The Health Nut

A PEEK INTO A JOURNAL OF MY HEALTH JOURNEY

2021

(See below for updates)

As a child, I was quite thin and active. This lasted through the sixth grade. At the beginning of my seventh-grade year…puberty happened (cue the dramatic music, dah, dah, dah!). The pounds started accumulating. Before heading to school for the day, my breakfasts consisted of buttered biscuits and a “big cookie” from Hardees. We ate out a lot. Needless to say, the weight stayed.

I faintly remember being in 9th grade and weighing about 180lbs, and increasing to over 200lbs by about age 16. Fast forward a little to my late teens, dating, and eventually marriage, I tried several “diets.” I almost got back into the 100s, but never quite saw that on the scale. This continued, and even added, after having my three beautiful, peculiar treasures – my children.

In 2013, and I’m not sure which came first, actually, while I was attending Liberty University, I had the privilege of being educated in Health and Wellness Coaching. I gained a tremendous amount of education in nutrition, fitness, and overall wellness. At the same time, I began a cross-training program at the YMCA and developed better eating habits. This was a total mindset change for me. I had crept into the doorway of the 300s, and something in me clicked – offering me the desire for change. Without such, I would never have advanced when I did. .

After months and months of hard…I mean hard…work, I was losing weight. About 80+/- lbs. – on my way to those 100s again, and almost there! I was in a regular routine (something CRUCIAL for wellness) of exercise with my husband and kids, and I was becoming the “poster child” for the YMCA. I was receiving attention from left and right. I eventually ended up teaching cross-training and working at the YMCA.

Then, things changed.

Little by little, step-by-step. When I’d exercise, I’d get lightheaded. I wasn’t finding much change in weight after a while. Plateaued. My routine was demolished as my husband was working and no longer attended exercise class with me. I was working at the YMCA, and I found myself busy with other stuff. Life. I fell into my older eating habits, quite easily. Pounds started adding up, once again – slowly – but I ignored it.

“I can get back on track again later,” I’d tell myself. But later came, and I found myself completely lost to everything that I had worked so incredibly hard for.

I was ashamed of myself, mostly because so many people looked up to me for inspiration. I literally had an elderly man at the YMCA telling me I was his inspiration. Boy, I had let so many down. All the weight I’d lost, every bit, was regained. Plus more. My health became 10x worse than it was even before I’d lost all the weight. And the mindset. That’s where it all begins. If you are not in the right mindset, ready for change – a life commitment, not a diet, you are setting yourself up for failure. I have all this knowledge of what to eat, what to do for overall health and wellness, yet I cannot bring myself to put it into action. I’m praying to one day find that mindset again. In the meantime, I’d love to offer my knowledge to anyone who needs help and is seeking better health through eating and fitness.

Not dieting!

And, if I’ve learned anything, it’s to take Matthew 6:16-18 to heart.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Although this is in a different context, I think it totally applies to how we treat weight loss and fitness today. I encourage you to study it, meditate on it, and reflect it in your life. Not trying to be a downer at all, but encouraging you to glorify God in what you are doing, without bringing the attention on yourself, like I did (even though it was seemingly quite innocent).

I learned from my mistakes.

2022

Staying transparent in hopes of helping someone else in their health journey, I am offering this update.

A right mindset has returned, and I pray it is permanent! I can only take one day at a time, like anyone in recovery, healing by retraining my brain and habits.
As of now, I’m really focused on self-education about gut health, hormone health, and balancing blood sugar (on top of what I already know and have shared). I look forward to possibly sharing what I’m learning in the future, but for now, I am using this time for healing, learning, and relearning. Glory and honor to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, friends!

2024

Staying transparent in hopes of helping someone else in their health journey, I am offering this update.

Backing up a little bit in my story, at the beginning of 2020, I was my absolute heaviest.

330lbs.

I had begun changing some things at the time, namely intermittent fasting—not eating anything after about 4pm, because I had received the diagnosis that I had a hiatal hernia, and this hernia was causing me a lot of pain and problems with digestion and sleep. Not eating a big meal late in the evening helped. On top of other health issues, I knew I needed to do something. I mean, there were times I couldn’t walk. My back and my knees were giving out on me, literally. And after having lost that weight back in 2013/2014 and having the education I did, I knew changes needed to be made, but my mindset was still muddled (as I mentioned in my update, it wasn’t until 2022 that a right mindset returned). Then, well, 2020 happened. Divorce. Loss. Grieving. Change. Yes, lots of change. Change has always been hard for me. I’m not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, impromptu kind of girl. I like routine. I like plans. They’re comfortable and safe. But life is anything but “safe” and formulaic. Even during all the life changes, I was still making minor adjustments to my eating habits, knowing my health wasn’t the best.

As I mentioned above, a right mindset had returned in 2022, and I shifted my eating back to what it should be—God-made over man-made, whole, organic, clean-label foods, cutting out refined sugar, and eating mostly at home. Along with the fasting, I lost a good deal of weight. Yet, I still struggled heavily with self-control. I’ve been a binge eater ever since I can remember. I’ve always eaten fast, and I can eat a lot. If something tastes good, it’s difficult for me to stop. Therefore, I prayed.

I really did beg God to allow His Holy Spirit to work in me, cultivating His self-control (which applies to more than one area of life!). I wrote about this here. Only by His grace and strength, by His self-control, have I been able to continue on this health journey. Please know, I am not seeking applause. I am not looking for any sort of self-glorification. All honor and glory and praise goes to God in the name of Christ. I am wanting to share my life journey with anyone who may need words of encouragement that may be going through similar struggles; someone who needs help and guidance. That said, by His allowance, I have lost almost 150lbs., and I am still continuing, working toward a goal that will allow me to feel healthful and energetic. By His allowance and with His self-control in this weight loss, several—not all—of my health problems have ceased.

Again, I do not want a spotlight on me. It is not my accomplishment.

Yes, I have been obedient in surrendering to God and working hard along the journey, doing my part in this, but I am still healing and leaning on Him. I still do struggle with self-control. This will be a daily battle until my deathbed, I am sure, like any addiction. As I mentioned in my 2022 update, I can only take one day at a time, and I can only continue to rely fully on God in the name of Jesus the Christ to help me in my healing and daily struggles, surrendering to His self-control, walking by His Spirit. This—walking by His Spirit, allowing His fruit to cultivate in our lives as we are sanctified in holiness—is both spiritual and physical, dear friends.
So, this is where I am at the moment.

*I will add, in doing my part to maintain my portion control, I did begin using the Weight Watchers app. I used their points program many years ago (like 2001), and it helped then (though I wasn’t eating truly healthful, God-made foods at the time, living a genuinely changed lifestyle). Therefore, I chose to use it at this point in life, because while I was eating those whole, clean foods, that lack of self-control distorted my ability to control portion sizes. So, the app has helped, and I still eat the same whole, clean foods, just less 🙂 Additionally, I still rarely (as in maybe once or twice a year) eat out, and I still do not consume refined sugar (meaning, any label with the ingredient sugar, cane sugar, or the like). I mainly follow what I’ve recommended on my page about sugar.

References
All Scripture (unless otherwise noted): English Standard Version Bible. 2021. BibleHub.com and
English Standard Version Bible. 2016. Crossway