I guess you could say it is a part of my constitution or genetic makeup to love exercise. I have always been very active. I played every sport I could get my hands on in school and then I discovered triathlon in my senior year of high school. Three sports in one! I couldn't ask for a better pusuit. :) I became a certified aerobics instructor in high school and created a weight loss program for women for my senior exit project. I have always been a "conscious eater". Low fat, diet products were a friend of mine. Little did I know there is SO much more to a food label! Skipping a lot of details in between...I am now a fitness coordinator at a resort in Hawaii. I work in a spa that creates health and wellness for the members.
Having a cold, cough, flu, rash, acne, runny nose, headache, constipation, allergy, etc. were all things I assumed that happen to us in this life. Germs that float around us that sometimes I was lucky enough to avoid and other times would get me. I would accept the ailment....but not to worry, I would just go to the doctor and take a pill or receive a shot that would make me "all better".
About two years ago my husband and I went to my brother and sister in laws house to visit. I knew I would be hungry there because their eating habits were weird to me and they didn't have the processed sugars and chemically enhanced foods that my body had become so accustomed to. But during our stay there something happened to me. I felt really good. I mean my body and energy level felt better than I ever experienced. I started asking questions. My sister in law, Julie, was like a human encyclopedia to me. Everything she would tell me I would suck in like how a sugary milkshake used to appeal to me.
I left their house a new person with a new passion. I have to say I was completely overwhelmed. I realized that everything I knew about "healthy nutrition" up to this point was a marketing scheme and a money maker for thousands of companies. I had learned something so profound to me that it was clearly impossible to ignore. Which leads to the most exciting journey I have been on since.
My hope is that you will find my blogs educational and not annoying. I have been on the other side of the fence thinking that health food stores stink, vegans and raw foodists are freaks, people who take herbs are hippies, and why the hell would someone not where deodorant? Trust me I trusted our health care system, and the FDA too. But after opening my eyes to the amount of people who are sick and not getting better, and observing the healthy glow and energy of a person who eats clean, organic, and raw food I could not ignore it any longer. It has become common sence. I bite my tongue constantly because I do not want to offend anyone but I will not be holding back on my blog. This will be the one place I do not want to hold back. I need this outlet to tell it like it is :)
Why am I so passionate? I think it is the coolest thing that God created everything we need in its natural form to heal us and make us thrive as humans. When I read about the healing properties of a simple piece of fruit, root, grain, or vegetable I get so excited I want to tell everyone. I guess I feel so good I want others to enjoy it too. It is torture for me to see the effects of poor diet on our society.
I know for some, the things I will write is old news but my hope is that I can use this blog to educate in baby steps the true meaning of a healthy diet and lifestyle. God knows I have a long way to go but hopefully we can learn together.
Here we go! Cheers to a Fresh Life. :)
8 comments:
Bee, I have to confess... when you came back with the first book to get me started "Makers Diet" I thought you were a little weird. When you had me cutting my finger nails & keeping them clean, changing to a rock stick to deodorize I thought you were NUTS! (to say the least). BUT then I started to feel like a new woman... then you inspired me to research... then I fell in love with Sugar Blues and my whole world changed! You are only the biggest motivation behind the reasons I am most healthy this day. I love the encouragement and support and having your help as I am trying to become my best.
LOVE the blog... can you post the darn cucumber skin recipe?? ha ha!
I am back (I might be your biggest blog fan!)
One more thing... I remember the day you told me you and Chad were eating tacos for dinner with nuts instead of beef! I thought you were on ice! BUT here I am, my healthiest ever (with a chunk of thanks to you)and we eat darn bean and nut and seed burgers I invented!!! Go Bee, educate, stand proud, be brave on your blog and post all sorts of truth how some food (coffee, sugar, coke) have the nutritional value of toilet paper!!! If people don't like it they don't have to read it!
Lauren,
I have wanted to ask you more about what you know and learn more myself. I hear too many opinions with food, one minute this is good for you and the next its bad.
I hope it's okay I continue to read your blog as well and learn more to encourage a healthier lifestyle into my own life.
I fall short all too often, but would like to keep fresh and let go of whats truly not good for me.
I appreciate your honesty of what you know and have experienced for yourself. Continue sharing your knowledge and like Bree said if someone does not like what you've said they don not have to read it...
Glad to see you on here - keep writing!
go, baby go! I am so glad that you decided to publish your thoughts, feelings, and insights. You continue to be an inspiration to me. And thanks for the help along the way...
aaaahhhhhh....just what Kona needs another NERD like Bree in the blog world!!! Just reading your's and Bree's blog makes me healthy...i don't even have to eat the stuff.
the penguin...
Oh Thank You 26erere........OK your most defiant friend is changing!! I am off of sugar two days now and just know it is the first step in what is right and pure.......deep down we all want to be as pure and as disciplined as you......and your message is changing lives around Kona and likely beyond.....I ran with a gal pal today and she is like 8 days off sugar (beetch....she's 6 days ahead of me; I'll never catch her:) and I am so excited that WE are touched by your grace. Your contributions touch people.......thank you.......xoxox 40erererer
You are my new guru, seriously. I have been slowly headed in the direction you write about. Although I am now 54 years old and a grandmother I am constantly reminded when I look at my mom (80 yrs) and my sister (59 yrs) both lifelong smokers of how I am not going to be. Although I don't smoke and I do exercise, I really want to strive to eat better. You have inspired me keep it up, and some recipes would be great,too.
all right, I hope that I'm not going to be cut off, but I need to tell my story. I, like you, believed the health care system. I took pills when I was sick and went to doctors whenever feeling ill. The ailment, whatever it was, usually took care of itself and I was better in a couple of days, but I always wondered if the drugs actually did anything or if my body had simply "beat" the illness. That was all fine and good until I developed a seizure disorder. I went from doctor to doctor all over the country for YEARS and not one doctor asked, what I thought, were relevant questions like: diet, sleep patterns, stress. All they wanted to know is who my insurer was and from that information they would do my diagnosis, not the symptoms of my illness. The outcome was always the same, a new prescription and scheduling my next visit. The drugs would work for a while, then not at all. This drove me further and further into depression because I was convinced that I was suffering from something I had done to myself and that this was my "cross to bear." I constantly lived in fear of having another seizure and afraid of losing everything (relationship, savings, etc). Let me tell you, fear is no state to live in. The beautiful lesson in all of this is it drove me deeper and deeper into alternative modalities. Acupuncture, Reiki, Chi Gong, yoga, meditation and several more I won't mention, let's just say the list is extensive. Still it was a slow trail. I have come to find out I am extremely allergic to MSG. When doing my research, one of the first things I found out was severe MSG toxicity causes seizures. Did any of the doctors I went to ask me that question? Of course not. I have educated myself and developed a relationship with my body that I never had before and could never get from someone else. As a result, it has been 16 months since my last seizure. I have been off meds for a year. My dreams have returned, my energy is soaring and my spirit has come back to reside in my body. My intuition, enthusiasm, clarity, focus and stamina have all returned and I am now able to truly live in a state of gratitude instead of fear. Everything Lauren has mentioned in this blog is true and parallels my path. We can all learn so much more from each others experiences, than we can from the "experts." Health is our birthright and our only way to defend that is by educating ourselves. Keep it up sister, together we can change the world!
P.S.-One "expert" neurologist flew in from Oahu to tell me the reason I was having seizures was because my mother's birth canal was not big enough and damaged my skull. My Mom and I still laugh about that one!
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