Looking back at fall 2019

I’d love to go back in time with you to the fall of 2019.  I was coming off a season of travel, pr commitments, digital campaigns, web projects, and managing my own business and freelancers. My free time was spent researching the body, the benefits of plants and alternative procedures for autoimmune conditions and chronic illness, while planning my upcoming wedding, and raising our new puppy. Phew! 


A year into my soon-to-be husband's chronic illness journey, I was supporting him the best way I knew how, while also taking a hard look at my own health. 


I was taking a variety of supplements that I had spent a ton of time researching, while also experimenting with the effects of a plant-based lifestyle and the ways my body was responding to gluten, dairy, certain oils, animal proteins, sugar, and other inflammatory ingredients. This whole new world of understanding food as medicine compared to caloric, fat, or carb intake had me absolutely fascinated.


However, in my experimentations as I call them, I was still experiencing chronic constipation, cystic acne, brain fog, food fear, binge/eat restrict patterns, extreme bloat, etc.


There were several things I was missing and had yet to discover until a couple months later…


#1 Missing Ingredient: Gut Health  

• The supplements I was taking were doing nothing for my body because my digestive system wasn’t properly absorbing and digesting them.  I was literally throwing money down the toilet every month.

 

• My chronic constipation was not something I was born with and would have to suffer with my entire life, it was instead the result of a dairy and gluten intolerance I was carrying.
  • PSA: Far too many are quick to judge those who make dietary choices, failing to see the harmful impacts certain foods have on some of us. This is your reminder to please stop judging or comparing what others eat.

 

• The massive candida overgrowth inside my gut was another main culprit to my brain fog, acne, and internal distress. Come to find out this overgrowth was the result of a month of antibiotics I went on back in 2016 and had been growing inside of me for the last 3 years.
  • PSA: Antibiotics are 100% necessary sometimes and are not bad. The missing piece is understanding how to take care of your gut after the fact.

 

• My liver was unable to give me proper support and filtration against everything happening in my body, causing toxins to run ramped inside of me. The liver is also a key facet to bowel regularity and nutrient absorption.

 

• My eating habits (binge/restrict cycles) were due to years of misinformed information about food, a massive chakra imbalance, and years of emotional suppression. Our gut and brain are constantly talking to one another and we must pay attention. Our relationship with food is directly tied to our emotions, inner child trauma, and experiences.

 

• The probiotics were doing nothing because I hadn’t first laid, and continued to build, a foundation of prebiotic fibers.

And the list goes on and on. 


I’ll spare you the details for now as there is so much more to share, such as my sensitivity to certain fragrances and chemicals, the effects stress and caffeine have on my health, the hormone and healing journey that occurred simultaneously due to the years I’d spent on hormonal birth control, and so forth.


As you can imagine, I finally started seeing results when I restarted my journey with a primary focus on my gut - the center point of our systems, the main control panel and root of so much discomfort.


The results I started seeing happened almost immediately after a week’s time and have continued forward to where I sit today.


Now, did I completely reverse my health overnight? No. It took months and months of hard work, dedication, and pure intention. But it was fun all at the same time. I wouldn’t change the journey for anything. When you have years and years and years to heal, it’s going to take time. The longer you put it off, the longer it’s going to take.


I’m also still on the journey, as it never really ends. There isn’t a finish line to bettering ourselves and evolving on a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual scale.


And I would never want it to end, because the relationship I hold with my body today is one of the best relationships I could have ever imagined. I see the correlation to my breakouts and stress, hormones, and dairy. I know the day my cycle is going to start. I apologize to my body after eating something that later causes two days of constipation (worth it in the moment). I know what my body needs and the messages she sends to me. I know what it takes to live life to the fullest, while honoring myself at the same time.


What’s funny, but also not funny, is that I always considered myself to be a “healthy person.” I just carried a misconstrued definition of what true health actually meant. A lot of us do, because we haven’t been properly educated on the ways to nurture and care for our bodies.


True health is not counting calories. True health is not fearing fruit or the foods that come from this earth. True health does not come in a box or package or can. True health is not low-carb, low-fat, and artificial flavorings. True health is not avoiding your feelings. True health is not built in the gym. True health is not sitting behind a computer all day. True health doesn’t come in a pill. True health doesn’t come from external gratification.  True health is not a one-size fits all approach.


True health comes from within and is possible for every single person. Including you. 


You simply have to be willing to start somewhere, to make mistakes, keep going, carry an open mind, and have faith that if I could do it, you can too.


If you are ready to get started on building a fresh foundation within your gut, I’d love for you to join me for my 6-Day Gut Health Reset. 


Your world isn’t going to drastically change by the end of day six (physically impossible), but you will see noticeable shifts and a new sense of awareness. 
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While you can participate in this reset as many times as you need, we will be kicking things off as a group starting this Monday, September 13th. I’d love to see you there! 

6-Day Gut Health Reset