Welcome to the Chaos

☕ Grab your coffee (or your protein shake), friend. Let's talk.

If you're new here, welcome.

I'm Brittany.

I'm a nurse practitioner in Kansas, wife to an incredibly supportive husband, mom of four amazing (and wonderfully chaotic) kids, coffee enthusiast, gym lover, and someone who firmly believes healthcare should feel a whole lot more human than it does.

I also ask a lot of questions.

Probably too many.

Which is exactly why I opened Embody Wellness.

But before we talk about that... let me tell you why.

It started long before I became a nurse practitioner.

It started with a little girl in middle school.

I was the "bigger" girl in my friend group. At least that's how I saw myself. I honestly believed boys didn't like me because I was overweight.

So naturally, I did what every teenage girl in the early 2000s thought she was supposed to do.

I ran. A lot. I played softball. Basketball. Volleyball. Basically every sport I could.

At home we ate what most middle-class families ate. Hamburger Helper. Spaghetti. Chicken and rice. Ramen noodles. It wasn't a house filled with soda and candy. We were just doing what we thought was normal.

High school wasn't much different.

Exercise became more. Food became less.

The binge-and-restrict cycle quietly became part of my life.

The crazy part? Looking back, I was a 5'7" athlete who weighed around 160 pounds.

I thought I was huge.

Now I look back and want to hug that girl. She had absolutely no idea.

Then came college.

Nursing school. Working. Sports. Life.

And somewhere along the way I hired a macro coach.

To this day, I think that's one of the most damaging things I ever did.

Imagine telling a collegiate athlete who was lifting six days a week, working, and surviving nursing school to eat 1,000 calories a day.

Sure. "It fit my macros."

But looking back? My body wasn't under-fueled.

It was under-supported.

Then life happened.

I fell in love. Had babies. Worked night shift in the ICU. Got married. Crash dieted for the wedding. Worked out twice a day. Lost weight. Gained weight. Had another baby. Gained more weight.

And before I knew it, I was over 260 pounds.

Meanwhile, I had already torn both ACLs. Multiple meniscus tears. Multiple knee surgeries.

My body had been through a lot.

But I kept pushing. Because that's what we're taught to do.

Push harder. Eat less. Do more cardio. Repeat.

Then COVID changed everything.

Working in the ICU during the pandemic changed me forever.

I watched hundreds of families lose people they loved.

It forced me to ask questions I'd never asked before.

How do we create healthier humans before they end up in the ICU? Why are we so sick? Why do we wait until disease develops before we intervene?

At the same time, I was finishing my nurse practitioner degree. Working in healthcare. Trying to teach patients how to improve their health while feeling completely disconnected from my own.

I felt like a walking contradiction.

Losing 100 pounds wasn't the ending I expected.

Like many people, I started a GLP-1 medication.

It worked. I lost over 100 pounds.

But here's what surprised me.

I still didn't feel like myself.

I was exhausted. My hair was falling out. My hands and feet were freezing all the time. My periods became irregular.

Eventually I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and thyroid nodules.

But my labs didn't meet the traditional criteria for medication.

So I waited. For almost a year.

And I still felt awful.

That's when everything changed.

I started asking different questions.

Instead of asking, "How do I lose weight?"

I started asking, "Why doesn't my body feel healthy?"

That question led me down a path of learning I never expected.

Obesity medicine. Hormones. Nutrition. Functional medicine. Exercise science. Behavior change. Thyroid health. Sleep. Stress.

None of it was taught to me in the depth I now use every single day.

Not in nursing school. Not in graduate school.

Everything I know today came from continuing education, mentorship, research, conferences, and caring for thousands of patients.

That's when I realized...

The gap wasn't that healthcare providers don't care.

The gap is that our healthcare system often doesn't allow enough time to ask deeper questions.

And honestly, many of us simply weren't taught to think this way.

If I spent more than eight years in higher education and still had to learn these things afterward, how is someone without a medical background supposed to know where to start?

They're not.

And that's exactly why misinformation spreads so easily.

People are desperate for answers.

So I built the clinic I wished existed.

I started Embody Wellness as a side hustle.

If I'm being honest, I didn't think it would become what it is today. I didn't have that much confidence in myself.

But one encouraging friend convinced me to take the leap.

Eventually I left my full-time job.

Not because I hated healthcare. Because I wanted to practice it differently.

I wanted time. Time to listen. Time to educate. Time to understand the whole picture.

Not just a diagnosis. Not just a prescription. Not just another five-minute appointment.

What you'll find here.

This blog isn't about perfection.

It's not about fear. It's not about selling you another supplement. Or convincing you everyone needs hormones. Or telling you one diet fixes everything.

It's about education.

It's about learning how your body actually works. It's about helping you separate science from social media. It's about practical habits you can actually stick to.

Sometimes I'll be funny. Sometimes I'll call out wellness myths. Sometimes I'll challenge your thinking.

Sometimes I'll challenge my own.

Because I'm still learning too. And I always will be.

So buckle up, Buttercup.

This space is going to be educational. A little sassy. Occasionally unhinged. Evidence-based. Honest. And very, very real.

Whether you're one of my patients, another healthcare provider, or someone who accidentally found this page at 2 AM while Googling "Why am I so tired?" — I'm glad you're here.

If one blog helps you understand your body a little better, you'll probably teach someone else.

And they'll teach someone else.

That's how we change healthcare. One conversation at a time.

Welcome to Embody Wellness.

Let's get to work.

XOXO,

Brittany

Let's Live Embodied.

Brittany's Bottom Line

You don't have to be perfect to become healthier. You don't need to overhaul your entire life overnight. Real, lasting health is built through education, curiosity, and small, consistent changes that fit into your real life. My goal isn't just to help you feel better — it's to help you understand why.

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The information in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your own healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen. Embody Wellness Clinic accepts patients who are residents of Kansas.