When I started the last blog post, I had a specific direction I was headed, and of course, I veered off course on a tangent.. a good one, but a tangent, nonetheless. So, to get back on track, the beginning from the last post is relevant.
I talked about my transition from Executive Staff in an IT company to burning out and losing myself. During that part of my journey, I went from highly productive, highly focused, and highly active to the complete opposite. I wasn’t sleeping or oversleeping. I was sitting and not being active. I had major brain fog. And I just couldn’t drag myself to do anything. The stress of my position was hitting me hard and not in a good way. My hair was starting to fall out, and I had leaky gut syndrome. My body was speaking VERY loudly to me. It was time for a very difficult choice. Continue where I was, making big money, and living a very expensive lifestyle, OR do what my heart wanted and find a new path.
Some decisions aren’t easy to make. Even though they seem to be very straight forward, like mine was. Actually, making the decision to change can be terrifying. Where would I live? How would I eat? How would I make ends meet? How would I start my own business? What if I couldn’t make it work? What if I failed? Those thoughts went through my head on repeat for weeks. And then, I began seeing memes that seem directed at me specifically. “You can do anything you set your mind to.” “The hardest step is the first.” “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” And “It’s ok if you fall down and lose your spark. Just make sure that when you get back up, you rise as the whole damn fire.” Part of the reason I do so many memes is to encourage you to take those next steps and to find your own path. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t quick, but I promise you it is well worth it.
So, the next step in my journey took me back to school. I took an accelerated course that shortened my yearlong training to six months. I learned soooo much and met so many amazing people. If you ever want to do something new, take that course. Don’t worry if you are the oldest person in the class – you aren’t competing with them – you are doing it for you. And if you are competing – you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Learning requires you to be open to all kinds of new things. My journey changed because of what I learned in my classes.
During this phase of my metamorphosis, I was living with family that had different issues with food. We worked on changing their diets to improve their overall health and my “Ah Ha Moment” is a part of those changes. When I reflected back, I realized that my leaky gut syndrome was gone, I was sleeping comfortably through the night, my cravings were going away, and I was active again. I still wasn’t completely right in my head – but I was getting there. This part of my transformation took two years. I lost nearly 100 pounds, my hair was growing back, my confidence was coming back, and my diet was good. I ate mostly greens, lean meat, and low glycemic fruit (apples and blueberries). Time to work on my head. I reached out to people that I had wronged in the past and asked for forgiveness. I talked to family that I had banished from my life to try and repair relationships. I reflected on my past traumas and how to overcome things that were stopping me from making positive steps forward. Slowly, I was becoming stronger and healthier.
So, how does my “Ah Ha Moment” relate to my metamorphosis? Many of the changes I made during my transition related to food, were also related to fixing my hormones, only I was doing it without thinking. I removed grains, dairy, and sugar from our diet for a variety of reasons – other health issues I was trying to fix with family. I added dark green leafy vegetables and lots of cruciferous vegetables daily – partly because I love salads, and partly to aid family’s gut issues. All these things were helping to reset my hormones and give me more energy. And it is working!
Many of us get to a certain point in our lives and we can’t lose the weight we have gained around our middle. No matter how little we eat, or how much exercise we do daily, we can’t get rid of it. That is due to the metabolic crisis our bodies are going through – the hormones that are out of whack and need to be reset. I promise you, if you follow the guidelines for a hormone reset, you too will feel so much better. I can now eat things that I was highly sensitive to, my allergies have all but disappeared, and I feel amazing. All because my body is back on track and my hormones are working as they should.
Recommended reading: The Hormone Fix, Anna Cabeca
More recommended reading: It Starts With Food, Dallas & Melissa Hartwig
More recommended reading: The Hormone Reset Diet, Sara Gottfried
There are different ways to handle a hormone reset, you choose what works best for you.
I’d love to hear how you are progressing! Remember, we are running a marathon here, not a sprint. No easy fixes. It took years for you to get here, and may take years for you to get where you want to be. Just keep taking one step at a time and you WILL get there!
Blessings – E