If you would have asked me one year ago where I'd be or what my life would look like now, I would have never guessed it was this. I was in constant physical pain, not capable of any form of exercise, always tired and desiring a nap, in love with processed/junk food, scared of change, and unwilling to commit to any challenge. Now, I look at the past six months and see a completely new person, on several life changing journeys. A journey with healthy food and allergies, a journey with yoga, and a journey in gardening.
(homemade granola bars)
When a friend told me to give her doctor a try, who's more natural minded in his practice, I thought she was crazy. I always thought the oils, natural, homeopathic people were full of ... crazy! I thought it was all hocus-pocus placebo effect. But, I was at a point in my health where I was desperate, so why not try. I knew I was messed up, but not that messed up. So I accepted the challenge of the doctors "treatment plan" for at least one month and this meant changing everything. We found a lot of my pain was caused by food allergies, so I had to cut out gluten, dairy, msg, peanuts, & later soy, from my diet, completely. And of course, to our surprise there was a drastic change in one month in how I felt and functioned. Which then, left us at the life altering decision, do I continue down this path and is it really worth it?! We took it month by month and continued seeing this doctor and kept seeing change, and here we are today. On a new committed journey discovering new foods, good & bad and how they effect my body. It's a hard hard journey and I have many ups and downs, but being able to see the mental, physical, and emotional change that comes with it, makes it so worth it. Even if that means I'm one of those crazies now! I never thought I'd enjoy baking or discovering new recipes because I was never that great in the kitchen, but it's now becoming a fun rewarding hobby. And along with having a food allergy & discovering those recipes also came a huge learning curve, reading labels, discovering ingredients/unknown names for things, knowing where its processed, how it effects things, etc. But with all that knowledge also brought clarity, which was a huge answer to prayer & amazement at God's creation!
(^ 10 day progress)
When I first went to my new doctor he specifically told me not to do any form of exercise because my body could not handle it. My body was using all my energy, plus energy I didn't have, to try and combat everything going on. I knew this was true because I could never accomplish any physical task without exhaustion. But now that it's been six months, I thought I'd try something to get back in shape. Yoga. I tried it once in college and absolutely hated it. It was so slow, boring, and unrewarding... So, how did I start it again?! Well, that's a good question. I saw random posts on social media with cool poses, and I wanted to try it. Just to see how hard it really was. From there I was hooked. I continued to be intrigued with every picture or pose or article I read, which lead to more practice & to extra encouragement from my sister & husband. I kept researching, experiencing more benefits, & seeing personal results. So I stuck with it... It has now become part of my daily routine and I actually look forward to it! The first picture posted is my progress from just 10 days. I don't just do it for the physical aspect, but I do it because I feel rejuvenated! Like I said in the beginning, this was something I never would have pictured myself doing in all my life... but here I am, embracing it!
Gardening. I always admired people who could do it and stick with it, but as for me, I always had what I call a 'brown' thumb. I killed every plant that I ever had! But this year, it just seemed logical to at least try considering my food restrictions and allergies. So I researched as much as I could, plotted out a plan, and planted our favorite veggies (squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cucumber, and tomatoes). I'm still rather nervous it will all be a huge flop, but I'm committed, and we're doing it! I'm embracing the journey like all the others and hoping for the best and enjoying the ride as I go! You've got to start somewhere, right?!
Accepting and embracing these new journeys is one thing, but actually enjoying them is an entirely new story for me...So here's to a whole new me!
