‘Five years ago, I sat awkwardly in a new GP’s office. The examination room was so large that I was probably a good 15 feet away from the doctor. After putting off the visit for months on end, I talked myself into enlisting his help. He was an MD but also a Rudolph Steiner doctor, trained in a more holistic approach. I had to dig very deep to summon the energy to tell him what had been going on with my health for months, years, decades. I stared at the floor, and ticked off each symptom and problem, trying not to leave anything out. 

I’d had daily, debilitating digestive pain for more than 25 years. I’d had a life-long struggle with anxiety, and brain fog had become a near-constant condition. My energy levels were dangerously low. I had begun to experience panic attacks. Even after eating a full meal, I would sometimes feel like I was still starving. After being underweight for most of my life, I was 20 pounds overweight. Moderate exercise caused shortness of breath that would sometimes last for days. In my late 30s, I was worried that I would be bedridden at some point in the near future due to my degenerating condition. 

To make things even more challenging, I had recently become obsessed with figure skating, but I didn’t have the energy or attention span to practice more for more than a couple of hours a week. When I did, it would sometimes cause me to be short of breath for a day or even two, and just an hour of practice could make me ravenously hungry. The more I exercised, the more weight I gained.

Telling this story exhausted me. It was one I had told many times before. Homeopaths, Ayurvedic doctors, a Tibetan doctor, acupuncturists, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, naturopaths, and more had all been witness to this tale at some point, as had medical doctors. None could give me any answer, let alone one that made sense. My thyroid panels were “perfect.” There was nothing wrong with my heart or lungs. Antidepressants were offered and rejected. It was out of desperation that I told it again, though from experience, I held little hope that the effort would amount to much of anything. 

The Steiner doctor told me, “You are not going to find a medical cause for this. You are not going to find an answer.” I didn’t look him in the eyes, and I didn’t reply or fight him on that conclusion; I didn’t have the energy for it. I had no idea what I was going to do. 

My entire life changed when I met Michael Olesky a year or so later. He listened to my symptoms and immediately started speaking scientifically about the organs and systems that could potentially be affected and what could possibly be going wrong. He said that elimination diets were a prop. I don’t actually recall much of the specifics of what he said, but I do remember the authority and confidence with which he spoke. Despite my feeling that my health issues were intractable and were essentially doomed to continue in an inexorable downward spiral, Michael made it seem that the solution was a rather straightforward matter of collecting information, interpreting it, and implementing the indicated changes. I’m not sure if I believed him 100%, but I wanted to. Immediately on talking to him I knew with certainty that there was something different about him and his approach, however.

I did the self-assessments he asked for and sent samples of my hair and bodily fluids off in boxes to special labs. When Michael told me that one came back showing a severe gut dysbiosis, I cried—not because I didn’t know, but because someone had finally objectively confirmed it. When all the evidence was collected, we met to discuss his recommendations. The program involved eating for my metabolic type, slowly implementing a supplement regimen, getting enough quality sleep, and avoiding toxin exposure (which I was already good at). 

I made the changes he recommended and started off taking a supplement that assisted with digestion and assimilation. Within 2 to 3 weeks, I had enough energy to skate 5 to 6 times per week with little to no shortness of breath. 

If Michael would have made such a claim before we started the program (he didn’t), I would have dismissed him outright. If I wouldn’t have experienced it in my own body, I wouldn’t have believed it. It truly was that earth-shattering after decades of worsening health. When the major causal factor was addressed—namely, that my body was not properly utilizing nutrition—multiple, far-reaching changes were seen almost immediately. It was a better result than I had dared to hope for. 

Over the next 2 to 4 months, I reduced my food intake by around 40% without trying; although I was more active than I had ever been able to be in my life, I was getting the energy I needed from less food. I dropped all excess weight. It was the only time in my life that I had no food cravings at all. It was also the first time in my life that I reliably woke up in the morning refreshed and excited to get out of bed. My digestion was much improved as long as I stuck to the metabolic typing diet. I experienced a marked decrease in anxiety, a trend which has continued to improve to this day, more than 2 years after we concluded regular coaching sessions. 

I’ve integrated his lifestyle changes and I follow the metabolic typing dietary recommendations as closely as possible. I continue to feel clear-headed, alert, and ready to take on what life had to offer.

It is difficult to put into words what Michael’s input has meant to me. When I do, I tell others that he saved my life. He would probably say that he enabled me to save myself. It is difficult to contemplate where I would be right now without having had his guidance.

Michael is knowledgeable, compassionate, resourceful, and generous. He was clear in prescribing the needed changes but flexible enough that I could adapt their implementation to fit my lifestyle. When roadblocks or questions came up, he was very accommodating and always made time to discuss and strategize with me. I think he would go to any reasonable length to help a client to attain their optimum health. He simply is the type of person who does not give up, nor does he ever hesitate to think outside the box. Of the many things I’ve tried to improve my overall health in all of its manifestations, Michael’s program is far and away the best, most positive, most productive one. I wish everyone had the chance to experience it for themselves.’

— Melissa