― C. JoyBell C.
The past few years have been a serious growing experience for me. I have learned a lot, cried a lot, laughed a lot, worked out a lot, ate a lot, and loved a lot. And although I swore last year I was going to continue documenting my health & wellness journey, I felt short of this goal. I couldn't keep up with everything going on in my life and if I wasn't going to give writing my everything, I couldn't commit. I didn't want to write only about what I ate, or only about what workout I did, or only about the funny thing my cat did when she chased the laser toy.
But with this year, I have realized how much I have grown and how much I have to share. So my new book begins today and I hope you are ready to join me as I write the next few chapters!
"Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect." -Alan Cohen
I guess I should begin where I want my new journey to begin...and that is with this - I have enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. My classes begin March 21st and I could not be more excited. I began receiving information on the online school 2 years ago, but something kept me from signing up. Whether that was timing, finances or passion I'm not sure, but this time I knew with my whole heart that the life I wanted for myself could only be created by me. So I am headed back to school in 2 weeks to nourish my mind, my body and my soul. At the end of the 1 year course, I will be a certified health coach. Ask me what I want to do with that and I will tell you right now that I have no idea. But I want to help people. I want to guide people on their health & wellness journey and be a support system. I want to motivate people to never give up and to understand that by eating the right foods, finding balance in our jobs, exercise and relationships, they will become the healthiest version of themselves. Change is possible and I want to help people find their change!
I guess that leads me to the second part of my new beginning...for right now, I am no longer hyperthyroid with a diagnosis of Graves Disease. My personal health & wellness journey began 3 years ago when my bloodwork showed that my thyroid was not functioning. My TSH was 0.007. Every endocrinologist that I sought for help told me that the only way to cure this disease was to remove my thyroid and then take thyroid replacement hormones for the rest of my life. At the age of 25 I couldn't see myself as taking a pill every day that would act as my thyroid and I knew that I wanted to reverse my diagnosis through holistic wellness. I sought the help of holistic and osteopathic medicine, kinesiology, acupuncture, herbal supplements, essential oils and whole foods and worked really hard to live a clean and well balanced life.
For 3 years my blood tests still showed that my thyroid was hyperthyroid and I began to get discouraged. How could I throw my entire heart and soul into living a healthy lifestyle without seeing the results? I wanted to breakdown; some nights I cried, some days I laughed, but I wasn't feeling like myself and I missed feeling normal. I missed having energy, I missed not being overweight even when I watched everything I ate, I was tired of being tired.
But last week, my blood tests came back; my TSH was 3.73 (normal range being 1-4), the mercury in my blood was completely gone and the mercury in my urine had decreased by 10, my TSI was 66 (down from 277), and my lose of bone had slowed down and now I was generating bone faster than I was losing it. Just seeing these changes on paper made me realize how much I have changed in the past year.
I still have a lot to work on, mainly my adrenal fatigue caused by stress and my leaky gut. My digestion is still off - some days I feel great, other days I wake up feeling bloated and puffy. And I can't seem to figure out what the triggers are - except most likely stress! Hopefully by enrolling in school and finding my passion in holistic health & wellness, my stress will decrease.
When I finished my lost Whole30 that I posted about in 2014 I was happy with my weight and size. But in 2015, I lost complete control of my body. I had gained 15 pounds and had no energy or motivation to work out. I was eating paleo, but was allowing myself too many sugary treats or gluten free entrees, too many nuts, too much fruit, and not enough self control. I became depressed, I wasn't happy with the person I had become, not because of my weight gain, but because I wasn't happy. I had been working so hard and was giving up. But if I gave up on myself, no one would help me back up. I had to help myself.
So with the beginning of 2016, I got back to my Whole30 lifestyle with limited to no added sugar, no after dinner snacking, barre workouts, spin classes and allowed myself to be happy. I spent time with my husband, my dog (oh yeah, Haley passed away last March - also when I saw a big spike in my weight), and my friends. Since then, I have lost 10 pounds so my clothes are fitting again - I get to go shopping in my closet and just the other day I looked at all of my clothes and exclaimed "damn, I have too many clothes." But last year I only had 2 or 3 outfits that I wore all the time with my larger, stretchier leggings because it's all I could fit in to.
My body has changed, my mind has changed and my passion has changed. I have seen how dedication, passion and hard work can pay off and I shouldn't doubt myself again. I have seen what happens when I doubt myself and I don't want to go back to that person. I choose to be happy and I choose to be me.
So with all of these positive changes, I have realized that I can positively influence others. Which is why I have chosen to pursue a career as a health coach. IIN is going to help save me. It is going to push me in a direction that I never thought I would be working towards - who knew the girl smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, drinking from sun-up to sun-down, and never working out ever would be going to school for health & wellness. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me this last year when I was at my lowest. But here I am.
So welcome to my new journey and I look forward to this ride we are going to embark on together!
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