Hi, my name is Heather. I have been on a “health” journey for over 4 years now. I was getting really tired of Dr’s telling me that there was nothing wrong with me other than I was obese and the pain I was in was related to just that. Oh but wait, there was the diverticulitis too. Was that just chalked up to being obese too? Or the Endometriosis, that I was told by an ER Dr that “I was too old to have such a disease because it’s only for the young..” Not even kidding, not even a little. Long story short, I went down the rabbit hole of the internet and tried to find an answer.
The web is a dark, dark place sometimes. And sometimes it would just be plain overwhelming. So, I started eating differently. I tried Keto. It was great til it wasn’t. (I have inflammation issues and dairy is a trigger). I tried the nutrient-dense shakes and bars and working out. It was great til it wasn’t. (I would force myself to get up and work out and eventually wore myself out too bad.) I tried counting calories. I tried Keto again. That wasn’t good. After every single time, I just got more depressed. And within a year, I had packed on all the weight I lost and then some.
When I was on the web, I did find some solace in a website and lifestyle of Cristina Curp: The Castaway Kitchen . I really just identified with her on so many levels. I’m not even sure if she knows that. But then I also stumbled upon something that she was doing that really peaked my interest. She went to school (Nutritional Therapy Association: NTA) to become a NTP (Nutritional Therapy Practitioner) and that’s when it clicked with me. I enrolled right away (after much stalking of their site). It was a huge amount of money at the time. But for me, it was more of an investment in myself and helping others.
Food can either hurt or heal you.
That simple. What I was choosing to put into my body was creating inflammation within which in turn was causing all the symptoms I was having.
Fast forward to now. I graduated from the NTA in March of 2021, built a website, got all the insurances and licenses and opened for business. In May, I decided to do a “reset”. I chose the Whole30 approach because the whole foods way of eating is what really resonates with me. I don’t want pills. I don’t want shakes. I just want to feel good. To have energy. Loss of a few pounds is always a bonus.
I got prepared and did the Whole30 for the entire month of June. I enjoyed it, mostly. I did have a few weekends where unwinding with a drink in hand would have been optimal, but I made a commitment and I followed through. At the end of it, I just knew that I could have felt better. I still had lack of energy. I was reliant on my caffeine most definitely. I ended up having 2 flares of endo and HS (hidradenitis suppurativa) and that wasn’t ok. HS is an Auto-Inflammatory response. So, even though I was eating super clean, I was still eating something that was causing inflammation in my body.
Now comes in the AIP (Auto Immune Protocol) Whole30 way of eating. Food can either hurt or heal and something I was still eating was hurting me. How do I fix it? I STOP eating the things that are harming me. It’s just that simple for me.
So I’ll have to go without coffee for the next 30 days. Definitely hard. So what! I also have to do without nightshades. So what! (Nightshades are white potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cayenne, red pepper, gogi berries, tomatillos and spices derived from peppers like paprika.) Big deal! No seeds or nuts. That’s gonna be hard, but so what! No Grains, legumes or dairy. So what! No sugar, eggs or alcohol. So what!
Of all the things mentioned above, coffee is the one I’ll miss the most. But you know what I won’t miss? I won’t miss feeling 3 times my actual size because I have so much inflammation going on. I won’t miss the terrible HS flares. I won’t miss the lethargy. I won’t miss feeling like crap because I KNOW it’s NOT normal to feel that way. It’s NOT part of getting older!! You don’t have to feel like this.
Are you interested in doing something similar? Are you tired of feeling tired and “puffy”? Are you willing to make a change? Contact me. I can help. We can find out together what way of eating would benefit you the most. Food can either hurt or heal you. But you have to make that choice of when enough is enough.
In my next post, I will share what 5 days of eating Whole30 AIP looks like.
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