One of our favourite GAPS mentors, Mary Kelly, joins Jo in this episode to talk about life after GAPS. What happens next after you’ve healed your family from life-threatening allergies and chronic illness? How do you begin to let go? Sometimes it’s hard to move on because of the fear of going backwards.

Mary says, “We did GAPS Intro and my son healed incredibly. We then did full GAPS for 4 years before we started to introduce more ‘Nourishing Traditions’ foods (properly made sourdoughs and spelt pastas and things like that)… The kids have been chomping at the bit to no longer be on GAPS…

“There comes a point in your journey where you need to accept that you have healed. And you have to accept that you are not in control of their health, you’re just trying to influence it. And the point I reached was where I realised that I had been white-knuckling the whole time, and it was like God was trying to undo my fingers from the reins and go, “You know what? It’s time for your child to make some choices and you have to stop being afraid of his choices because even if he makes the wrong choices, it’s all resolvable.” That has been – not just for this journey on GAPS – that has been my whole life. Trying to control. It’s like I was learning that HUGE lesson in this environment of food, because it’s a very good teaching environment. And it’s relatable to all areas of life! It’s like a circle. All of our life is made up of these circles, and they all link together in a chain that makes up our whole life, and they all start with a message and they end with being reminded of that original message. Then you move on.”

Join us for this touching episode where we talk about the anxiety mothers often go through while learning to ‘let go’ and allow their kids to take some responsibility for their lives. We also discuss parenting gifted children, working out whether your child’s meltdowns are gut health related or not, Mary’s struggles to heal after a miscarriage and a third baby, postpartum depletion, the importance of focusing on your health over your ‘ideal weight’, having healthy boundaries, and working through anxiety, stress and overwhelm as mums.

Useful Links:

Mary’s website: Good Mood Food
Mary’s healing balms
Post Natal Depletion (podcast with Dr Oscar Serrallach)

Past Podcasts with Mary:

Anaphylactic Allergies, FPIES, Post Natal Depression, Parasites, and Hope for Healing
Healing from Anxiety and Depression
Dealing with Parasites
Preparing for the Birth of a Healthy Baby
Healing with GAPS When You Can’t Tolerate Many Foods