Healthy Happy Chaos

Hey Hey!! So I have been home for 2 weeks now. It feels great to be with my boys again after 6 loooooooong months, but I ain’t going to lie, the reintegration is tough. Trying to find our new normal because things just can’t go back to the way they were before. My husband had to totally step in and do it all, and he did amazing. Almost too good of a job because it feels like I am not needed ☹. I know that isn’t true but doesn’t make it feel any less.

Anywho!! So I haven’t posted in a bit because I was focused on reintegrating with my family and I am really trying to think about how I want to make this blog work. I want to share so many things and I am having a hard time just keeping my thoughts in order when I start to type about a subject. Like I have literally started 5 other posts about various topics because I want to get it out when I am thinking about it. I also placed my notebook next to my bed so that in the middle of the night or right as I lay down to sleep and I have ideas I can jot them down so as to not forget later. LOL. My mind is always all over the place I tell ya!!! These are the times I wonder why my husband puts up with me as much as he does. Each day it is something different with me!

Well, with my mind all over the place I thought a good early post would be about just a healthy nutritional lifestyle. Let me tell you what, I have tried so many different things over the years and tried to find ways to get “healthy”, but in the end I have always quit or gave up because it just wasn’t something sustainable and just didn’t leaving me excited each and every day. I was always looking for the next diet, fad, supplement kit, workout routine. I was just not satisfied. Sucky feeling when you are spending all that time and money on things. You want to know that what you are investing in is going to truly help you and leave you feeling like you are improving your health and wellness, right?!?! But despite everything that I was doing to be healthy I was still having stomach issues, still on meds, still having acne breakouts, still having panic attacks and anxiety issues. I was starting to accept the idea that this is what healthy felt like. Which in my mind just made sense. I mean, why would you be able to make it all go away and actually feel good each and every day. We are supposed to feel things and just be ok with it as we do our best.

All the while the health and wellness industry continues to thrive off of our business because they are able to market to us in such a way that makes us throw our money at it. And if it isn’t the health industry, it’s the healthcare industry because we are convinced that the only way to make ourselves feel better outside of the small changes we are making we must see the doctor. They help with the aches and pains. Did you know that ‘Unhealthy eating habits cost the American health care system about $50 billion a year just for heart-related diseases” (The high cost of a poor diet – Harvard Health). What the heck is that all about? It’s a vicious cycle but it makes sense and is the norm for a majority of us. But WHY?!?!?! I mean, go to Google and type in Effects of Bad Nutrition. There are so many things that happen to us when we don’t fuel our body properly. I just didn’t know how bad it affected me personally until I started making changes.

Think about all the times when you felt tired even after getting the appropriate amount of sleep, or weren’t able to focus. What about that nasty bloated feeling? This is one that has always gotten me and I am miserable most of the day when it happens. Ever had that pretty immediate high from sugar just to have a hard crash not long after? Other things that I have suffered from was acid reflux, indigestion, poor sleep, signs of diabetes, depression, digestive issues, and acne. And those are just the issues I experienced.

I don’t know about you, but I grew so tired of it all and although I was at the point of just giving in, I still did not like any of it. It truly sucked to think that this was the life I had to accept and I was only in my early 30’s.

Then I found what worked for me!!!! Have you ever heard of a company called Arbonne??? Neither had I, but apparently this company has been around since 1980! Holy Moly! How is it that I had not heard of this company with all the searching that I had been doing to find the right lifestyle changes?

Well a good friend introduced me and at the time I wasn’t convinced because I had tried so much already. What made this one special? I did my research and first thing I found was that it is an international multi-level marketing company founded by a Norwegian entrepreneur in a little town in Utah. The basis of product development started with using no petroleum or animal products. Ok, I know you aren’t here for a history lesson, so let me jump into what changed my life.

My friend introduced me to Arbonne with the 30 Days to Healthy Living program. Super simple, for 30 days follow what the coach says to eat and drink. Eliminating things that are not beneficial to your health and replacing things that have cleaner alternatives. I was added to this Facebook accountability group about one week prior to start and each day there was education and guidance on how to prepare myself and what to expect. I ordered this nutrition kit that had pea protein (which is awesome because I learned a long time ago that I cannot do whey or soy), probiotic drink, energy boosting drinks, greens powder, and herbal detox tea. When i got the kit there was this guide with it that told me how to use each product and pretty much when to use it each and every day. Through the Facebook group the coach posts each and every day guidance, tips, recipes, ideas. Then each week a grocery and meal list is posted for the next week. Like seriously?!?!?! The only thought I had to put into this was whether or not I wanted to do it. What sold me is that if I wasn’t happy with any of it there was a 45 day money back guarantee!!! What!?!?!?!?! What did I have to lose?

I went for it and totally invested myself. I mentally prepared myself because I thought that this was going to be another one of those programs that I had to fight my way through and struggle with commitment. I had ordered the kit through my friend which meant she was my sponsor and all my questions went to her. Each and every day if I had questions or needed help with picking the right products, I shot her a text and she was ready to help! I have never had that before and was instantly starting to feel the weight lift off my shoulders about what I was doing.

Day 1-3 were great! I felt like I was on cloud nine and I had no worries in the world. Day 4 and 5 were a bit rough because when you eliminate certain things from your diet that you are so used to there will be a little kickback from your system. So I unfortunately experienced headaches and a little stomach ache. Wanted to give up at that point because I thought I was doing it wrong or it wasn’t working for me. But my friend pushed me to keep going and see what the next day would bring. I did and was so happy when I woke up the next morning feeling AMAZING!!!! I slept great, my energy felt like it had tripled, and I even felt like my skin was glowing (and let me tell you what, this was important to me because I had NEVER experienced it before!). Each and every day was better and better. At the end of week 2 I had lost 5 pounds and 2 inches!! It was amazing and so easy that I forgot from time to time that I was even doing a program. By the end of the 30 days I had lost almost 15 pounds and 3 inches on my waist!! How is that even possible? I was losing weight and inches and eating so much food. I easily put away 1800-2000 calories a day and was eating so many good meals. Honestly, it was too good to be true, but yet here I was seeing it happen.

The program didn’t stop after the 30 days though. There was more guidance and education on reintroducing certain foods into your system. This is how I was able to determine what my body personally could and could not tolerate. I learned that sugar makes my skin break out super bad (never would have guessed that is where all my acne was coming from), dairy makes me gassy and constantly have to use bathroom, and gluten makes me bloated. All things that I love but things that apparently were creating all my issues. The things I wish I would have known sooner. But now that I know I always stick with the 80/20 rule. This means that 80% of the time I am good about what I eat, the other 20% I indulge in things that sound good or look decadent. Typically these are the times when I pay because my stomach totally does not agree with it.

Needless to say, I was hooked! I became a consultant the day I finished the program because I wanted to learn how to coach people and change lives through health and wellness. I wanted to make a difference. It’s been three years now and I am still amazed at how well the program works and how many people’s lives I have personally impacted. It’s funny because people are always asking me what my secret is and just don’t believe me when I tell them. They think I have found some magical pill or something that does all the work for me. Nope, I work hard and continuously strive to achieve my goals each and every day. There is no better way to do something long term versus short term that will lose results the minute you stop.

There are so many different ways to do the healthy living thing. I am curious, what have you found that works? Please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me. I am always researching and looking for all the ways that I can help people. One day i would love to run my own gym, be a health and nutrition coach, and help people change their lives for the better through health.