Growing up in a single parent household for the majority of my childhood meant hamburger helper and a lot of cheap processed foods were on the regular dinner rotation.
As a child, I didn’t have a full understanding of what it meant to be healthy or what optimal health looked like. For me, this was just normal.
Once I hit my teenage years and became active in team sports I noticed that I was “thicker” than the popular crowd and, for the first time, became aware of my body. As I journeyed into high school, my health problems kicked in and, to my dismay, I missed 90% of my junior year marching band season due to stomach issues, unexplainable body pains and the start of irregular body work. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
Many, many tests later with no definitive answers, things started to even out but not much about my lifestyle changed.
By my early 20’s I was pre-diabetic and taking medication daily. Still, I didn’t seek to make any significant changes. Once I reached my late 20’s I was borderline diabetic and nearing the point of becoming insulin-dependent. I was at a point where I wanted to start planning for children but was told without a doubt that I would have gestational diabetes and my child would have diabetes due to my eating habits.
I felt like someone slapped me.
Having a family was my dream and now my health was about to take that away from me. I paused the child planning and lost 40lbs. My husband and I then began trying to get pregnant – and we did!
During my pregnancy, I watched everything I ate and only gained 20lbs. I was borderline for gestational diabetes but avoided medication. My pregnancy was relatively uncomplicated and my son is a healthy and adorable young man!
After my son was born, I was motivated to make significant life changes. I started the paleo diet and began a regular work-out routine. I lost over 100 pounds and haven’t stopped moving forward!
7 years later I still haven’t been able to look at pasta the same.
My relationship with food is a constant work in progress but I now know what it takes to take care of myself and what fuels my body toward optimal health.
We all need a “why” to motivate ourselves to reach our health goals, mine was my children. They remind me daily of all of the benefits of being healthy not only for myself, but for them. Optimal health was something I needed in order to live my best life, but that also means that those around me benefit as well. Caring for myself is a win-win for everyone.
Recent Comments