The road behind me that has led to this point hasn’t been long, but it has been challenging. No one is without their challenges, and I think that the most beautiful thing one can do with these challenges is use them to help those around you – whether behind you, before you, or around you. My challenges stem mostly from my physical health, both from genetic and environmental roots. My story really begins at the age of eleven:
I hated the doctor before I had gotten the blood tests. They had taken a personal record of eleven vials of blood, only to give me the news later that I was borderline Type 2 diabetic, about to be border line heart disease, and that I had been born with something called Metabolic Syndrome. (A little back story as to my internal feelings towards myself is this: I was about to hit five foot ten inches if I remember correctly, and I have a strong bone structure. My only friends were born petite, both in structure and in height, and my mom and younger sister both were slighter then I was at this point. My opinion of self was already negative, and now a doctor was telling me that I had to further my obvious differences by not eating what my friends had at a sleepover.) I wanted chips, and I wanted a Coke. Neither were permitted, at least not for the next few months until my body’s number came back down to normal.
I was – and still am – a stubborn gal, but since I was hardly in the double digits age-wise and am gifted with two parents who refused to allow me to follow this specific path of health, I reversed both the diabetes and the heart disease within a few months. The Metabolic Syndrome, however, was something I was going to have to figure out and live with my entire life. So, long story short: since that day, I dread going to the doctor. The thought of getting blood drawn makes me sick to my stomach, and I will do just about anything to avoid going. In my later teens was when my very slow discovery of a more holistic ideal came to life, but that will come later on.
Two months later, still eleven, my period started. That began my hormone imbalances and horribly inconsistent cycles; by the time I was fifteen, I was put on birth control pills just to try to regulate my period. I was growing more and more resentful of my body, and the self-talk was getting worse and worse. This habit turned my other habit of emotional eating into overdrive, and before I knew it, I was sixteen and weighing my heaviest at 269.9 pounds. I’ll never in my life forget the feeling of self-hate when I saw that number stare back at me on the scale. I don’t think I have ever hated myself as much as I did in that moment, and I was only sixteen. Over the next three years with those numbers pushing me forward, I would start and stop so many workout routines that I couldn’t even try to document them all down here. That was the routine I had established: Begin something, set unrealistic goals, beat myself up, and quit. Over and over again for years.
Since then, I have been diagnosed with an allergy to gluten and wheat just under celiac disease; an autoimmune disease called Raynaud’s Phenomenon which only affects my fingers and toes at this point along with a serious intolerance to dairy. I had been working on my work out habits for a few years, but it was here that I began to slowly shift and change my eating habits as well.
Jump forward to the now – I am twenty-two and have tried the following diet trends just in the last four years:
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Grain free
- Caffeine free
- Sugar free
- Clean Eating
- Paleo
- Keto
Where am I now? I am now happily a gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian who has cut back about 50% on her oil consumption, has cut out almost all of her packaged junk food – even the gluten-free, vegan kinds – and attempts to watch her intake of caffeine, but honestly, I just can’t seem to kick my coffee. (That is still a goal of mine though!) I have been called crazy, I have been asked how I could possibly eat anything that tastes good, and accused of only eating lettuce so many times I couldn’t even tell you. But here’s what I tell people when they say things like the ones above: It has all been a process! And guess what? I am still working towards my goals! That is one of the lessons I have learned, and it’s one of the lessons I have that motivates me to reach out to others who are struggling with the same feelings, situations, and habits that I have and still wrestle with. That was the start of my desire to pursue a professional certification to back my passions for health and helping the people in need of it.
As for my formal education, I am nearing the end of my holistic nutrition counseling certification program, and will then be able to begin taking clients via Skype or Facetime. You all will be the first to know about my official certification! Once this specific certification has been completed, I plan on fairly quickly beginning the youth nutrition program!
That’s it for now. Thank you so much for stopping my (W)holistic Life & Nutrition, and I hope to hear from you!