show up for it feeling in a grounded way. Because the thing is, is, like, stress is going to happen. Like, we cannot Outperfect, like, our lives so that these things never happen. But if I can show up, up for an IEP meeting and feel grounded and feel like I am doing the absolute best, most truthful, I think there's something in there about, like, being an honest, truthful, focused person, for me, that feels like authenticity. So, like, you're not hiding parts of yourself. If I can really show up and be who I am, and I've really practiced that over the last, like, five years, knowing that people are going to judge you, you knowing that not everyone's going to agree with you. I think that that is my version of authenticity.
Erin Holt:
And now you're just feeling good while you do it, too, right?
Meg O'Neill
Exactly. Like feeling like, not feeling like you're dragging and tired all the time. Because I lived my life like that for so long. Like, I don't feel like that anymore. It's really, really fun.
Erin Holt:
Well, we're just so proud of you, Meg, and I appreciate you coming on the show. Now I just want to interview all of my friends all of the time.
Meg O'Neill
You should do a series.
Erin Holt:
You should. We totally should. All right, Meg, we love you.
Meg O'Neill
Thank you for having me tell people.
Erin Holt:
Where they can find more of you.
Meg O'Neill
You can find me on Instagram @megoneill10 and on TikTok @THEMegONeill with two L's.
Erin Holt:
And yeah, if you're looking into content creation, social media stuff, marketing stuff, definitely go check her out. We'll link her up in the show notes. She's only taking on a limited amount of clients for all of the reasons we just discussed. All right, Meg, thank you.
Meg O'Neill
Thank you.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast. Please keep in mind this podcast is created for educational purposes only and should never be used as a replacement for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you got something from today's show, don't forget, subscribe, leave a review, share with a friend and keep coming back for more. Take care of you.