Welcome to Holistic Keto Wellness. I am Gina Wilkins and have a history of being a Registered Nurse working from 1992 to 2011 in Pediatrics/Pediatric Intensive care inpatient as well as program development and teaching. In 2011 I completed my masters and started as a Nurse Practitioner in Family Medicine. I worked with all ages, working towards optimal health but often felt like I was just prescribing pills and not affecting the change I wanted. I was disenchanted the more time went by in primary care and wanted to do something to really help promote wellness. It was my experience that lifestyle: nutrition, activity, stress management - was the key to this. It was growing difficult after COVID, and I was burned out from work and spinning my wheels to affect real change. I decided to go ahead with my long-term goal sooner and become a certified health coach. I am certified in Ketogenic, Carnivore and advising on Supplements. My story about weight and health - I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) at 17 years old by a physician based on issues I was having. I was told (in 1987) that I would have weight issues, infertility and other medical problems and the only treatment at the time was oral birth control. This was no fun to hear and did not fully register with me as at the time I was healthy, fit and just had issues with my cycle. Skip forward to 1995 and I found that I could not conceive and even with oral fertility medications was not having any luck. It did cause me to feel horrible, get sick, see double and all sorts of awful things - do not recommend. I was referred to a Reproductive Endocrinologist for evaluation. We knew the culprit was me and PCOS but now it was how to enhance fertility with the least invasive options. We ended up having to have In-vitro Fertilization. This was devastating for me as the cost then was astronomical and not covered, as well as risky and not 100% effective. After much discussion, prayer and debate my husband and I decided we needed to try this one time (all we could afford) to see if it would work. We did have great success with our lovely twins (boy and girl - who could ask for more). The sad part was my ovaries were overstimulated, has ovaries the size of grapefruit and ascites or fluid in my abdomen - all risky side effects. My pregnancy wasn't idea as my body was not meant to carry 2 babies, so I spent weeks inpatient and home bedrest. After my pregnancy I started for the first time really struggling with weight and health. This was horrible and every 5 - 10 pounds up made it worse. I tried starving myself, eating only low fat (ha-ha) and weight watchers at first with no results or minimal as they were not sustainable. I tried Atkins in 1999 and was able to lose weight but had side effects of Keto Flu and could not stay awake, not idea for a mom of toddlers working in Pediatric ICU! I had to stop. I just tried to stick with whole foods, organics and reduce the inflammation and irritation as much as I could. Still eating the traditional standard American diet. More years pass with no solutions - my health and weight both getting worse, I decided to seek out answers. I found help with several sources on Keto online and worked with a specialist one on one to start and they set me up for success! I then stalled and had hair loss eating traditional keto with high fat. I was healthier but not optimal. I found the Emmerich's - they are who started me on the path to optimal health. This method is science based and makes so much sense. It is more than weight loss it is about optimal health which is KEY and most important. I am very passionate about helping others achieve their goals and supporting and guiding on the way. I have always done this in my career and look forward to doing this with you.
