My Journey to Health

It may be a little weird, but sometimes I just marvel at how the body repairs itself, stretches and shrinks, holds decades worth of memories, and how I can even move my legs to walk without having to be conscious of each individual step. It's just crazy how so many bodily systems work on their own without us having to do a thing. I am so thankful for this body. But for many years, I wasn't treating it properly.

As soon as a started living a more independent life, I realized I could eat anything I wanted.  A n y t i n g. You can guess healthy foods went right out the window and I ate sweets and fast foods to my hearts content. I ate when I was bored, happy, sad, or stressed, using it as a way to cope with my emotions instead of dealing with them.

I could have happily continued on like this until my body couldn't take it anymore and I crashed. My body started having allergic reactions to multiple foods, I fell into a deep mental fog every time I ate things with processed carbs and high sugar, and I had no energy and felt like I was barely dragging along each day.

It was time for a hard reset. So, for 6 weeks, I cut out all sugar, fast food, juice, sodas, and alcohol. The goal was to only eat whole, unprocessed foods to finally give it the nourishment it was obviously craving. Disclaimer: I did allow myself to eat In n Out, Chipotle, and Flame Broiler, which are technically fast foods. But, to me, those restaurants are more transparent about what's in the food and less processed than traditional fast food so I allowed it.

The change started off with a bang. I was easily able to manage my cravings around unhealthy foods and felt proud of myself for finally committing to the change. But then the best thing happened.

I naturally had an incredible amount of energy that I had never had before. It could best be described as drinking 4 red bulls without the jitters, excessively beating heart, or energy crash afterwards. I had no mental fog, could clearly think, focus, and concentrate on tasks, no anxiety or depression, and I was the most productive I had been in years. Of course food is important to your health, but that moment showed me just how eating crap everyday was the cause of all my suffering health.

I felt amazing, but then I noticed something unexpected. All of my clothes were loose. I stepped on the scale and noticed I was well below 130 lbs, a milestone I had been trying to reach for years through trendy diets. And it just kept going down and down, until I was at my New Year's goal weight by the end of the six weeks without consciously trying to lose weight.

I love my body. I loved it before my transition to a healthier lifestyle and I love it afterwards. Is so funny how I tried so many times to find the secret energy booster, diet, perfect meal plan, or exercise routine, when all I needed to do was to give my body what it needed. It didn't even need to be perfect, just focus on eating more nutritious foods the majority of the time.

Now, I'm not a nutritionist or health official, so please talk to your doctor about any major health changes. But if you do choose to aim towards a healthier and more energized you, do it with love and appreciation for how far your body has gotten you and how much more it can do for you if you just treat it right. This is my journey to getting healthy. If your interested in starting yours, here are a few tips:

Assess Yourself

We are made out of the foods we put in our body. That means if you eat like crap, you'll feel like crap. Become aware of how you feel after eating the foods you eat regularly. Do you feel a drop in energy after eating a sugary breakfast cereal? Do you bloat after eating ice cream? Keep track of which foods don't benefit you and cut them out for at least a month to see how you feel without it.

You're going to be uncomfortable

I'm not gonna lie. It sucks seeing everyone eat Krispy Kreme donuts while you're stuck eating a bowl of pineapple for dessert (pineapple is very good though so not the worst trade, but you get the point.). But you have to ask yourself, do I want to have temporary pleasure and be disappointed later, or be disciplined now and feel amazing later. After awhile, the sluggish feeling you have later on just isn't worth it anymore. For me, I'm choosing pineapple over donuts every time.

Be patient

Nothing happens overnight. It didn't take one day for you to start feeling unhealthy with no energy, so it's going to take more than one day to start feeling your best. Give your body the proper space and time to transition to a healthier you. I promise, it will happen. You just have to be consistent even if you aren't seeing immediate changes.

I can't wait to see the progress you make. Comment below or DM me on Instagram about how your the journey has been for you.