Just like that, my car was hit by another as I was making a left turn.

My car started spinning out of control.

Then it finally hit the divider.

Amy Shah, M.D.

I pushed away the airbag and jumped out of the car.

I was scared, upset, and physically shaking.

I won’t be able to study for my boards tonight.

Amy Shah, M.D.

I can’t be late tomorrow morning, I have an important meeting.

I had a brand-new private practice and looming medical certification exams.

And my health was seeing the effects.

I felt completely imbalanced.

I was no longer energetic, as I used to be.

For the past two years, I had been moody and cranky.

I was gaining fat, despite exercising like crazy.

I couldn’t sleep at night for unclear reasons.

I was constantly stressed.

At first, I figured these symptoms were due to the fact that I was in my mid-30s.

But inside, I knew something much deeper had been going wrong for years.

They had no answers for me.

My physical exam and blood tests were fine.

They told me I was “normal” and that there was nothing to worry about.

But I justknewsomething was off.

So I started doing research and experimenting on my own.

I read books and I looked into natural solutions.

Sometimes this shows up as food sensitivities.

I made slow changes, first with food.

I replaced my quick, processed choices with whole foods.

No more sodas and lunches outI started to pack my own.

I did away with salad dressings and condiments that were hidden sources of sugar and salt.

I replaced candy, my old afternoon snack, with whole fruit.

I took out food groups like wheat, soy, and dairy totest my response.

In less than two weeks, I was already feeling better with just these changes.

I made lifestyle tweaks.

I started sleeping morealotmore.

Allowing myself more Zs and making sure I did a half-hour wind-down routine before bed completely changed my energy.

I also started a morning routine.

Now, I cushioned my morning with 10 to 15 minutes of downtime for stretching and mindful thinking.

Lastly, I added in mindset changes.

I practiced “abundance thinking.”

And slowly, over about 90 days, my symptoms disappeared.

This was now more than two years ago, and I honestly feel 100 percent better.

In fact, better than I ever have before.

They don’t realize that theycanfeel better.

Dr. Amy Shahis a double board certified MD with training fromCornell,ColumbiaandHarvardUniversities.

She is an expert on intermittent fasting for women and hasa 2 week guided group program.