A snippet of my story…
Even though I can remember thinking I needed to go on a diet as early as the 2nd grade and trying numerous fad methods all throughout elementary school, high school and college, my journey to health started in earnest more than 25 years ago. And here is a slice of how I remember it…
The chubby housewife
As a chubby housewife in the early 90’s, while living in a crappy tiny apartment in Santa Monica I slogged through meal after meal trying to live up to the 50’s housewife standards. With nothing more than a box of ‘meat helper’ in my teenie kitchen and an angry husband I was determined to be the best wifey. Not a fresh vegetable in sight, I was pretty sure I could figure it all out…and look pretty doing it too. It was a struggle to say the least……and then add 2 premature children (along with the stressed husband) into the mix and I was a ragged mess.
Learning to cook
I kept at it and kept cooking….and however fleeting it was I did have some mild success at the family dinner table. I took cooking class after cooking class at the local culinary shop and watched endless episodes of cooking shows on the Food Network. Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee were my mentors and my heroes. BUT my waistline and back side continued to grow…and the roller coaster of “dieting”began in earnest.
I had been on every “diet” known to modern civilization. You name it I’ve tried it, except the one where you inject pregnant horse urine….I drew the line at that one. I took cooking classes, knife skills classes, cooked numerous garbage-can-worthy meals, learned to love dishwashing (kinda), and binge watched every Martha Stewart/Rachel Ray/Sandra Lee episode. I cooked and then I cooked some more. What came along with that was weight gain and weight loss of the same 20lbs on and off and on again.
I had to figure it all out
HOWEVER…..what this sparked in me was a quest to figure out why I followed all doctors orders to eat less and exercise more, but I just could not stick to “the plan”. The loop in my head was if you want to be thin and fit you MUST count your calories, starve yourself, beat yourself up in the gym…and I just couldn’t do that to myself anymore. The American public has never been fatter and clearly I was not the only one struggling with this problem. There had to be a better way.
The $5,000 life lesson
I went on to earn a Certification in Holistic Health and Nutrition Counseling. Yes, it was $5,000 for this certification and I’m not really sure why I felt the need to spend that much money on a year long class, but in the moment I NEEDED IT! I had saved up some money on my own from either modeling jobs or gifts from my parents. As a stay at home mom I took care of EVERYTHING at home, but never had a steady outside income coming to our family. So, when I went to the angry husband to plead my case as to why I needed this certification course his response was something like this….”pay for it yourself”. So I did.
In hindsight what started as a Certification program for me to learn how to help others turned out to be huge life lesson in caring for myself FIRST. That program forced me to take a long hard look at my life, my happiness, and my children’s health and happiness…….I continued with my thirst for the answers to the “what’s healthy”equation. I knew my marriage was NOT healthy for anyone. I really did try to work on it, but it was not a relationship I cared to be in for the rest of my life.
Trying a zillion diets
Over the next few years I toyed with veganism, macrobiotics, counting calories, Weight Watchers, excessive exercising and taking handfuls of supplements all the while under unbelievable amounts of stress from EVERY angle……which ultimately led to having part of my colon removed from all the stress of it all. (This is another story for another time).
I was hospitalized 4 times in a matter of 3 months from complications of having part of my colon removed. I was so sick for a long time. Interestingly enough I was skinnier than ever but that wasn’t healthy either. I had to find the balance for ME….and everyone is different. Everyone has likes and dislikes, different genetic make up, different stressors, different upbringing, different financial situations. All the while I was trying to follow someone else’s plan and what I needed to do was to follow my own plan.
Everything finally clicked
Trying every single frickin one of those diets or exercises or meditation practices or writing programs or cooking classes AND all the time and money I spent learning was a massive lesson in taking care of myself. When I finally came to Intermittent Fasting and the Ketogenic and Low Carb Lifestyle it was a fit for me. Everything clicked and it was effortless. Once I got happy and healthy for myself EVERYTHING else fell into place. I’m finally healthy and well. I have the most wonderful man in my life that is my absolute best friend and greatest supporter. My kids are thriving and healthy. I have a wonderful home and the greatest friends.
Full of GRATITUDE!
Gratitude for all the little things (even the angry and stressed ex-husband) plays a huge role in my daily success and health. So here I am today with a lot less of my colon, in desperate need of a manicure, with nay an angry husband in sight, and healthier and happier than ever. At 5’9′ and 130 lbs able to do ANYTHING physically I want and looking young and vibrant while doing it…….And it all starts with REAL food, less stress and lots of gratitude. It’s been quite an experience and a long road, but I had to start somewhere….and you will learn too.
Welcome 🙂