Latest / GlowInto / The Story of Alison Tindall
Transcript
- Jennifer Joyner: What happens when the career you worked hard to build no longer feels like the life you're meant to keep living? At 42, Alison Tyndall made the decision to leave nursing and step into something of her own, creating thriving willow coaching and a new way to support women navigating the changes that can come in midlife. But Allison's story is about more than starting a business. It's about her own health journey, losing 160 pounds. motherhood, navigating PCOS, and having the courage to change direction when something inside you says it's time. In this episode of the Glowin'Two podcast, we get to know the woman behind Thriving Willow and what she's learning as she builds a new chapter for herself while keeping other women to do the same. These are the women of glow and two women who are changing direction, starting again Choosing themselves and reminding us that there's no single way to step into what comes next. This is Allison's story. There is a difference between knowing what you should do for your health and having the support to actually do it. Alison Tyndall understands that difference from both sides. For nearly 20 years, she worked throughout healthcare as a bedside nurse, travel nurse, transplant coordinator, stroke coordinator, healthcare administer, and executive leader. She understood medical systems, patient education, and what happens when people are sick enough to need care. Eventually, another question began following her. What happens before someone gets sick and what happens after the appointment when the patient goes home with a list of things they're supposed to change and an actual life waiting for them? Alison Tyndall from survival mode to a bigger vision for wellness. At forty two, Alison is now building her career around that space through thriving willow coaching and She works primarily with women who are trying to understand why they no longer feel like themselves and what it might take to feel better again. Some come to her because of weight, others are dealing with nutrition, movement, stress, changing hormones, career demands, motherhood, relationships, or the cumulative exhaustion of putting themselves last. Often the first thing Allison hears is much simpler. I don't feel like myself anymore. She understands that sentence because she's lived it. Her own journey included years of carrying extra weight, PCOS, emotional and stress eating, gastric sleeve surgery, and approximately a hundred and sixty pound weight loss and a complete rethinking of how she cared for herself. That transformation also changed the way she thought about nursing. What began as a personal health journey eventually became the foundation for a new business, a different approach to care. And an increasingly clear vision of what Alison wants to build next. I got out of survival mode. I feel like I'm getting into thriving, Allison says. That sentence is the clearest explanation of why Thriving Willow exists. Alison's independence came early. She grew up in Collinsville, Illinois, and was a senior in high school when her parents divorced. Both remained involved in her life, although they were also navigating a major transition of their own. Her mother moved to Missouri while her father stayed in Illinois, and Allison chose to stay too. She was a senior, her school was there, her friends were there, and her life was already established. Suddenly, many of the things that accompany the transition from high school Into college became things Allison largely had to figure out herself. Graduation, college applications, and planning what came next all required a new level of independence. She also had a younger sister, only a couple of years behind her, and remembers feeling some responsibility there as well. I had to do a lot of transitioning from being a high school student to being a college student on my own, Allison says. Looking back, she can see both sides of that experience. There were things she missed, including the kind of traditional college send off she watched some of her friends experience. However, she could also see that there was a period built in her independence, resourcefulness, and the belief that could figure things out even when the next step was uncertain. I think it really forced me to become independent, she says, and I think that served me really well. By her early twenties, that independence was already showing itself. Allison moved to California by herself to work as a travel nurse. I'm not risk averse, she says. I think I'm responsible, but I'm also not afraid to do something or try something. Years later, that same quality would help her make another significant leap by leaving a secure healthcare career and betting on herself. Allison did not grow up saying she wanted to become a nurse. At one point, she thought she might become a lawyer. And after high school, she spent about two years studying pharmacy. Science made sense to her. She liked biology and chemistry. However, the version of pharmacy she saw most often was retail pharmacy, and the work did not offer the type of human connection she wanted. In retrospect, she thinks the hospital-based clinical pharmacy role might have appealed to her. At the time, though, she also had another reality to consider. She needed to make money. She wanted to stop accumulating student loans and begin supporting herself. Because of the college coursework she had already completed, nursing offered a practical path. She could earn an associate's degree relatively quickly, enter the workforce, and begin building financial independence. What began partly as a practical decision eventually became an almost 20 year career. Alison started in a hospital, worked step down, ICU, and intensive care with significant exposure to oncology. She later moved into travel nursing, working in cardiology and intensive care in California. Returning to the St. Louis area brought another opportunity, one that would become one of her favorite roles in nursing. One of Allison's most fulfilling nursing roles came as a transplant coordinator, primarily working with kidney transplant patients. She valued the opportunity to build relationships, educate patients, and help them protect what she called this new gift they had been given. The experience showed her how much better outcomes could be when people had the time, information, and support to understand their own care. That work initially inspired Allison to pursue. Becoming a nurse practitioner. Her path shifted when she joined St. Elizabeth's Hospital as a stroke coordinator. There she helped grow her the stroke program, expand telehealth, and improve access to acute stroke treatment. During her first year, use of medication for acute stroke patients increased fourfold. Her ability to understand both bedside care and the larger healthcare system eventually moved her into leadership. Allison became a manager, then a director, and an executive director, and earned a master's degree in healthcare administration. I loved being at the table where the decisions were made, she says. Even as her responsibilities grew, the part of healthcare Allison cared about most remained the same helping people. After nearly two decades in the field, she was also beginning to see a gap. Healthcare often responds once someone is already sick. Allison was becoming increasingly interested in what could happen before that point. While Allison was building an accomplished healthcare career, there was one area of her life she admits she repeatedly pushed aside her own health. She had struggled with her weight for much of her life. PCOS was part of the picture. And so were emotional eating and stress eating. She can see that more clearly now than she could at that time. I use the busy badge as my shield, she says. I'm too busy to work out. I'm too busy to eat well. There was always something legitimate competing for her attention. School, work, leadership, family, and responsibility all made it easy to postpone herself. Because Alison was capable, she could continue accomplishing things while not feeling particularly well. That can make a change easier to delay. You are still functioning, still working, still meeting deadlines, and still taking care of everyone else. Eventually the body starts interrupting the story. For Alison, that moment happened on the floor with her baby. Her youngest son was about six months old when she was playing with him one day and struggled to get back up. The moment landed differently. This was not about a clothing size or looking a certain way. It was about the kind of mother she wanted to be. I said I can't be this mom, she remembers. She knew she wanted to be around for her children, although longevity alone was not enough. I needed to be healthier longer. In February 2023, Allison underwent gastric sleeve surgery. She paid for the procedure herself. Something she said added another layer of commitment to the decision. I wasn't going to waste that investment. Allison is careful not to tell the story as though surgery solved everything. It created a powerful physical tool, and what happened next required her participation. Allison lost approximately a hundred pounds during the first year and After her gastric sleeve. She followed the postoperative requirements closely, and her nursing background meant she understood the potential complications and why the guidelines mattered. She changed the way she ate, began exercising, and paid attention to nutrition in a way she never did before. Three years later, she says she has not experienced a complication from the procedure. Perhaps the most important part of Allison's story came after the initial weight loss. She began recognizing that changing her stomach did not automatically change every behavior or emotion that had contributed to her weight. Stress, comfort, emotional eating, and the tendency to use busyness as an excuse. They were still there. In retrospect, Alison says she wishes she had done more of that emotional work before surgery. The required psychological clearance was one step. Although it did not necessarily dig deeply into the behaviors and emotions surrounding food. The surgery gave her a starting point, then she had to decide what she would build from it. The gastric sleeve was really the catalyst, she said. It gave me the foundation, then I knew I needed to work on it. My logical brain knew what I needed to do. I needed the physical barrier and limitation to help me put it into practice, she says, and she did. Allison has experienced some weight regain since surgery, and she talks about that openly. At one point, she noticed that even though she was not eating a large volume of food, she was no longer consistently choosing foods that supported her body. She made adjustments, returned to the habits that worked, and lost the weight again. That experience became another lesson she now brings to her clients. A setback does not erase the progress that came before it. Instead, Treating one difficult stretch as proof that everything has failed, Alison believes in noticing what changed, making an adjustment, and continuing forward. Today she says she feels better physically than she did in her twenties. Her habits have changed enough that her children are absorbing them too. One evening her four year old wanted ice cream, and Alison overheard her eight year old tell his younger brother that he needed to eat his protein first. She laughs. She's not specifically coaching him to say that. He simply had been paying attention. Her health transformation was never about her. It had also changed the example her children were watching. As Alison's own health improved, the way she thought about healthcare began to shift too. During the final two years of her nursing career, she found herself increasingly drawn to prevention, wellness, and the question of what happens before someone reaches a crisis. I was trying to look at things from more of a preventative lens than a reactive lens, she says. She kept thinking about the gap between what patients are told in an appointment. And what it actually takes to make those changes at home. A doctor can say exercise more, lose weight, reduce your stress, yet the patient still has to figure out how to make that work in a busy, complicated life. By mid-2025, Alison began researching nurse coaching and quickly realized it offered the kind of support she had been looking for. Coaching allowed her to go beyond getting a goal and dig into the patterns underneath it. Emotional eating, stress, lack of planning, or the habit of putting yourself last. She became absorbed in the work, earned her certification, and continued her education. The more she learned, the more aligned it felt. By January of 2026, Alison was ready to turn the idea into something real. Allison rented office space in January of 2026 after completing virtual visits during her training. She wanted clients to have the option of sitting down with her in person, and the location placed her near providers working in women's health, hormonal care, and behavioral health. That proximity reinforced the philosophy she already believed in. No one practitioner needs to be everything to everyone. Good care sometimes means knowing when another trusted professional belongs in the conversation. As Thriving Willow began attracting clients and Allison was still working full time in healthcare. She cared deeply about both roles, yet doing both well was becoming difficult. She and her husband began looking closely at their finances. Her original plan was to leave her job in June. However, he could see how much more energized she was by coaching work. You have to get in or you have to get out, he told her. Allison listened. Her final day in transitional nursing was February 28th. Of 2026. On March 1st, she stepped into Thriving Willow full time. It has been wonderfully satisfying, Allison says. I feel very aligned. The core of it is that I want people to feel well, not just go through survival mode in life. I want them to feel like they're thriving. Most of Allison's clients are women between their mid 30s and mid sixties, with many over 40. Their circumstances vary, yet Allison hears a familiar refrain. I don't feel like myself anymore. They may want help with weight, nutrition, movement, stress, or simply figuring out how Why the things that once work no longer do. She begins with an in-depth conversation about what the client wants, what is getting in the way, and whether coaching is the right fit. Alison is careful about her scope as a nurse coach. She does not replace a physician, a therapist, or a registered dietitian, and she readily refers clients when another professional is better suited to their needs. When coaching is the right fit, she looks beyond a simple goal. Sleep, stress, nutrition, movement, relationships, finances, work, and hormones can all affect how a person feels. I really feel like you can't do one thing without looking at the other things, she says. Allison's preferred one-on-one model is a 12-week process, typically with weekly meetings. The early weeks are spent identifying patterns and asking questions clients may not have understood themselves. The middle weeks are Are about trying new strategies and discovering what actually fits real life. The final weeks focus on making those changes sustainable. For Allison, a plan has to survive busy weekdays, sick children, vacations, late meetings, and missed workouts. Rather than treating those interruptions as failures, she uses them as information. When this happens again, what is your backup plan? She says. That is where she believes coaching becomes especially valuable. The goal is not perfection, it is helping someone now know what is the next step without believing every difficult week means starting over. Alison sees two common challenges around food skipping meals and failing to plan. When people are hungry, rushed, and unprepared, convenience usually wins. Within her scope, She helps clients build realistic nutrition frameworks and accountability systems, whether that means a paper journal, MyFitnessPal, or simply talking through what repeatedly derails them. Exercise follows the same philosophy. Alison loves weightlifting and often works out early in the morning, although she does not believe her routines should become someone else's. Walking counts, 10 squats during a phone call count, a short workout counts. You don't have to make it a big formal event, she says. For women over 40, especially, Allison often hears frustration that old strategy has stopped working. Their bodies, hormones, schedules, and responsibilities have changed, yet they are still judging themselves against what worked years earlier. What worked before may not necessarily work now, Allison says. Her goal is not to force women back into an earlier version of themselves. Instead, she wants to help them build something that works for who they are now. This episode of the Glowin Two podcast is brought to you in part by MJ Empowers, helping women build greater confidence and clarity around their financial future. You can also find MJ every month in the Glow and Two longevity page, sharing financial insight created especially for women navigating what comes next. And MJ is just one of the voices helping us grow the Glow In Two conversation. If you have expertise, a story, or a business that could bring something meaningful to women over 40, Glow In2 is looking for new contributing voices and brand partners. Maybe your voice is one we haven't heard yet. We'd love to hear from you. At 42, Allison is navigating some of the same transitions as the women she coaches. She has two sons, age four and eight, with wonderfully different personalities, one drawn to theater and performance, the other to dirt trucks and dinosaurs. She is moving beyond the baby years while also approaching the hormonal changes of perimenopause, all while learning what it means to build a business. That does not mean Allison believes she has every answer. In many ways she considers that part of her value. I'm navigating along with a lot of my clients, she says. Sometimes women need education and sometimes they need accountability or a referral. Other times they simply need someone who will still listen long enough for them to hear what they already know. I'm just the navigator helping them find the way, she says. Elevated mobile restrooms and upscale portable restroom business are That gave Allison another opportunity to step outside the traditional path of earning more by simply working more hours. The idea began with a college football tailgate in Arkansas, where Allison encountered a mobile restroom set up that felt completely different from the standard portable units most people expect of an outdoor event. Around the same time, she had also seen another nurse talking of online about a similar business model, and the idea stayed with her. Alongside her sister Leanne, the business offered a chance to build something together while filling a very practical gap. Their climate controlled restroom trailer includes running water sinks, private stalls, baby changing accommodations, and space that can also serve as a private lactation area. They envision it for weddings, graduations, festivals, farmers markets, corporate gatherings, and other events. Where restroom experience is part of the overall atmosphere. We wanted to have a way to serve people in an alternative way by making their occasions special, she says. The business also gave Allison another way to think about income. After years in healthcare, she understood how easy it is for nurses to assume that earning more means picking up another shift, another weekend, or another long day. Elevated mobile restrooms offered a different kind of opportunity. One that could grow without depending entirely on her own hours. Allison and Leanne are already looking ahead for future bookings and considering how the business could expand, including the possibility of adding another unit. On the surface, an upscale restroom company and a wellness coaching practice may seem unrelated, yet Alison approaches both with the same instinct. She notices where something is missing. Then starts asking whether there is a better way to fill the gap. While Allison talks about what she wants to build long term, Thriving Willow is where the vision becomes larger. Her big, crazy, hairy, audacious dream is to eventually own a building and create a comprehensive wellness center where trusted professionals can work together rather than operating in separate silos. She is already certified in manual lymphatic drainage and is considering additional education in stretching and mobility and has even revisited the possibility of becoming a nurse practitioner with an interest in functional health. Alison does not picture herself providing every service. Instead, she pictures a team. Nutrition, movement, hormonal health, behavioral health, coaching, and other supportive services. Could work together with clients referred to the right person rather than being left to assemble their own care one appointment at a time. I want to be the go-to person or the facility where people know they're going to receive high integrity, quality care, and not fall through the cracks, she says. That phrase, fall through the cracks, comes from years of watching what happens after patients leave the exam room. They may receive a diagnosis, recommendation, or a list of changes to make, then return to work, children, meals, stress, and everyday responsibilities. Allison wants Thriving Willow to help bridge that gap, not instead of medical care, but rather alongside it. She is still working through how to make that kind of support accessible while also building a sustainable business. Many preventative and coaching services. Are not covered by insurance, and Allison does not dismiss the financial reality of that. Even so, she continues asking how the model could grow, how professionals could collaborate, and how more people could experience the kind of support that helped change her own life. Allison often describes her health transformation by saying she wishes she could bottle the way she feels now. If I could bottle up how well I feel now and give someone just a taste of it, they would know all of this work is worth it. There is something important in that statement because Allison already knew the science before she lost the weight. She was a nurse. She understood nutrition, disease, and health. Knowledge alone was not what changed her. Experience what it felt like to have more energy, eat differently, move her body, sleep better, and manage stress differently, change her relationship with taking care of herself. When Alison looks back at the 17 year old learning independence, the college student changing directions, or the young nurse beginning a career she never originally planned, she does not view those years through regret. Even the difficult jobs and the harder periods gave her something. She carried forward. I really feel like you don't go through an experience without taking something out of it, she says. Still, if she could tell that younger woman one thing, she would not hesitate. Prioritize your health earlier. She believes she might have had more energy, easier pregnancies, and a stronger foundation for everything else she was trying to accomplish as she made her health a priority in her twenties rather than waiting until her late 30s. Alison often comes back to the phrase, pick your hard. Living in a body that did not allow her to feel the way she wanted was hard. Changing her habits was hard too. Planning food, exercising. Getting up early and confronting emotional eating all required effort. Neither path was effortless. So Allison chooses the difficult path that gives something back. Being overweight and unhealthy is hard. Getting up at 3 45 in the morning is hard. Making sure I have meals planned is hard, but pick your hard. I would pick this hard over that hard. For Allison, that choice is increasingly about longevity. She wants to be present for her boys and someday for grandchildren. Simply adding years, however, is not enough. I want to be there, she says, but I want to be the well and active and able to do those things. Nearly twenty years after entering nursing, because it offered a practical way forward, Alison has arrived at a place she could not have mapped out at the beginning. The bedside taught her how to care for people when they were sick. Transplant patients showed her the power of education and follow through. Leadership taught her how system shape care. Her own weight loss journey showed her that knowing what to do and being able to live it are not the same thing. Now all of those experiences are meeting in the work she is creating. Thriving Willow is still young, elevated mobile restrooms is still growing, and Alison is still learning entrepreneurship, raising two boys and deciding what additional education might belong in her future. Even so, she no longer seems to be searching for the direction. She knows what matters to her. She wants women to feel well enough to protect. Participate fully in their own lives. She wants them to have support before a health crisis forces their attention. She wants them to understand that caring for themselves is not something they have to earn after everything else is finished. For years, Allison used busyness as a reason to place herself farther from the list. Eventually, she discovered that prioritizing her health did not take something away from her career. Her family or the people she cared for. It gave her more energy, more presence, and a clearer understanding of the kind of life she wanted to live. Now she is taking what she learned and creating a place where other women can begin asking those same questions before they reach their own breaking point. That may ultimately be what Thriving Willow is about not convincing women to become a different version of themselves. Not handing them another rigid plan or promising a quick fix. Instead, Alison is helping them understand the life and body they have now. Decide what feeling well means for them, and build habits sturdy enough to support where they want to go next. She knows firsthand that change can begin in an ordinary moment, sometimes as simple as realizing you cannot easily get up from the floor. And what matters is what you decide to do after you stand back up. Allison's story is a reminder that sometimes what's next begins with simply being willing to listen to yourself. Maybe you're thinking about a change of your own. Maybe you're still figuring out what you want the season of life to look like. Either way, you don't have to have every answer before you begin. And I'm excited to officially welcome Allison to the Glow and Two family. She'll be bringing her expertise and experience to our longevity segment. Adding another voice to the conversations that help women feel more informed and supported through midlife and beyond. That's what I love about sharing these stories. Every woman's path looks different, but there's always something we can learn from one another. These are the women of Glow In Two. Thank you for listening to the Glow In Two podcast. I'm Jennifer Joyner. And until next time, keep glowing into who you were always meant to be.