Happy New Year everyone!!
I hope you guys had a few wonderful weeks celebrating the holidays...I
know I did. It was filled with friends and
family, and we certainly made some wonderful memories.
For most people, the new year is a time to hit the reset button
and start over. As cliché as it sounds, I’m
joining everyone and doing just that. I’m
starting my second round of Whole30. I had such wonderful results after the first time, that I knew I’d be dying to
take on the challenge again...especially after a ton of indulging over the holidays.
Everyone’s Whole30 journey is different. Most people ask me if I do it for the
weight-loss aspect, and I’ll be 100% honest...that’s just not why I did it the
first time around. {But boy was it a
fantastic perk...}
I took on the challenge of changing my eating habits purely
for health purposes. I’ve been
struggling for quite a long time with health stuff, but of course, you never
see that here on the blog. Sure, I have
no problem keepin’ it real with you guys and letting you know that our home is
nowhere near perfect or styled like a magazine.
It’s a home. We live in it. Yes, we tackle things every day to make it
the prettiest and most functional it can be, but come on. Most of the time it’s a mess because of the 45 projects I've started, but not yet finished. Our guest room is so crammed full of to-be-projects
and other junk that you can’t even walk into the room. {One of my goals for this year is to
get our house purged, organized, and finish projects before I take on something
new...which, I admit, is tough for this girl who is constantly dreaming up new
things.}
But, I digress…back to the health stuff. It’s hard to get so personal for all the
world to read, but I’m hoping I can help at least one other person who may be
struggling. If I can touch one person,
then my job is done…so here goes nothing!!
In short, I hated to talk about it. In fact, it took me a super long time to talk
about things with my hubby, who is my bestest friend ever. Before I opened up to him, I pretty much just
confided in my parents because, well, they made me, so they can’t think less of
me!! I used to think people would judge. Don’t get me wrong...some do, but not everyone. And one day, I heard someone else open up
about their struggle. It moved me so
much that I literally burst into tears. Her words were my words. I felt like she was speaking for me. She was going through the exact same thing as
me, and from then on, I didn't feel so alone anymore. I became more confident in my own struggle
because she vocalized hers. She has no
idea how much she helped me by courageously telling her own story, so this is
my own version of trying to pay it forward.
Here is the {not-so} condensed version of what went wrong….
Growing up was great…I was healthy and social and all was
right with the world (or as right as a girl’s world can be while going through middle and high school...am.i.right?). But then I got into college and things
started to change. I battled a nasty
parasite for well over a year and had some suuuuper stressful relationships {putting it lightly}.
Then when I graduated, my parents moved 12 hours away. For some, that may not have been a big deal,
but my parents are my best friends. It
was a huge adjustment for me, and simultaneously, I bought my first place and started a stressful "big girl" job that involved more commuting than any person
should have to deal with.
Notice a theme there?
STRESS. After years and years of
chronic stress…I broke. I remember the
month things really changed, and it was of course, smack in the middle of my
busy season. I started getting awful
dizzy spells, which really scare the heck out of someone who drives 3+ hours a
day. I began getting sick after every
meal I ate. My heart started having
funny rhythms. Basically everything was
just off, and I broke down. I started
having major anxiety from all of these things happening and I began to see
every type of doctor under the sun. I’m
pretty sure most looked at me like I was crazy.
They just wanted to write me an Rx for Xanax and send me on my way. But something physically wasn't right.
I knew me, and I knew it wasn't just in my head {no matter how many
people and doctors wanted to tell me differently}.
Fast-forward a few years, and my symptoms hadn't changed
much. Anxiety had become the norm for
me, and it completely warped my social life because, ummm, hello…I was
terrified I’d go out and get sick in unfamiliar territory. I just wanted to hang home in my safe zone,
with people who I was comfortable with. I
can’t even explain how sick and tired I was of feeling sick and tired. I. Was. Not. Myself. Something had to be wrong, even if no one
else was seeing it.
Finally, my life started to change when my mom looked into
alternative doctors who deal with thyroid, adrenal, etc. conditions. She herself was having some issues, and was going
to see a doctor recommended by the Broda O. Barnes Research Foundation, and told
me I should get their doctor list and find one near me.
I did just that, and have been thanking God for it every
day. My new doctor (Dr. Michael Doyle)
is the first doctor who has looked at me as a whole, and ran extensive tests to
get to the bottom of things. He looks at
numbers differently than most doctors and examined things others wouldn't even
think to look at. He found that I am
hypothyroid and have adrenal insufficiency {hello major stress and anxiety}…I also had such low iron and magnesium. With his guidance and NATURAL treatments, I
have started to feel like myself again.
I truly believe he has given me my life back, and in the quest to
continue my journey of health, I started looking into food for healthy thyroid
function and stumbled onto the book “It Starts With Food”. The book was so interesting and informative, and confirmed my suspicions that the Whole30 challenge was right for me.
After my first Whole30 experience, the system-wide inflammation
marker that came up in my first few blood tests with Dr. Doyle, was completely
normal. The constant
bloat, problematic skin, low energy, ravenous-sugar-cravings, elevated anxiety, trouble sleeping...all improved or disappeared. Through proper treatment and nutrition, I've regained so much!!
2013 was a wonderful year where I began my journey to become
healthy again, and I’m continuing that into 2014!! So basically {if you are even still reading}
this is why I’m taking on the Whole30 challenge again. I want to feel as good as possible, and that
starts with the food that I put into my body.
So today is Day 1…here’s to the next 29!!
And since I’m getting all personal on the blog today, I just want
to thank all of you for letting me share my story! And a major thank you to my hubby, parents
and friends for all the support you give me every single day. You guys make life pretty darn amazing!! Xo! :)
