My Health Journey From 2016 Breakups to Gluten-Free Living and Rediscovering My Love for Wellness

Jan 12

Introduction

My health journey started in a place that only real Iowans would understand. There was one fast food joint in town, McDonald's, and cheesy potatoes were basically part of your DNA. Health was not a topic, and still is not a large topic, in rural Iowa. That being said, you can imagine that my food groups were a little off. As a young kid, I had always LOVED to eat. I mean, it did not stop in my youth - I once in college was told by the Habachi waitress that I could "put it down" after eating two rolls of sushi and the entire Habachi course meal. Needless to say, being a foodie was a significant title to me. Anyway, Hailee...get to the point. My mom decided to take us on a trip to Denver, Colorado, for some mother-daughter time in nature. Throughout the trip, she bought only healthy food for us to snack on/eat for lunch. I kid you not, I ate healthier for 3 days, and I saw a complete switch in my stomach. I mean I was 14-15 years old and I noticed the switch that fast. A few days later, I returned to Iowa, picked up a chicken strip, and curled up in a ball on the restaurant floor in pain. This feeling sparked everything for me. It changed my life for the better. Now I can say 10 years later that I am the healthiest version of myself, and it has been a journey all the way through.

Baby Health Nut

A few years went by as I navigated my baby health nut life, I also navigated my dramatic teenage "dating" life. This brings us to my first breakup. To keep a long story short my boyfriend of two years cheated on my with his best friends girlfriend...no it gets better...I stayed with him three more months, AND THEN we broke up. Anyway, I had three dating shock waves that sent fuel into my health nut brain, and this is one of them. As a girl who grew up in the 2000s and had always wanted a "thigh gap," I was navigating my first break up and to feel more in control of life I had put everything I could into learning how I could become the skinniest, fittest, leanest version of myself. Again, I was a baby health nut, so keep that in account as you read this part. I was lacking nutrients, a healthy workout schedule, and using unhealthy coping mechanisms to pull me out of my heartbreak. But that did not matter because I realized that people were noticing. In fact, so many people were noticing that I landed my next shock wave break up. A year on-again, off-again relationship with the a guy who left me for my best friend and made a rumor about my "cottage cheese" legs (cellulite). I know... a real winner (dad, if you are reading this... I should've listened). This shock wave sent me into working out harder than I had ever before. I would go from 5-hour volleyball practice to lifting weights to running 3 miles. I would go to restaurants and feel guilty putting ranch on my salad. I turned the emotional hurt that I couldn't control into controlling my body fat percentage and everything that I ate. During this time of my life, I also found Sarah's Day. She was a massive part of my health journey, teaching me to work hard towards my goals with a healthy mindset. She also showed me what real, wholesome, well-balanced eating looks like. All this to say that even though I was unhealthy and beating myself into the ground during workouts, I learned so much about myself in the process. One thing I loved was learning about movement and food, and how they work with our bodies.

Discovering Gluten Sensitivity

College here we come!! Now I am sure you are thinking, at this point, it has to get better. No, the journey of Baby Health Nut continues. We all know that with college comes independence, and with independence comes making your own choices, and with college comes one choice - to party or not to party? And you bet ya, baby health nut Hailee was out on the Sharky's dance floor with her new freshman-year roommate, getting free drinks from a bunch of of-age college kids. I did this for about the first three months of college, weaving my way through blurry nights and friendships that never lasted past the night we met. It all changed when my roommate and I met a new group of friends by chance. I remember the day clear as can be: I stepped outside my dorm hall with my roommate, and we saw this sweet, enthusiastic girl with bangs and a positive attitude. I thought to myself, "Man, I could be her friend." She asked us if we wanted to be a part of her C group at one of the local churches. It's college, so naturally I said yes, let's try it! This was one of the best "yes's" I had ever said. Because of this group's positive effect on my life, I woke up at 5:30 AM to get to my workout, made it to the dining center for a real omelet, and headed off to class by 8. I stayed in more, and I partied less. And the best part of it all is that I was developing my relationship with Jesus. Because I had found my path again, I got back into all things health. During this time, I decided I CANNOT get the freshman 15, so I am going to count every calorie I eat to make sure I stay under a certain weight.

Um, miss girl, what?

I still gained the freshman 15 and created an unhealthy habit. BUT wait, there was a silver lining...I forgot to say. This whole time I was going through allllll of this, I couldn't (poop). Yeahhhh not good. But my lack of poop had caused me to GRADUATE to my next phase of health nut. I say this because I did research and realised through some elimination diet that I had developed, or I guess always had a gluten sensitivity. Thus, allowing me to graduate because I used healthy eating habits to tackle a real problem for myself and, in the process, improve the rest of my life.

The Wake-Up Call: The Second Breakup and Weight Loss

Ohhh, did you feel that? I feel a shock wave coming on!!! Yes, I felt right, I must now introduce to you my third break-up shock wave.

Because I went to the gym at 5:30 AM, I had noticed this guy over time. Long story short, COVID hit, I started a COVID relationship, and I can tell you now that COVID lasted A LOT longer than this little whirlwind romance. I, being a 19-year-old girl, forgot to take care of myself and found myself dumped and 132 pounds. Now, I was like 132 pounds in middle school...this weight was getting me noticed, and this time it was not in a good way. With the help of Megan Thee Stallion and my beautiful friends, I regained the weight I needed in a healthy way. But from this, I learned that proper health isn't about skinny abs, but about nourishing the body. And along with that, doing it for yourself. When I let go of chasing a body that wasn't mine, I graduated to my next phase as a health nut—learning how to feed myself properly.

Family Health Crisis: Coping with Dad’s Illness

Over the next few years, I found myself exploring what my genuine relationship with alcohol was. During this time, my dad was diagnosed with liver failure, and it had rocked my whole life. I started to fall into deep sadness that only got deeper and deeper until my heart literally broke. I went back and forth from hating alcohol but letting it be the thing that whisked me away on a Friday night. I was eating all the right things and moving more than I ever had, but I was reversing everything I had done with the regular binge drinking session 2-3 times during the month. As I graduated from college, I continued to navigate this path. I had been in the deepest darkest parts of my life, trying to keep my family together, my dad out of trouble and alive, manage my internship, school, graduation, and friendships. Despite all the hurt, God had something magical waiting around the corner for me. I found the love of my life, and little did he know he was my knight in shining armour. He saved me from this dark pit that I was in. This was true happiness.

Loss of Passion Amidst Adversity

As the months went by, I had faded into love la la land, and it was terrific. Luke had taken me out of my pit and into the sunshine. But for all of you out there who have been in a loving, safe relationship, you know that sometimes it comes with love weight and maybe alters your healthy habits for the first couple of months. Well, as much as we went to the gym together, we were eating just as much ice cream to match it. To follow that, 6 months into our relationship, my dad's health started to decline rapidly. If he did not receive a transplant and complete every step to do it, he would pass away. So for two months, we sat and waited every day, wondering if he would receive a miracle or not. He could barely walk, he was filled with infection, and he was a grey color.

I was facing the reality that I may lose my dad, and it hit hard. I could barely get out of bed some days; I had had two years of compounded anxiety following me everywhere, and movement was as sparse as it had ever been. (There is so so so much more to this entire story that would paint a better picture of the dark, unsure time my family had experienced over the years, but we are not here to talk about that.) Although this season was the hardest I had ever walked through, I learned another part of my health-nut journey. That lesson was the power of spirituality. I would walk through every workout and sit in prayer, and as I kept doing this, I walked more and more. All I could do was pray constantly, and this got me through this time. The most beautiful part of this entire story is that I saw prayer work; I saw a miracle. My dad was given a second chance at life, thanks to the fantastic doctors at Mayo in Rochester and the Lord above. I will never take my health or the time I spend with my loved ones for granted again.

The Path to Healing and Where I Am Now With Health

I spent the next year regaining my mental and physical strength. I poured time into therapy for my mind and lifting for my physical wellbeing. I began with the basics. And let me tell you, you don't just come back from something like that. It was an enormous task to get to where I am today, and I am proud of myself for that. Because I spent time working on myself, I could then step into my next greatest gift in life, marriage. My husband and I got married on May 24th, 2025, and it was the best day of my life. I have now spent time redefining what health means to me. My marriage and the foundation I built for myself have given me peace. I am now strong enough to reclaim my love of health and wellness that I keep so close to my heart. I go to the gym consistently, eat an anti-inflammatory diet, watch my refined sugars, and get as much movement in as I can throughout the day. I have never felt happier and healthier than I do now. I am now in the highest phase as a health nut. I cannot wait to continue to grow my knowlege of all topics surrounding health and wellbeing and share them with the world. My goal is to show everyone that they can live a healthy lifestyle.

What Readers Can Take Away from My Journey

Health is deeply personal and fluctuates with life’s circumstances.
How important leaning on your faith during times of uncertainty can be
Emotional well-being and physical health are intertwined and profoundly influence one another.
Restrictive habits and rigid counting can backfire; balance and listening to your body are key.
Discovering food sensitivities can be transformative to overall health.
Life challenges like a breakup and family illness can derail or deepen your health journey.
It’s normal to lose passion, but it's essential to find your own way back to wellness in your own time.
True health is about nourishing the body and mind holistically, beyond appearances.
Inspiration and community (like finding Sarah’s Day) can provide crucial support.

Hailee Merryman