Meet Karyn

Hello Beautiful Mom Friend!

I’m Karyn, mom to three, Crohn’s warrior, IBD Health Coach, and chief champion to gut healing mamas everywhere. I’m so thrilled you found my little slice of virtual Gut Love. My working (stuffy) title is Karyn Haley, MS, MFT, HHC, but I prefer to go by: The IBD Health Coach for Moms.

Why?

It’s simple, to the point, and it’s what I do in a gutshell (see what I did there). You and I have probably gone through many of the same things on our journey with gut struggles.

Way back in the dark ages of the late 80’s, I learned about something I had never heard of before, Inflammatory Bowel Disease. After three years of suffering without a diagnosis, I finally had a name for the hell I was going through. I thought the worst was over. I thought that because I had a name for my abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas, bloating, rectal bleeding, mouth ulcers, fatigue, and fevers that I was out of the woods. I thought there would be a magic pill and all would be right with my life again. Boy, was I wrong. Little did I know, it would take 20 years to regain my health again. Twenty years to find my balance.

20 Years Is A Long Freakin' Time to Be Sick!


It took a doctor telling me, “There’s nothing else I can do for you,” to finally realize that for all those years, I had put the control of my IBD in the wrong place.

I had given up my power. I had lost my voice in a sea of practitioners who told me what to do. And I always did exactly what I was told,  like a good little girl.

But in that moment, the moment when my doctor gave up on me, I realized that no one was coming to save me. If I wanted to heal, I had to take the control back and take charge of my own fate.  When I finally got to the root cause of my Crohn's and learned how food, lifestyle, and mindset impact our illness, I became the captain of my own ship, the navigator of my own destiny.

Sounds cheesy, right? Yep, it’s cheesy, but no less true.

Once I figured out how to put my IBD into remission, I made it my mission to help you put yours into remission too. Over my years as an IBD Health Coach, helping moms quiet their Crohn’s and colitis, I’ve come to strongly believe these three things:

1: Medications Are a Temporary Cover Up, Not a Permanent Solution

You know the drill. You go to your doctor’s office optimistic, with your list in hand. It’s got all these ideas of alternative therapies you’ve read about and are excited to share with your provider-- food, supplements, probiotics, herbal treatments… only to leave feeling dejected because you’ve been shot down about every single idea. 

You’re told, they just don’t work by your well-meaning doctor. Instead, you’re offered toxic medications with a laundry list of side effects. Sure, these meds may work for a while, but they don’t get to the root cause of what’s triggering your IBD in the first place. 

2: Food Is Medicine

We live in a pill popping culture where covering up symptoms is the norm. But what I’ve learned is that true and lasting healing is never found in a bottle. When we take the time to discover the foods that work best for our own individual symptoms and our own lifestyle, we end up giving our gut exactly what it needs to repair our gut lining and restore our whole body to its best state.

What can food as medicine mean for you?

Freedom!

Freedom from your daily struggle with IBD. Freedom from the ups and downs of remission one day and a flare the next. Freedom to be the mom you know you deserve to be. I remember not that long ago, truly feeling that freedom. When I healed my gut enough to enjoy the simple pleasure of eating a strawberry (a forbidden food for many with IBD), the feeling of joy it gave me was unexplainable. Something so many take for granted like eating a piece of raw fruit was foreign to me and that delicious bite made me feel normal and free.  

3: Lifelong IBD Remission IS Possible.

In my sickest years with Crohn’s, doctors told me, “You have the worst case of Crohn’s we’ve ever seen” and “you’ll be on medication for the rest of your life.” The final straw came when a doctor told me, “There’s nothing else I can do for you.” I don’t have to tell you the kick in the gut those words gave me. For a moment, I thought my life was over, but it was at that time I knew I had to dig deep, trust in myself and trust in a new belief-- a belief that with the right tools, IBD remission is possible. 

Coming out the other side of that depressing, pessimistic, and negative time in my life was an empowering experience. I now know that when I started to believe in my own healing abilities and the power of root cause medicine, a whole new beautiful world of health opened up to me. When you get to the root cause of your gut struggles, can start to put in the work to make IBD remission possible. I’ve seen this kind of transformation time and time again with the clients I work with. It’s the most beautiful and rewarding thing to watch true and lasting healing happen.

What Clients Are Saying About Working With Me:

“Karyn, I left for my trip this morning and I wanted to tell you THANK YOU!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for inspiring me to make the journey the best it could be. I was prepared with lots of snacks so that I wouldn’t feel the need to make a bad choice!  At an airport restaurant, I even asked for the ingredient list and was sure to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other nasties. 


Thank you for giving me the tools and the understanding to make these wise choices and to always ask the question even if it might take that extra moment! I haven’t felt this good and clear minded in a long time and I’m going to keep it that way! I never thought I could do this because I was questioning my ability to be self-controlled enough to say no to all the temptations around me! But I did it!!! I am so happy and joyful. This is the life worth living!!! Thank you Karyn for all your time and investment in sharing your journey. It’s having a huge impact.”

-Stefanie H. Mount Airy, MD

"I wasn’t getting mother of the year anytime soon. Your program came along at the perfect time, Karyn. I was feeling so sad and guilty all the time. Crohn’s had taken over my life. My kids needed me, but I couldn’t be there to take them to school or to dance rehearsals because I was always at the doctor or too sick to leave the house. You opened up possibilities and then you were patient while I figured out the right path for me. I now know how to read food labels and shop for healthy food. And my kids actually eat it too! Imagine that? THANK YOU KARYN!!! I wouldn’t be in this healthy place without you.”

Cynthia, Rochester, NY 

Enough of the “official” stuff…

How about some RANDOM FACTS so you can get to know the REAL me:

  • I’m constantly dancing in my kitchen as I cook—usually to 80’s music, but I have also been known to rock out to gospel, big band, pop and classic rock.
  • I have a killer teapot collection with teapots from all over the world – and a British telephone booth that my favorite teapots take up residence in.
  • I met my hubby on a skydiving trip that my brother organized. Would I go skydiving again? Hell no! But I’m glad I did it in my 20’s.
  • I’m the youngest of four siblings and the only girl. So when I was picked up for dates as a teen, the poor boy would get grilled by my four fathers!
  • I have a tattoo of ballet shoes on my left hip. I got it when I was 20 and still don’t regret it. It reminds me of my youth when I thought I would grow up to be a professional dancer.
  • I’m an unapologetic curly girl. I know straight is in, but all that work to make it straight is not for me. Plus, I’m a nonconformist. I usually wear it curly, wild and crazy (or in a mom ponytail) because I can’t be bothered to do anything with it.
  • And while we’re on the subject of what I look like—most of the time, I can be found in yoga or jammy pants—hands down the best part of working from home!
  • I was raised in an Italian family where everyone learned how to cook at a young age, but sadly, I’m a pretty sucky baker. I can follow a recipe like a champ, but I hardly ever go off the beaten baking path.
  • If you’re driving in Maryland and see a crazy lady singing at the top of her lungs while driving a black  Dodge Durango, it’s probably me!
  • I believe the purpose of life is to learn. I try to learn something new about myself and the world every day and I want our Gut Love Community to be a place for moms to also learn from each other. We have great knowledge and when we share, we lift each other up and become even better at motherhood and healing.

Did I scare you off with my kookiness?

No? Well, you’re my kinda gal! Let’s get to know each other better. Now that I’ve talked your ear off, it’s time for you to return the favor. 

How is Crohn’s or colitis holding you back from being the mom you always dreamed you’d be?

Helping moms on their IBD healing journey is my passion and mission in life.  Let’s work together to make sure that very soon, you’re Lovin’ the Gut You’re With!

Click the link below to learn about my FREE 30-minute IBD Troubleshooting Session. We’ll talk about what’s stopping you from reaching your health goals and develop a plan for how we can work together to put you on the road to IBD remission.

BOOK FREE IBD SESSION

My Official Bio:

Karyn is The IBD Health Coach for Moms. She created her Gut Love Coaching Programs like The Mom’s Guide to Gluten Freedom, SCD Support School, and 1 on 1 specialized coaching for moms to help women struggling to balance motherhood with  digestive healing.

Karyn has a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling with a Specialization in Medical Family Therapy, and received her Holistic Health Counselor training from the prestigious Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City.

Karyn is also a  mom to three amazing boys and it was with their well-being in mind, back in 2008, that she took steps to alter her IBD treatment forever. Instead of always relying on toxic medications that never worked for her,  Karyn chose the unconventional path to put Crohn’s Disease into remission with food, lifestyle and mindset. 

Today, Karyn helps moms find a path to healing that matches their symptoms and their lifestyle so they can thrive in motherhood and in life. When she’s not sharing her passion with Gut Lovin’ moms, Karyn spends her time as a soccer mom to her boys and loves traveling the globe with her head-shrinking hubby, Bill.