A Journey to Wellness
When did you begin your journey to optimal health and well-being? Was it a conscious decision, perhaps fueled by a diagnosis or a health scare? Were you finally just sick and tired of always feeling sick and tired? Or, maybe, like me, it has been a slow evolution based on symptoms, education, and hope.
As a child growing up in Midwestern America, I was raised on cereal, juice, white bread, mac & cheese, pizza and the like. I was an extremely thin child and didn’t particularly like food. Adults called me a “picky eater” and classmates called me “twig”. And for as far back as I can remember, I suffered from painful stomachaches, chronic constipation, and anxiety around food and eating- especially eating away from the house.
When I moved away from home at 18 to attend college, my “food difficulties” continued. I remember the university required freshman to purchase a meal plan, and I distinctly recall expressing my disdain at this policy since I rarely ever stepped foot in the cafeteria. I don’t really know what I ate during that time. The occasional late night slice of pizza, fast food French fries, ramen noodles made in the dorm, or maybe some granola bars.
Around the time I turned 20, I decided to go vegan. I had just discovered PETA and along with being morally appalled by videos of chicken warehouses and beef factories, I thought that maybe meat had been the cause of my lifelong stomach issues. I just needed to stop consuming animal products and all my problems would be solved! Oh, if only it were that easy!
Despite my animal product abandonment (which also involved giving away all my leather shoes, boots, jackets, and belts), I didn’t really feel any better. I graduated from college, moved across the country with my then boyfriend/now husband, and my veganism shifted to vegetarianism. This was spurred by anemia due to lack of adequate amino acid consumption. Yes, I was a vegan, but I wasn’t a very healthy one.
Finally, sometime in 2010, nearing the end of my graduate school program in school psychology, I had had enough. Enough of the stomachaches, the bloating, the constipation, the perpetual pain. By then I had visited multiple gastroenterologist’s and if one more doctor told me, “Just eat more flax,” I was going to lose it. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and began to research with fervor.
This was when I first learned about gluten. Prior to this, I had never even heard the word, let alone thought that wheat products or (*gasp*) beer-! could be causing my distress. By this time I was willing to do anything to feel better, so I went cold turkey and cut all out gluten- anything containing wheat, rye, or barley. And 72 hours later…. I felt better than I had ever felt- In. My. Entire. LIFE.
This was back in 2010. Gluten was not a buzzword. Gluten-free products did not exist. There were no “gluten free menus” at restaurants. My friends thought I was crazy- really, no beer?! My family asked, “But you still can eat whole wheat pasta, right?” I took all this in stride. None of it mattered. Because, for the first time in my life, I felt good. Like, really good. Not just pain free, but all sorts of other “good.” Better focus, clearer skin, more energy, improved mood, and deeper sleep. Which led to stronger relationships, more self-confidence, and empowerment.
I’ve continued my health journey since then, learning all I can about nutrition and other lifestyle factors that contribute to quality of life and longevity. Things like exercise and movement, rest and relaxation, the power of relationships and social connections, mindfulness, meaning, purpose, joy, love, and positivity. I have learned so much in the last decade, and have seen first-hand how simple tweaks and sustainable changes can improve health and well-being exponentially.
Maybe you’ve experienced something like this before?
Whether or not you’ve felt the snowball effect of a “health win”, just know that it IS possible to overcome your gut issues. Your path may look a little different from mine, but the journey to wellness is absolutely attainable.
