On the night of October 28, 2012, after three years of searching for answers, I decided that I had had enough and that I needed to make extreme changes in my diet. Instinctively, I knew that was the answer, I knew what I had to do...
It was late that night, my husband had already gone to bed, and I was alone with my thoughts. I was excited and ready for the coming day. I was officially done with junk food, all things artificial, and everything Dr. D'Adamo said I should "avoid". It was crack-down time, and I was going to do this. Filled with resolve, self-discipline, a changed person... I couldn't wait...
The next morning, I woke to the smell of something wonderful coming from the kitchen. I went downstairs and asked my husband, "What are you doing?" He smiled proudly and very sweetly said, "Making fried potatoes for my wife."
My husband is a pretty great cook, in my opinion, and he had got up early on his day off to fix me breakfast. I was heartbroken. The battle immediately started in my mind. If I don't eat this, I'll hurt his feelings. I need to change the way I eat. I can start with lunch. I need to start now. He didn't know. He will understand. Fried potatoes isn't going to hurt me. But it IS going to hurt me.
I don't remember the conversation, but I know it took everything in me to talk to my husband about the decision I had made the night before. Of course, he was more than gracious and was willing to support me in whatever I felt I needed to do. Mind you, he wasn't going to join me! I don't remember what I ate that morning either, but I do remember friends calling about an hour later:
"We're going up to McDonald's for breakfast. Why don't you guys come up and join us?"
This was NOT going to be easy...
It wasn't easy at all. I had completely cut out gluten, dairy, and anything artificial. If I couldn't pronounce it, or if I didn't know what it was, I didn't eat it. I was determined to do everything right. I was reading ingredients... and going hungry. It seemed like food was the enemy, and I couldn't let that kind of thinking take over - I needed to stay positive, and stay full.
About two weeks later, I was feeling better than I had in a very long time. Could it really be this simple? If I avoided certain foods, and ate certain others, could I really improve my health?
My answer came early one morning, while standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I was just waking up and getting ready for the shower, when I yawned and stretched... and looked in the mirror. I had stretched my arms way up, straight up above my head. I stood there, still, looking at my reflection - those arms, straight, and reaching way up. And I started to weep. I had not been able to that in years!
I really was winning now. The better I felt, the more I was determined to keep doing better. I read even more. I was learning about each of the symptoms I had had over the past three years - and for many years before - and started making connections. Each symptom was a signal; my body had been trying to tell me things - that things were terribly wrong, and that I was doing it to myself by choosing to put the wrong things into it.
This is my cry: Know Your Body!
Pay attention - every symptom is a message too important to miss! Every ache and pain, every infection, every migraine, every tummy ache, every little runny nose... Your body really does have the amazing ability to heal itself, BUT, it can not begin to do that until you begin to treat it with respect and great care. Every single thing you put into your body has an effect, small or great. And nobody else lives inside your body, so nobody else can tell you exactly when things are going wrong - if YOU don't learn to listen, nobody will.
You only get one life - stop poisoning your body with the "stuff" we call food! Start reading ingredients - if you don't know what it is, do a little research. Don't fool yourself into thinking the latest health food craze is good for you - figure out what YOUR body needs to feel your best. There is no magic one-size cure for what ails you. Learn from others, but be your own best teacher and friend.
It won't be easy. But it will be worth it!
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