Vanessa G Fitcast

In this deeply personal episode, I'm sharing the full arc of my health journey, from my days as a Division I equestrian athlete at UGA to the years of frustration, confusion, and rock bottom moments that ultimately led me to functional health. 

I open up about how the pressure to maintain a certain body composition as a college athlete first pushed me toward disordered eating habits, setting the stage for years of weight loss resistance. After graduating and moving to Atlanta, I threw myself into CrossFit, convinced that more intensity was the answer, only to find myself getting puffier, more inflamed, and increasingly exhausted. 

Despite working out harder than ever, I wasn't seeing results, and my body was sending signals I didn't yet know how to read. Chronic digestive issues, debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and social anxiety began compounding on top of each other, leaving me feeling like I might be making it all up. 

A series of dismissive doctor's appointments left me feeling invalidated and completely stuck, including one where I was simply told to eat less and exercise more. Coming off birth control without proper hormonal support triggered a new wave of symptoms, including severe acne and irregular cycles, adding yet another layer to an already overwhelming season. 

I describe the emotional toll of watching life move forward, friends getting married and starting families, while I felt too depleted and self-conscious to fully show up. It wasn't until I discovered functional health and began running comprehensive labs that I finally got the validation I had been desperate for. 

Something was genuinely wrong, and it wasn't in my head. 

I then invested deeply, financially and personally, in learning everything I could about the connection between hormones, gut health, metabolism, and the immune system. That journey ultimately led to a 40-pound transformation, not through restriction and overtraining, but by working out less, eating more, and addressing the true root causes. 

Those hard-won lessons became the foundation for the one-stop functional health program I built for my clients. Now pregnant with my daughter, I reflect on how healing my own body is something I'll be able to pass on in ways I never imagined. 

If any part of my story sounds familiar, I want you to know: you are not alone, and there is a path to the other side.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(5:32) Going Through Weight Loss Resistance

(5:54) Georgia Bulldog

(9:02) Taking Health More Seriously (14:22) The Crossfit Girl

(22:04) Having The IUD Taken Out (28:52) Being Sick All The Time

(29:34) Investing In Health Coaching (31:32) The Functional Health Space (35:50) Our Team Now

(40:16) Reach Out To Us

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

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Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

The best athletes in the world aren't consistent because their lives are calm. They're consistent because they've learned how to get back on track, fast.

 In this episode, we're breaking down the one trait that actually separates the ultra consistent from everyone else, and it has nothing to do with willpower or discipline. We're diving into the real reason you keep falling off your health routines, and why it might not be a character flaw at all. 

If you've ever missed a workout, overeaten on the weekend, or abandoned a protocol early and then spiraled into shame, this episode is for you. We unpack the surprising research behind the famous marshmallow test and what it actually reveals about trust, environment, and follow-through. 

You'll learn why your metabolism, hormones, and stress response may be working against your best intentions and what to do about it. We talk about what a real "way back" looks like when life gets busy, chaotic, or emotionally draining. Forget waiting until Monday; we're giving you practical resets you can use at your very next meal, workout, or hard moment. 

We also tackle the fine line between releasing shame and staying accountable, because both matter. You'll walk away with a handful of powerful questions to ask yourself when things fall apart, so you can turn setbacks into information instead of evidence against yourself. 

This episode will challenge the way you define consistency and replace perfection with something far more sustainable. If you're ready to stop starting over and start returning, this one's for you.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(3:29) Hustling Mom's and Busy Seasons 

 

(4:47) Recent FLUSH Protocol 

 

(5:47) Justin's Perspective on Consistency 

 

(19:42) When You're Struggling With Execution

---------------------

Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

What if the constant thoughts about food you deal with every day aren’t a lack of discipline… but your body trying to tell you something important? 

In this episode, we'll break down what “food noise” actually is and why it’s become such a common struggle for women who feel like they’re always thinking about their next meal. While the current conversation often points to quick fixes or appetite-suppressing solutions, we'll take a different approach. One rooted in understanding the body, not silencing it. Food noise isn’t random, and it’s not just mental. It’s deeply connected to your metabolism, hormones, and nervous system.

We'll walk through the three core drivers behind food noise: restriction, highly processed foods, and deeper biological dysregulation. From there, we'll zoom in on what’s happening inside your body when those signals get louder covering blood sugar instability, chronic stress and cortisol, hormone imbalances, gut dysfunction, and inflammation. You’ll start to see how things like cravings, urgency around food, and feeling out of control aren’t personality flaws—they’re physiological responses.

We'll also explain why intuitive eating can feel impossible when your internal signals are dysregulated, and why simply “trying harder” often makes things worse. Most importantly, we give you practical, actionable ways to start calming the noise by supporting your body without extremes or all-or-nothing thinking.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly negotiating with yourself around food, this conversation will connect the dots in a way that finally makes sense. Because the goal isn’t to fight your body. It’s to understand it. And when you do, the noise doesn’t need to be forced quiet… it naturally starts to fade.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:15) Maturity Photos

 

(5:27) Food Noise

 

(9:12) Three Types of Food Noise

 

(13:02) The Body When Food Noise Is High

 

(17:40) Cortisol Dysregulation

 

(20:50) Hormone Imbalances

 

(22:07) Gut Dysfunction

 

(25:50) Inflammation

 

(29:20) Action Steps

---------------------

Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

What if all the “random” symptoms you’ve been dealing with… aren’t random at all?

In this episode, we unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of stubborn weight gain, hormone issues, and chronic inflammation: immune dysfunction. If you’ve ever felt like your body is working against you despite eating well, exercising, and doing everything “right”, this conversation will start connecting the dots. Because the truth is, your metabolism doesn’t operate in isolation. It’s deeply influenced by your gut, hormones, thyroid, nervous system, and especially your immune system.

We walk through why so many women are given multiple diagnoses like Hashimoto’s, IBS, or SIBO and told to treat them as separate issues, when in reality they may all stem from the same underlying pattern. When your immune system is constantly activated, your body shifts into survival mode, making fat loss, digestion, and hormone balance significantly harder.

You’ll also learn how chronic stress, whether from under-eating, overtraining, poor sleep, or emotional pressure, can keep your immune system stuck in overdrive. This isn’t about “just reducing stress,” it’s about understanding what’s actually happening inside your body when it perceives threat.

We also break down why quick fixes like medications or supplements often fall short when the root cause isn’t addressed. While tools like Ozempic or antibiotics can have their place, they’re not a substitute for true healing.

Finally, we share the framework we use at Vital Spark Coaching to help women move from dysfunction to real results starting with foundations, then restoring the body, and only then focusing on fat loss and performance.

The most important takeaway? Your body isn’t broken. It’s adapting. And when you understand what it’s responding to, everything starts to change.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:47) Coming Back From Mexico

 

(6:17) An Overactive Immune System

 

(14:22) Resetting The System

 

(22:57) When Our Clients Start Flourishing

 

(24:32) Applying For Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Most women don’t realize they’re stuck until they’ve already tried everything that was "supposed" to fix them.

In this episode, we unpack one of the most frustrating experiences women face: going beyond conventional medicine, investing in functional medicine, and still feeling stuck. I introduce the two common paths women take: traditional healthcare and functional medicine and explain why both can fail in different ways. You’ll hear exactly why being told “everything is normal” leaves so many women without answers, and why even advanced testing and supplement protocols don’t always lead to real results.

I break down the critical difference between the idea of functional medicine and how it’s often delivered in practice. I explain how poor sequencing, incomplete strategies, and lack of real-time support can actually make symptoms worse even when you’re following the plan perfectly. If you’ve ever felt like your body just isn’t responding despite your effort, this conversation will hit home.

You’ll also learn why supplements alone are rarely the solution, and how missing foundational pieces like nutrition, lifestyle, and stress regulation can stall progress completely. I have a powerful “flower and soil” analogy to explain why your body needs the right environment before it can actually heal.

Most importantly, this episode reframes the narrative so many women internalize that they are the problem. If you’ve tried both conventional and functional approaches and still don’t feel like yourself, this isn’t a failure of your body. It’s a gap in the process.

By the end, you’ll understand exactly what’s been missing—and what a truly effective, personalized approach to healing actually requires.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:17) Two Types of Women Come To Us

(3:27) Recent Client Call

(8:57) The Premise and Execution of Functional Health

(9:34) Doctor Bob Example

(10:50) Recent Vital Spark Google Review

(12:09) Functional Health Dr. Joe

(14:42) The Sequencing Issue

(27:47) Working with Vital Spark

---------------------

Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!