education

Liz Schau is a graduate of the University of Central Florida (Orlando), with a degree in Writing and Education.  She is also a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition for Certified Holistic Health Counseling, as well as a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

why liz cares about your health

After never really feeling well, or healthy, my whole little life, I finally was diagnosed in 2007 with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, which is an “incurable” autoimmune disease. Basically this is just a fancy way of saying my body was attacking my body; specifically, my thyroid gland.

I was at the height of my autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s) and was absolutely miserable. I’d gained 60 pounds in a matter of months, taking me from a size four at 125 to a size 14 at about 190 lbs.  I was terribly depressed and anxious, bloated and constipated, suffered from full-body hives, changes in my hair and skin color/texture, peeing every 10 minutes, fatigued so bad that I would take a nap shortly after waking up in the morning. I couldn’t concentrate or remember jack, and suffering a horrific systemic yeast infection which left me infected in the most unforgiving places.

I’d thought many times about ending my life because, yes, the symptoms were really that bad. To top it off, I didn’t have the support or empathy from my friends or family, most of whom brushed off the disease like it was nothing to be too concerned about: “take the pill, you’ll be fine”. Well I did take the thyroid pill, at my doctor’s discretion, and nothing got better. I decided I simply could not go on living in constant physical and emotional pain the rest of my life. Out of pain and necessity, I read every book and article I could find on my symptoms. Soon, I uncovered age-old forgotten dietary traditions which revolutionized my health. I discovered that our gut and what we eat dictate our whole minds and bodies and immune systems. Though my medication wasn’t working, a new diet was.

Years later, with lots of time, education, and hard work, my Hashimoto’s was in total un-medicated remission. My doctor had weaned me off of my medication, my numbers stayed balanced, and symptoms resolved themselves. Suddenly, I had a message to share. I went back to school and got a certification in Holistic Health and Nutrition Counseling. I learned directly from doctors and researchers who were revolutionizing the way people felt, all with specific changes to diet. Then, I started working with lovely ladies who were also suffering at the hands of a thyroid disease, autoimmune disease, or yeast overgrowth.

My health writing and health counseling are an offshoot of all of this and are very important to me because too many people are sick.  I’m working hard to make sure less and less people get sick, or, feel much better and more empowered if they already are.

read more

Read more about my personal health battle and victory (and all the nitty-gritty) here in Part 1 of Healing Hashimoto’s and then Part 2 of Healing Hashimoto’s.

Also listen to my story of healing on Blog Talk Radio, Healing Autoimmunity: My story of remission from Hashimoto’s Disease, by clicking here!

contact me

Read enough? Are you ready to contact me and begin writing your own story of a journey back to wellness? Contact me at LizSchau(at)Gmail.com. Click here for a list of my services.