Wednesday, November 12, 2008

MY STORY

I’m on a journey; I’ve come far but have yet many roads to travel. Many of my friends will say ‘I’m an expert on health and nutrition’ but there’s so much I’m learning everyday! I lived overseas for 15 years so I wasn’t subject to the fast food industry and Standard American Diet (SAD), soda and fast food was something I may have had once or twice every 2 or 3 years growing up. My first job was at Burger King though, ironic to think about that now!! I was never sick growing up, maybe once a year.

Fast forward, that soon changed as an adult I suffered from: sinus problems, migraines (this actually began as a child), arthritis, thyroid issues, shoulder issues, chronic fatigue, weight gain and shortness of breath and on. About 3 years ago, I was denied health insurance because of undiagnosed fatigue. After 13 years of suffering from fatigue and no relief or diagnosis from the medical field I had enough. A friend of mine introduced me to Dr. Lorraine Day and her video’s “You can’t improve on God” and “Cancer doesn’t scare me anymore”. She was sharing with me the differences in her mom and her aunt who both had cancer at the same time and the differences in their lifestyles and the impact it had on their recovery. I’m sad to say her mom passed away less then a year later but her aunt is cancer free. Around the same time I found out I was allergic to Dairy, which was causing my fatigue. It was so bad; I could barely function some days. Napping was a required for me to function. Before I quit my job, there were days I couldn’t get out of bed to go to work. Dairy was a big part of my diet: milk, cheese, more cheese, and yogurt and did I mention cheese? I always said if I was ever allergic to dairy and nuts, I’d pretty much die, well God has a good sense of humor because I have allergies to both (not all nuts though). SO, I decided some things had to change, as I cut dairy out of my diet, I noticed increased energy, improved breathing, less breakouts, etc. Thirteen years of doctors’ visits, tests, MRIs, x-rays couldn’t tell me that, I had to figure it out on my own, which I’m glad I did.

The road to recovery:
I bought a juicer and some books and started juicing and switched to organic produce. When I learned about the links to pesticides and cancer, I swore off them. Yes, organic is more expensive, but I look at it as an investment to my health, I do not have health insurance, and what’s the cost of cancer? There is colon cancer on both sides of my parents and my mom has suffered from gastrointestinal problems for years. It’s amazing the people that God put in my path at different times to help me along the journey. A friend from church suffered from Fibermyalgia and turned me onto Dr. Don Colbert’s Bible Cure Books. I read a few other books of his too. He is a Christian Medical Doctor that has a practice in the Orlando area. I thought about going to see him, but never did. Little by little, I have changed the way I eat and am happy to say that I have more energy then I know what to do with some days!!! Little by little I made more changes along the way. I cut meat out of the diet. In addition to food allergies, I also had Candida (yeast) problems and had to cut out all sugars and processed foods amongst other things. Eventually I gave up eating cooked foods. I’ve done the ‘Master Cleanse’ – detox fast 4 times in the last year and a half. I’ll write more about raw and living foods and detoxing later. It is important to know that this did NOT happen overnight…..it is a process and I’m still learning and tweaking. I love passing on what I’ve learned and educating others, although I hardly feel qualified. Another benefit is that I’ve lost 80 pounds along the way without even trying. My only goal is and was ‘to be healthy’.

1 comment:

Danielle said...

You are awesome! I can't believe you lost 80lbs! I also have thyroid problems, I was hyperthyroid so I went thru radiation treatment. Now Im hypothyroid...yey...not. My medicine is at a good dose now, but its really frustrating. Anyways, my problem is I hate hate hate veggies and could never live a raw food diet...I have a blog too- www.itslovesweetlove.com :)