Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Stolt.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Taylor. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At Texas A&M, where I competed as a member of the track team, it intrigued me that what I ate had such a powerful impact on my performance as well as my general well-being. The experience led me to pursue a profession in nutrition. Halfway through college, I spent a month volunteering at the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, a holistic wellness retreat in the Tallebudgera hills of Australia. This was where I first learned about functional medicine. I worked alongside world-class chefs and naturopaths and got to see first-hand that the body is capable of healing itself with the proper support.
Upon graduation, I started a ten-month dietetic internship, and my health plummeted. My mornings started with terrible nausea. I muddled through my workday as I battled fatigue and brain fog. Sharp, unexplainable neck pain plagued me all day. Sleep consisted of me tossing and turning from acid reflux, which irritated my neck pain even more. My neck was so stiff in the mornings I could barely move my head. I was anxious and depressed. I didn’t recognize myself.
I bounced around from doctor to doctor trying to find answers to my growing list of health issues but they were always quick to prescribe medication to cover up my symptoms rather than take the time to understand the root cause of my issues. Instead, doctors claimed my symptoms were all in my head. I was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune thyroid condition after my primary care physician felt a thyroid nodule during a routine physical. Their “treatment”? Thyroid medication for life. I started thyroid medication but my symptoms lingered. I was exhausted, frustrated, and hopeless. I thought I’d never feel better.
After graduating from my internship and passing the national board exam, I worked at a local hospital. It tore me up inside to have to offer food and supplemental nutrition full of inflammatory oils, added sugars, and preservatives to patients who were trying to heal. It went against everything I believed in.
After a few months of job searching, I landed an outpatient position at a wellness center, where I was able to work with clients one-on-one and provide individualized nutrition counseling.
Meanwhile, I went to a functional medicine clinic called Carpathia Collaborative and finally got answers. The practitioners there were able to determine the root causes of my issues and provide guidance for diet changes, supplements, and lifestyle to promote healing. I also became a certified LEAP therapist (a certified food sensitivity specialist) at that time. I was amazed at the results when trying the food sensitivity testing on myself.
All of these combined brought drastic healing. My systemic inflammation dramatically decreased, my anxiety melted away, I was sleeping again, my neck pain drastically improved. I got my life back.
Unfortunately the wellness center I was working for did not allow me to use food sensitivity testing with my clients because I was the only LEAP-certified dietitian and all dietitians had to offer the same services across the board.
After prayer and reflection, I decided to start my own business so that I could share healing and hope with my clients to the best of my ability.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been smooth. I had spent years learning about nutrition but I had never taken a business class in my life – I knew how to help my clients, but running a business in order to be able to provide that service was a different story. I read a lot of books and articles, did online research, and spoke to fellow business owners. Slowly but surely, I had a website, business partnerships, a shared office space, promotional materials, an online dispensary – I had a business.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Plate and Canvas story. Tell us more about it.
My functional medicine approach sets me apart from others – I use a whole-body approach by combining comprehensive testing, nutrition, supplements and lifestyle changes to address root causes of symptoms to bring the body back into balance and achieve optimal health. I specialize in gut health, autoimmune disease, hormonal imbalances, and inflammatory conditions.
I run my own practice and work out of Carpathia Collaborative, a cutting-edge functional medicine clinic in Dallas, TX. The clinic is a collaborative practice, where myself and many other functional medicine practitioners (physicians, other dietitians, nurses, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, an infusion team, etc.) work together to help our clients achieve optimal wellness. Carpathia Collaborative is where I went to determine the root cause of my health issues years ago. It holds a special place in my heart – It is a blessing to provide healing to my clients in the same place I found healing.
I am also the dietitian for Dallas Sports Recovery and D1 Training Gym. I work with exercise beginners, elite athletes, and everything in between. I am very selective when choosing who I work with – Dallas Sports Recovery and D1 Training Gym are the best of the best. Dallas Sports Recovery is owned by the smartest sports therapist I know, Rammel Nwaokai. D1’s staff is knowledgeable and kind, and I’m the strongest I’ve been since collegiate athletics thanks to their workouts.
I am active on social media and use Instagram and Facebook platforms to share healthy tips, healthy recipes, new nutrition research, my favorite food products, my favorite non-toxic personal care products, and more. I have partnered with companies I love and trust for giveaways, photography, and sponsored posts to spread the word about them. I love having the opportunity to express my creativity through these side projects.
I named my company “Plate and Canvas” to reflect food’s (i.e. the plate) ability to change the “canvas” of your life. My life was once ridden with darkness but now it is full of light. I love sharing that light, that hope, with others.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It’s an exciting time for both the nutrition industry as well as the world of functional medicine. People are beginning to realize the traditional model of medicine is not effective. Doctors cannot effectively heal their patients by spending two minutes in the room and prescribe a pill for every symptom.
The word is spreading about the power of functional medicine, and it is exciting to be at the forefront of that movement. The biggest challenge with functional medicine is its inability to utilize insurance, but my clients (no matter their income) always tell me the money they spent was well worth getting their life back. I hope that more and more people choose to invest in themselves so that they can achieve optimal health and live a full, vibrant life.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10260 N Central Expy #210
Dallas, TX 75231 - Website: www.plateandcanvas.com
- Phone: (940) 310-8211
- Email: plateandcanvas@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/plateandcanvas
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/plateandcanvas
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