“My Personal Journey to Wellness”

I’m 67.  At 50, my biological age was 63.  I was 60 pounds heavier, my skin constantly broke out, my joints hurt, and I had horrible heartburn.  My blood pressure was high, my liver was fatty – you get it.  Everything that we think “comes with age” was coming to me.  When I would go see the doctor, I always came home with another pill, or at least a stronger version of the one I was already taking.

I had been on a diet since I was 13 years old.  I remember the first one was a protein drink, it tasted awful, but I figured anything that would help me lose weight probably did taste bad.  Of course, it didn’t work.

Since that diet I have done every crazy thing you can imagine, from diet pills, to mysterious injections, to fat blocker pills (an episode away from a restroom when those kicked in is something I will never share!). I once fasted for 6 months, only drinking liquid nutrients from powdered packets.  I lost 75 pounds, most of my hair and all of my energy.  I’ve juiced, I’ve over exercised, I’ve fasted and eaten more Lean Cuisine than I care to admit.

Nothing worked.  If you lose weight by eating artificial foods, it pretty much is guaranteed to come back when you stop and bring a few of its friends along for the ride.  Deprivation is not a sustainable lifestyle.

Finally, sadly, I almost lost my husband, Mark.  He was suffering what he thought was back pain, and when we went to the hospital, they told us he had an autoimmune disease that was destroying his pancreas.  Everything came crashing down on our lives. One of the consequences of his illness is it leaves you a severe diabetic.

It was time to figure things out. Mark and I committed that we were going to eat close to the source and take added sugar out of our diets.  Fast forward 4 years and I’m down 60 pounds, and all my health issues have been reversed.  Mark is down 30 pounds and his insulin needs have been sharply reduced.  Our doctors are amazed at the results of our efforts. All of this came from the realization that eating is the best medicine.