12-28-17

Well, here it is! My first blog post! How ironic that I’m finally sitting down to write while recovering from surgery again. Fortunately, this surgery was nothing like the original one I had in August & October 2009. This was just a revision to clean out the scar tissue that had encapsulated my implant. It was necessary to replace them with new ones.  Fortunately, I decided to go in for a check up since it had been hurting me for quite some time.  Once he started the surgery realized the right implant had started to rupture and, thus the reason for the pain and discomfort.   As I am here at home recovering, I am  thinking about how I got here and what a long journey it has been the last 8 years.  As crazy as it sounds I wouldn’t change a thing because of how my life has changed and what all I have learned. It’s  sad it took such a scare like cancer to force me to stop and examine my life  and how I got to where I am today.

Eight years ago I thought of myself as healthy.  I ate what I thought were healthy meals most of the time, along with occasional weekend indulgences like fast food and pizza.  I exercised most everyday. I would either run, work out with weights, ride my bike or do yoga. I remember feeling good. But, wow, I had it all wrong. Looking back now, knowing what I know now, I was simply setting myself up for this diagnosis and had not a clue. No one does.  So, after my surgeries, I began reading and researching, hoping to learn as much as I could to make sure the cancer didn’t come back or pop up somewhere else years later.  This is how I began my journey in becoming a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC.  I have to say if it weren’t for one of my very best friends words of encouragement I probably wouldn’t have signed up for the class last August 2016. She believed in me and thought I would be passionate about it, so thank you Simone Armstrong!

Looking back on the years before the cancer diagnosis my life was crazy busy, as it is for every family I know! For a quick recap, In 2007, after having 3 kids (Maury,  3 yr old daughter, and Charlie & Will the twins, just turning 1) my marriage ended in divorce. The stress, took a huge toll on my body, as it would anyone’s. My day would start with a quick breakfast drink as I ran out the door. The ones  loaded with artificial sweeteners, lead, and so many other chemicals I was so unaware of. For lunch, I’d scarf down a sandwich (consisting of processed meat, cheese, bread, etc) or whatever lunch we ordered for the doctor’s offices we catered lunch for that day. By the end of the day I wasn’t considering cooking “healthy meals”, I would feed the kids mostly hotdogs, chicken nuggets, green peas or mac’ n cheese. You know, that typical easy toddler meal. I would have a glass of red wine and eat whatever was leftover. Of course there were plenty of salad days and healthy meals.  It never entered my mind to think “What will this food cause in me? Will it feed disease or will it prevent it”? I was probably thinking, “Will this cause me to gain weight”?   We all should take a step back, think about our food, our drinks, the products we put on our bodies like soap, lotion, deodorant, and ask ourselves, “What will this cause in me?”. Our bodies can only take so much processed meats, processed and fake foods, pesticides, herbicides, GMO’s, artificial sweeteners, natural flavorings, bleached flour and sugar.  Our bodies need real whole food to keep it running efficiently and  to keep our immune system strong to attack those invaders. Stop filling it up with processed foods like cereals, protein bars, cookies, cakes, crackers, breads, pastas, and top it off with a huge helping of factory farmed eggs, chicken, pork and beef with all the antibiotics, growth hormones, and nasty GMO grains they are fed.  No wonder we hear that so many people are suffering with autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

I’m not perfect nor will I ever be, but going forward I will always try to follow the 80/20 rule. I will try to eat really clean 80% of the time and enjoy the treats 20%.  I’m asking you to start thinking about yourself, your children, your parents, friends, and anyone you care about.  Do you want to live your life feeling bad, on medications that cause horrific side effects, or do you want to feel good, strong, vibrant, energized? If we get sick it not only affects us it affects our children, our spouses, our parents, and our friends. They have to deal with our health issues too, regardless of the disease.  So it’s time to start thinking about your health and how it affects everyone in your life.  Right now, how do you feel? Are you tired, stressed, irritated, bloating, overweight? Think about how this affects your mood and then, how ultimately, it will affect your family.

So for this new year, 2018, start thinking about what you put in your body and even on your body in a different way. Ask yourself, “What will this cause in me?” Make your health and your family’s health a priority!!!!

Happy New Year!

Carlye