Warning – what I’m about to reveal may shock you.

I bet you think that I’ve always eaten perfectly balanced meals, complete with leafy greens, whole grains and clean protein. The truth is, I haven’t always been so healthy.

Before I got healthy, my eating habits looked something like this:

• Breakfast – coffee and giant sugary donut
• Mid morning – coffee
• Lunch – Fried chicken sandwich on white bun, curly fries, diet soda
• Mid afternoon snack – coffee, apple or candy bar (whatever’s more convenient – what do you think I chose?)
• Dinner – pasta with red sauce and cheese, diet soda

I liked eating what I ate, and I didn’t care how I felt. And it worked for me for a while – until it didn’t.

So what happened? And why did I decide to change?

As you can imagine, eating this way and not exercising made me put on excess weight. Eventually, I was diagnosed with acid reflux and under-active thyroid and was put on medication. To top it all off, I felt moody and depressed a lot of the time.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I had the power to make myself healthy by eating better. I didn’t have to be sick and on medications if my body was in balance and working properly. Eating the right foods and balancing my moods and hormones with exercise would help tremendously.

What made the difference was realizing this:

Good health is a choice

I could make better decisions. My first choice was vanity – I wanted to like the way I looked. Fortunately, that choice led to many healthier habits. I knew that eating better would help me lose weight and enjoy my body more. The pleasant side effects of eating healthier foods were more energy, and no more acid reflux. Eating the right foods also kept my systems balanced and functioning properly – and my thyroid started normalizing and functioning better.

Exercising would also help. What I had forgotten was that, once I got past the initial pain of getting into a workout routine, moving my body felt good – and made me happier, too. Exercising helped relax me and balance my hormones, too.

How I did it

First thing I did was decided to get healthy. This is crucial when you want to make a big change. You need to be committed to your goal. The easiest way to do this is to understand the reason why you want it. What will it give you to be healthy? And ask yourself, what does that mean to me? For me, my why was that I wanted to look good, but what that meant to me was that I loved and respected myself. Freedom from meds for me meant that I was empowered and strong.

Second, model a plan that works. I experimented with many different diets and exercise plans. Some worked and some didn’t. By trying different plans, I figured out what worked for me and my unique body. Some things I was able to learn from books, and some I learned from practitioners. Which leads me to…

Third, get support. It’s so much easier to get healthy when you have a guide who can show you the way. I’ve worked with acupuncturists, ayurvedic practitioners, yoga teachers, and other healers. Each person has taught me something new about my own body and healing system. And I’ve been able to refine what works well by healing my self and working with others to heal.

If you’re ready to begin your own healing journey, there’s no better time than right now. I have two programs starting in 2 weeks – The Jumpstart and the Reset. If you feel that private coaching may be better for you, contact me to set up a Get Healthy Now strategy session.