Episode Summary 
I’m joined by Echo Raphael, a Thyroid Strong and Stay Strong member, to discuss her journey with Hashimoto’s and the enormous shift that she’s experienced in her life after reincorporating weightlifting into her routine. 
Key Takeaways 
Before she started experiencing symptoms of Hashimoto’s, Echo led a very active, healthy life. Once the pain and brain fog started to slow her down, she worked with a functional nutritionist to find solutions that worked for her. She saw one of my Thyroid Strong posts on Instagram and wanted to jump back into lifting heavy weights. Even though she was skeptical, she left every workout feeling more energized and happier. Weight training has also made everyday life and chores easier, and it boosted her Covid recovery. 


Echo Raphael 
Echo Raphael is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and Hormone Specialist by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. In 2019 she was also certified in 200 Hour Yoga Instruction with YogaWorks. Her approach addresses root cause issues for long term healing and knows there is no "one size fits all" to health.


Echo’s Hashimoto’s Journey & Life Before Thyroid Strong
Echo thought that she was just hitting it too hard at the gym when she started to experience back and neck pain. When her chronic fatigue started to escalate, her doctors told her that she was overworking herself and needed to rest, but Echo felt like there was something else going on. When she got her lab results back, her TPO antibodies were through the roof and she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Once she got on the proper dose of medication and implemented certain diet and lifestyle changes, she felt ready to try out Thyroid Strong. 


Getting Back in the Gym with Thyroid Strong 
Pre-Hashi’s, Echo liked to use the Sweat app and was a fan of lifting heavy weights. She likes that Thyroid Strong offers something for everyone, including people who are brand new to weightlifting. The 20-30 minute workouts are effective and leave her sore in all the right ways. Other aspects of her life, like unloading heavy grocery bags or going for longer walks, have become easier as a result of training with Thyroid Strong. 


In This Episode 
Echo details how she discovered she had Hashimoto’s [ 1:44 ]
Emily asks Echo how she found out about Thyroid Strong. [ 10:27 ]
Echo talks about what she likes and what she would do differently with Thyroid Strong. [ 12:13 ]
Emily and Echo talk about getting back into exercise after having Covid. [ 17:51 ]
Echo talks about her program, The Butterfly Effect. [ 22:22 ]
Echo shares her message for anyone who is hesitant of signing up for Thyroid Strong. [ 25:26 ]


Quotes
If I could do anything to get back into the gym and lift weights without feeling fatigued, I would do it. [11:38]


Every single time I worked out, I felt worse. But with this program, I would leave a workout with more energy, I'd feel better, and I'd feel happier. [12:44] 


I think with Hashimoto’s, we kind of have to unlearn some things that we've learned before. [16:05]


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Listen to the episode on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thyroid-strong/id1425627401 (Apple Podcasts), https://open.spotify.com/show/1EkTBDKRscaAoZ0Ixwa8nY (Spotify),...