Be an active participant in your health

Most of my life was spent on autopilot. Wake up, eat the same cereal for breakfast (or the occasional donut), same sandwich for lunch with a bag of chips, something sweet for a snack. Dinner was usually pasta or a potato, some sort of protein and little to no veggies except green beans and corn. Fast food was certainly not out of the question either. I gave very little thought to my meals, I just ate when I was hungry.

My childhood was packed full of worry, fear and I was often sick and “required” antibiotics (a whole lot of them!)

After being diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and being told the only solution was a lifelong prescription to help keep my disease under control, I knew I needed to play an active role in my wellness. This was foreign to me. All those years, I guess I just assumed my body would persevere. I have learned just how resilient the human body is but I also learned that it requires us to be active participants in order to get well or stay well.

Even though it is incredibly difficult to change decades of less than healthy habits, I did it. I modified my diet to include tons of veggies I would have NEVER touched before, cut out packaged foods and sugar, really cleaning up the way I ate. I began to deal with childhood issues and learned how to release stress from my body. From acupuncture to Zen, I began to slowly incorporate healthy living into my day-to-day rhythm. And, my body thanked me in the most beautiful way….I felt better than I had ever felt before and all the symptoms I had been experiencing slowly dissipated.

Sounds crazy, I know, but I am grateful that I was diagnosed with IBD. It served as the catalyst for change that was necessary for me see how much I took my body and health for granted. I doubt I would have willingly changed otherwise.

You can’t change everything at once but you can make small changes over time that your body will thank you for.

If I can do, you can too. It is so worth it.