For those of you who know personally know me, you know that I was always sick and finally got allergy tested in the spring of 2011. My world pretty much stopped for awhile when I realized that ALMOST EVERYTHING that I was eating, I was actually allergic to. Nothing serious (no anaphylactic shock, THANK GOD!), but I still had to learn to watch what I would eat... When I was allergy tested, I was tested for 58 things and I was allergic to 38 of them! Now most were trees, dusts, cats, and dogs, but I still had a lot of food that was in my DAILY diet. I found out that I was allergic to: tomatoes, cows milk, egg whites, egg yolks, corn, rice, rye, shrimp, and tea. I literally started every day with a cup of tea with a splash of milk... I was clearly in for a new lifestyle and unlike most people, I didn't have a choice!
So I started by literally living off of bare tuna, green beans, and turkey (fresh turkey-- deli turkey has high fructose corn syrup in it sometimes)... My mom spent a ridiculous amount of money on non-dairy cheese that pretty much tasted like feet and didn't melt. Soooo I learned how to cook for the first time in my life. And when I say cook, I mean cook. If a recipe called for cream of mushroom, cream of celery, or cream of chicken soup, I had to make THAT before I could make the recipe. So for the past 3 years, my family has quite possibly the HEALTHIEST Thanksgiving Dinners! We have EVERYTHING homemade. The bread is homemade which then turns into the stuffing. Nothing with artificial ingredients. Is it a huge pain, yes! But is it worth it, ABSOLUTELY! The difference in the taste in something homemade and something store bought is night in day.
I eventually was able to start reintroducing foods back into my diet, but I find that I still like to steer clear and go with the homemade versions. I also find that eating processed food now makes me sick because my body isn't used to it.
In November of last year, my grandma went to the hospital to have a simple procedure to have blood flow better in her legs. She was very diabetic and when she was young, she never really watched her food intake. She was overweight and had no exercise in her days. In 2000, she had a massive heart attack and a stroke, leaving her legally blind and very unstable on her feet. She got around with what she called her "wheels". But the wounds on her legs made it hard for her to walk. The procedure didn't work, in fact, it made her worse to the point where she couldn't put any weight on her leg at all and she was in constant pain. The doctor who did her surgery got her a room in Cleveland Clinic and sent her there that night. After spending multiple nights in the hospital with her, I found myself really watching what I was eating. Thankfully the Cleveland Clinic had ingredients for all their foods in a little café by a gift shop. I was able to see exactly what I was eating and was able to monitor of my allergies. I must say, being in the hospital for days on end, I wasn't eating right and neither was my mom. My mom stayed every night but a few with my grandma in the hospital and I stayed most nights with her too. We were both run down and not eating like we should.
I started having knee problems right after the new year and I was put on Steroids for almost a month that caused me to bloat. I was very unhappy with it and decided to do the Whole 30 diet. In a nut shell, that is no dairy, no carbs! It was tricky let me tell you, but with the help of my cousin Karen doing it along side of me, it really kept me motivated. I did cave on day 27 for a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich the day before my grandmas funeral. After spending almost 4 months with my grandma and watching her in her condition that started with her not watching her food intake I was determined to make a difference. My coach, Sarah Griffith, posted about doing the 21 day fix and I instantly messaged her and said to sign me up! I wanted to get back into shape. As I was in her challenge group, she was commenting that I was doing really well with my nutrition. I later found that I was actually motivating other people. Did I modify my workouts? Yes! Do I still? Yes... I can't do a jumping jack to save my life with my knee right now. But am I seeing results? Yes! :)
It didn't take much convincing for her to get me to become a Beachbody coach. She basically told me that I would be helping people, but I would get the recognition for it-- not exactly what she said, but that was it in a nutshell. I love teaching, I really do. Just like every job, you have those days where you wonder why you do what you do, but you will have that ONE moment, where you see something click for a student and you know that you've made a difference in their life. That makes every bad day worth it in my opinion. I became a Beachbody coach to help people get into a healthy lifestyle. Watching my grandma in the hospital and in my parents living room isn't the most ideal thing, but it really got me focused on my nutrition.
My mom and sister will both tell you that I'm constantly on them to get healthy. I may not be as nice to them as I am to others who need help, but that is only because I love them and I don't want to see them live unhealthy lifestyles any longer. My sister finally took the step to agree to join one of my challenge groups and I could not have been more proud of her! I can't wait to see her transformation! Note to her: I will NOT be as nice to you as I am to others! :)
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