Hilary Clark
Founder, Hail Vegan |
My name is Hilary. I'm a health coach, vegan, Satanist, wife, cat guardian, childfree woman, and sleep health advocate. Most importantly, I am passionate about guiding people to create a vital existence and live life in the way that makes them feel best.
I decided to become a health coach based on my own terrible experiences navigating the world of wellness.
In 2018, I lost all my hair unexpectedly. I had never dealt with a major health issue like that before, and despite being extremely fortunate to have good health insurance and access to care, I was still completely lost and had no guidance. I didn't know where to start with finding treatment, I didn't even know what type of doctor would treat hair loss. Lots of googling and some research on Facebook led me to look into several different types of doctors. Eventually I ended up at the dermatologist, who did a biopsy on my scalp to determine the source of my problem. I was understandably devastated, horrified at the state of my health, and was desperate for a diagnosis so I could figure out how to get my hair back. |
A couple weeks after the biopsy, I got my diagnosis. Over the phone, in a 30-second call on Valentine's Day, I was told that I had alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss.
But sadly, I learned everything I know about alopecia from Google.
The diagnosis came with no background information about the disease and very little care or consideration for the fact that this was a pretty devastating thing to hear. On that 30-second call, I was offered exactly one treatment recommendation - steroid shots. In a previous appointment, my doctor already explained what that would entail - 30-40 needles in my scalp every few months, which may or may not even work.
When I hung up from that call, horrified, devastated, and angry, one thing became clear: I would need to take my treatment and care into my own hands, advocate for myself, and find my own path to healing.
Through my research on autoimmune conditions, I learned so much that my doctor never told me (I don't blame him, he was a dermatologist and not an autoimmune specialist). I learned a lot about how food impacts the body and the immune system, and all about the negative impacts of chronic inflammation. I learned about the existence of functional medicine doctors, and was so happy to discover that there were medical practitioners out there focused on prevention, not just treatment of symptoms.
Through a variety of methods, I began to heal. I pushed my doctor for an alternative medication so I could avoid steroid shots. I met with a functional medicine doctor, who provided some alternative recommendations for testing and detoxification. I accepted that this illness was my body telling me that something was wrong, and that I needed to treat it with a holistic approach. To support it all, I began seeing a therapist and nutritionist to help approach my health from a wider variety of perspectives.
As I continued my healing process, I started to get mad because I found a few things to be true:
All of this just reinforced the realization that I had early on, which sparked this whole journey - that I needed to be my own advocate. So when I learned about health coaching, I immediately felt drawn to it. I knew that I could help people that were struggling to navigate the wellness world due to lack of guidance and lack of support and help them become their own advocates.
I know that I healed myself from a combination of factors:
As a health coach, I guide clients who want to improve their health in a way that they choose. If they decide to see several types of practitioners to heal themselves, I will be there to listen to it all and help them wade through contradictory recommendations to discover which method of healing works best for them. I will be transparent about my availability to clients, so they know when, how, and how frequently to expect to be in touch with me. And I'll be there to support my clients through difficult times, provide accountability, and celebrate victories.
Aside from discovering a new career path as a health coach and finding a lot more happiness, one of the biggest outcomes from going through my diagnosis and healing process was reconnecting with who I truly am on the inside. Losing all my hair was humbling and grounding (in an extreme way), and I know what was left of me after that process is the core of who I am.
You may notice that I mentioned I am a Satanist. I don't teach about Satanism, I don't require or expect that my clients are Satanists, and I don't expect to convert anyone because that's really not what it's all about. But as I move forward expressing my true self in all areas of my life, I am being more transparent. Satanism impacts how I see and exist in the world, and my perspectives on so many things line up with the philosophies of the Church of Satan. If you're interested in knowing more about what that means, I recommend reading the FAQ on their website, it will answer many of your questions. You can also check out the Hail Vegan blog to read some of my earlier writings.
I personally feel that Satanism and veganism are very closely linked, and are two of the major guiding principles in my life. I strongly believe in Anton LaVey's Nine Satanic Statements, specifically #7:
But sadly, I learned everything I know about alopecia from Google.
The diagnosis came with no background information about the disease and very little care or consideration for the fact that this was a pretty devastating thing to hear. On that 30-second call, I was offered exactly one treatment recommendation - steroid shots. In a previous appointment, my doctor already explained what that would entail - 30-40 needles in my scalp every few months, which may or may not even work.
When I hung up from that call, horrified, devastated, and angry, one thing became clear: I would need to take my treatment and care into my own hands, advocate for myself, and find my own path to healing.
Through my research on autoimmune conditions, I learned so much that my doctor never told me (I don't blame him, he was a dermatologist and not an autoimmune specialist). I learned a lot about how food impacts the body and the immune system, and all about the negative impacts of chronic inflammation. I learned about the existence of functional medicine doctors, and was so happy to discover that there were medical practitioners out there focused on prevention, not just treatment of symptoms.
Through a variety of methods, I began to heal. I pushed my doctor for an alternative medication so I could avoid steroid shots. I met with a functional medicine doctor, who provided some alternative recommendations for testing and detoxification. I accepted that this illness was my body telling me that something was wrong, and that I needed to treat it with a holistic approach. To support it all, I began seeing a therapist and nutritionist to help approach my health from a wider variety of perspectives.
As I continued my healing process, I started to get mad because I found a few things to be true:
- The medical practitioners I was seeing had absolutely no contact with each other, and as a result, provided a lot of contradictory information. When I saw my dermatologist and mentioned some things that the functional medicine doctor recommended (aimed at reducing chronic inflammation), he flat-out told me that they would have no impact on my hair regrowth.
- Medical professionals are not always readily or conveniently available, due to their own extremely busy schedules or policies that they have in place about communicating with clients. When I was seeing a nutritionist, I would visit once a month for an in-person visit. One day, I had a quick question, so I emailed it over to her. THREE WEEKS later, still having received no response, I reached out to follow up. She replied immediately saying that she did not answer any questions over email, and that I should move up my next appointment (which was scheduled for the next day). This lack of transparency led me to cancel all my remaining appointments and I never saw a nutritionist again.
- None of my doctors or providers (except my awesome therapist) really made me feel good about anything I was doing to heal myself. If I went to the dermatologist, he would attribute all my healing to the medication he prescribed, ignoring how much happier I was and how my overall health was improving quite a bit due to changes I was making in all areas of my life. I was working out more, reducing stress at work, and taking more time for self-care and pursuing my passions, but he never even asked about any of that. And when I went to the nutritionist and talked about the positive changes I'd made with food over the past month, she still focused on my weight and the change in the number on the scale. She even gave me weight loss goals when I told her I was not interested in tracking my weight!
All of this just reinforced the realization that I had early on, which sparked this whole journey - that I needed to be my own advocate. So when I learned about health coaching, I immediately felt drawn to it. I knew that I could help people that were struggling to navigate the wellness world due to lack of guidance and lack of support and help them become their own advocates.
I know that I healed myself from a combination of factors:
- Medication
- Increase in exercise
- Greater focus on eating whole foods and preparing food in a way that worked for me
- Increased awareness around how my thoughts impacted my behaviors, and ultimately my health
- Making time for my passions - music, arts and crafts, photography; this helped reconnect me with my inner self
As a health coach, I guide clients who want to improve their health in a way that they choose. If they decide to see several types of practitioners to heal themselves, I will be there to listen to it all and help them wade through contradictory recommendations to discover which method of healing works best for them. I will be transparent about my availability to clients, so they know when, how, and how frequently to expect to be in touch with me. And I'll be there to support my clients through difficult times, provide accountability, and celebrate victories.
Aside from discovering a new career path as a health coach and finding a lot more happiness, one of the biggest outcomes from going through my diagnosis and healing process was reconnecting with who I truly am on the inside. Losing all my hair was humbling and grounding (in an extreme way), and I know what was left of me after that process is the core of who I am.
You may notice that I mentioned I am a Satanist. I don't teach about Satanism, I don't require or expect that my clients are Satanists, and I don't expect to convert anyone because that's really not what it's all about. But as I move forward expressing my true self in all areas of my life, I am being more transparent. Satanism impacts how I see and exist in the world, and my perspectives on so many things line up with the philosophies of the Church of Satan. If you're interested in knowing more about what that means, I recommend reading the FAQ on their website, it will answer many of your questions. You can also check out the Hail Vegan blog to read some of my earlier writings.
I personally feel that Satanism and veganism are very closely linked, and are two of the major guiding principles in my life. I strongly believe in Anton LaVey's Nine Satanic Statements, specifically #7:
Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development," has become the most vicious animal of all!
I am not in the business of converting people to veganism, I don't preach anything to anyone. However, I am a vegan, and am interested in working with people that are already vegan or people who want guidance in transitioning to veganism. If you love eating meat and don't intend to change that, I'm probably not the best health coach for you purely based on my areas of expertise.
Some other fun facts about me:
Some other fun facts about me:
- I recently moved to the West Coast after growing up and living on the East Coast for my entire life
- I've been married for almost 10 years to my husband Ken, who I met in 7th grade (who is not a vegan or Satanist)
- I have 2 rescued black cats
- I don't really like to cook, but I'm working on it
- I am childfree by choice
- I love the ocean so much
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Health Coaching and Wellness |
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