Women in Wellness: Meet Alicia Wolf!
A behind the scenes look at The Dizzy Cook and how she prioritizes her health.
I know I say this every WIW feature, but I’m SO excited to share Alicia Wolf’s story with you all! Alicia (aka The Dizzy Cook) is a mom, wife, cookbook author, and an advocate for those living with Vestibular Migraine (VM). I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Alicia for years through our husbands, and it has been amazing to watch her journey - from being diagnosed with VM to building a platform that now supports thousands dealing with this debilitating condition.
What I love about Alicia is her authenticity. She’s never shied away from sharing the highs and lows of her VM journey on her website and Instagram. From navigating IVF with a migraine disorder to facing the challenges of losing her corporate job due to VM, Alicia’s story will inspire you to advocate for your health and trust your gut when searching for a team of doctors who will work with you as partners. Read below to find out how Alicia turned her chronic health condition into a platform to support others.
Tell us about yourself! What is your background and what led you to create The Dizzy Cook?
Originally, I worked in product development for a watch brand (MICHELE), but I always had a love for cooking and did different culinary programs just for fun. I was hoping to get promoted at my job when I began experiencing dizziness and vertigo attacks that were debilitating. I could no longer drive or work.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with chronic vestibular migraine (thanks to Bobby for getting me an appointment at Mayo!) and found a doctor who could treat it. During the process, I was looking into every natural treatment I could to support myself. I found a diet that was recommended by Johns Hopkins University for migraine treatment and began making recipes with the modifications. I realized there was a huge need for migraine-friendly recipes that were actually fun and delicious. I ended up losing my job because of my illness, so cooking and sharing these recipes got me through a really dark time.
How has your life changed since being diagnosed with Vestibular Migraine?
Being diagnosed with a chronic illness when you used to be an active, healthy individual is life changing. It felt like it happened overnight. I had to learn how to communicate my needs better with my family and husband - and I was never one to ask for help before - now I needed it! Completely switching my career path was terrifying, but now I'm doing something that truly brings me joy. In my former career, things always felt so difficult, and now great things just happen so easily. And I'm so much more appreciative of travel, going to dinner, driving, exercise, and cooking because at one point these were a massive struggle for me.
What is the most rewarding part of sharing your health journey, recipes, and resources with your community?
Every day I usually get 2-3 messages or emails saying I changed someone's life. These people were suffering before, but with my tips or recipes they've decreased their migraine days significantly. I've seen people be able to go to college again, enjoy a family vacation that they've missed the last 10 years, or have a symptom-free wedding day because of what I do. It means the world to me and always reminds me I'm in the right place. I definitely wasn't helping people like this in watch design!
What advice do you have for someone who is struggling to be seen or heard by their doctors?
I think most patients have to trust their gut feeling about it. They work for you - but it took me a long time to realize I could fire my doctor and get a new one. I learned sometimes the "best" doctors, aren't actually the best. For instance, I had a lot of the "voted Dallas' best neurologists" telling me my symptoms were just anxiety and stress. You'd think neurologists would know that you can get a migraine attack without head pain, but I later found out that their education in migraine is extremely minimal unless they have a specific specialty. The best doctors become partners with you - you can come to them with your concerns, they bring up ideas, and you figure out what you're comfortable with. The good ones are also sometimes harder to get to - longer wait lists, you have to travel or pay out of pocket. It's not ideal, but I spent less money overall paying out of pocket for my neurologist than I did paying copays for a lot of doctors that didn't help me.
What is your process for creating and testing new recipes? Do your kids eat what you and Casey eat?
A lot of my most popular recipes came from re-working classics - like doing my own take on alfredo without aged cheese (my Boursin pasta) or re-doing my grandma's lazy lasagna recipe so it didn't have a lot of additives. I take inspiration from those, reader suggestions, places we eat while traveling, and what I think will do well on Pinterest or social media. I'll usually test a recipe 2-3x unless there's something off about it. Baking ones require more trial and error. If a recipe isn't working for me on the 2nd trial, I usually table it and come back to it later. My best recipes happen when I'm not frustrated. For the kids, it depends on the recipe. They love my pasta recipes, crab cakes, burgers, flatbreads, smoothies and my homemade protein bars. To be honest, if it's a hit with the kids, I know it will be a hit with readers.
What are some non-negotiables when it comes to your health and wellness routine to keep vestibular migraines under control?
I have to prioritize sleep, which is really hard with two young kids, but it's my biggest trigger. With my daughter I prioritized this a lot more because I was so sleep deprived with my son, it triggered severe postpartum anxiety for me. For a few weeks we had a night nanny come 1-2x a week, which was a challenge for me to let go of that time. Casey and I just have to work together on it which requires me to communicate when I feel like my migraine threshold is very low and I need help. I struggle because I feel like they need me when they cry, but for me to be the best mom to them, I have to take care of myself. With migraine, the more you have attacks, the worse everything can get because your brain adapts to these attacks being "normal". It's a very slippery slope from the occasional migraine attack to 24/7 chronic symptoms. Staying on top of it is essential.
How do you balance entrepreneurship and motherhood while living with a chronic health condition?
To be honest I don't feel like I should be giving advice on this because most days I feel like I'm failing. It's really hard to do both. When you're winning at being a mom, your career is taking a backseat. When you're winning at the career, you feel like you're not doing enough with the kids. And some days I'm working - literally telling people they should be resting - all while I should be resting haha. You just have to take it one day at a time.
What does wellness mean to you?
For me, wellness means advocating for my own health. It's not always the easy thing to do with careers, kids, bad doctors /practitioners and MANY different opinions online. I think you've just got to find a path that feels right for you, and tweak things along the way. Your path may look completely different from someone else's and that's ok. If I can feel good for my family and kids, that is the ultimate success.
Big thanks to Alicia for sharing her story with us! If you are not already following her, check her out on Instagram @thedizzycook or grab one of her cookbooks, The Dizzy Cook Cookbook and The Migraine Mediterranean Diet. Her website also has TONS of easy, healthy recipes you’re struggling with VM or just looking for new recipe inspiration. I hope Alicia’s journey inspires you take charge of your health and trust your gut.