I am sharing this before and after pictures not because I have a magic shake for you or a wrap of some kind to sell, I don't. This was not a quick fix.. this was something hard, that took time and lots of research with hours of reading. So if you see this and want a quick fix, you should probably stop reading.
I am sharing to show what it looks like to have a lifestyle change. For those who don't know, I wanted to share this story with you...
I was diagnosed with a underactive thyroid at just 22 years old, I gained 30 lbs in 5 months and suffered from mood swings, I had no energy, I could not sleep at night and my skin, hair, nails were horrible and brittle. I was put on 2 different thyroid medications throughout this period and still ... nothing changed. I spent hundreds of dollars on Dr. visits to try to treat the symptoms and find out what was wrong with me, they could not find out why at this age I was dealing with such horrible symptoms and why my levels weren't in place.
I was sad, I was depressed and tired. I don't talk about my depression very often because I do not like to dwell there, it was a low period and I am not proud of it. I didn't like the way I felt, I should feel young and not be dealing with this I thought! I was eating healthy I thought, I ran every day ... yet I kept gaining weight, my mood was low. I spent days in a fog not knowing what to do, I was not living life to the fullest because of these struggles. I put more money into the doctor's visits just for them to tell me "keep taking the medication, hopefully, it will start working... maybe you will start losing the weight" They did not listen to me when I told them I felt depressed...
Then one day I said, enough's enough ... I am doing this on my own because no one else could help me. I started to ditch the junk, I took out the chemicals in our home and I changed my diet in an extreme way, I threw away the medication I was on (I know not everyone can do this, but I felt like I could and did)
I healed my thyroid on my own after doing a complete lifestyle change. Yup, I healed it. The Dr. I was seeing was amazed that I did that on my own, without medication. I am still on no medication and have been like this for 2 years!
Like I said, this was not an overnight cure-all. There was no shake involved (there was bone broth though!) What I learned is that food can heal, or it can destroy. I was picking foods to heal. I stopped eating all junk and I know family and friends probably hated to eat with me because I didn't eat the food they were eating. I still today will not eat certain foods... it might be, to you a "picky eater" or "being difficult" but I refuse to go back to being depressed, so I choose wisely on what I eat to support my body. It has taken me now 2 years to lose the weight because it's taken that long to get things where they need to be, 2 years... did I say this was not an overnight fix? Good. Because I wanted to make that clear.
I still need support. I did not heal it and now everything goes back to "normal" and I can go back to eating Taco Bell! With this new lifestyle, I choose daily to heal and not destroy (although I am finding balance)
I want to live with ABUNDANCE and purpose, I wanted to live life to the fullest. Today I keep finding what a balanced lifestyle looks like. I stay away from chemicals, I eat whole foods and leave guilt out of my diet when it calls too (when my grandparents want to take me out, I choose the best options available, when my friend wants to meet for coffee, I enjoy iced coffee) I choose to leave the guilt at the door because guilt destroyed my happiness for a long period of time. I wasn't able to always enjoy these treats, I went without for a very long time to heal my gut and thyroid.
I do use oils and oil-infused supplements daily to support my body because it needs all the help it can get! I finally have something that helps me support my body, something the doctors didn't give me.
I am living with more abundance today. I want this for everyone, that is why I wanted to share this story tonight. It was not easy for me to share this picture. I remember myself then, I remember looking at myself and not recognizing myself. It was the fog I was living in.
I didn't even realize what it meant to live with "abundance" and to be honest. I don't think I have reached true abundance yet, it's something I work for every day.
Have you been dealing with fog, tiredness, depression? I just want to let you know I acknowledge you. I see your struggle. I would love to give you my best advice (I am not a doctor) so it will not be a "quick fix" but I do care because I was there and still fight against it.
Thank you for sticking through this story. It was just a while back ago I told a friend that "I don't have a story to tell, I have nothing to share with people" she reminded me that, I did. I didn't want to admit that I had a "problem" or "depression" because I would like people to think I have always "had it together"
When I let that go and started to open up ... I realized that no one truly has it together and we are all struggling with something. I rather am honest and real with you.
One day at a time, living in ABUNDANCE <3
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