How I Live A Sustainable Lifestyle In A Processed World

Our society is overfed but starving to death. We eat so many processed foods, but not enough of the right stuff and our bodies are never given the chance to heal with all the right things. Even some of the right foods are severely processed, that we don’t even recognize it in the grocery store. The word natural is thrown around so freely that it can be really confusing to someone trying to eat things without additives.These hype words are being found out and people are realizing what it really means to live self sustainable in this processed world.

Six Years ago my body was starving, and I ended up in the hospital. My body began shutting down on me and the doctors had no idea what was going on, thankfully one of my doctors told me he thought I had Aspartame poisoning. I really had no clue about food back then, I was a crash dieter and never ate healthy long-term. How I ate wasn’t a lifestyle, so the weight wouldn't stay off, and then I‘d find another fad diet to lose the weight again.

After my diagnoses I decided to really look at what I was eating and make eating healthy a lifestyle. I found out about eating real food, how fats were good for our body and about fermenting fruits and veggies. Life completely changed for me with this new knowledge. I got rid of soda and started juicing fruits and veggies. I did a seven-day juice detox to start off this new lifestyle and help rid my bodies of all the toxins. Next, I started experimenting in the kitchen with lots of new recipes and began cooking everything from scratch. It was a lot of work but it was worth it because I felt amazing! 

Exercise was also a large part of the new me. I decided to find something I really loved doing, and stumbled upon an awesome program that included dance cardio, strength training and a trampoline workout.

My husband and I also adopted the 80/20 rule, where you eat real clean 80 percent of the time and 20 percent of the time you can eat what you want. I believe you've got to enjoy life too, so I worked my butt off, but didn’t cry about it if I had a piece of pizza every once in awhile. Once I got physically fit enough, I  noticed that my eating was usually 90/10 because processed food just made me feel yucky.

In addition to eating and exercising, I also stopped using store bought bath and body products, and instead made my own. I began using Essential Oils, and homeopathy for body ailments. I learned about how to live for myself instead of buying everything. We also started going to farmers markets and getting fresh organic meats, fruits and veggies from farmers who grew their produce humanly (grass fed, pasture raised, and organically grown). I’m sure if we lived in the country we would grow our own food, but city living makes it a little harder to do that.


Before I knew it, I lost 60 pounds, and was a size eight. I was happy, healthy and enjoying this new life I created for myself. The best part about my story, is that now my body was healthy, it had time to heal and I knew that I could eventually get pregnant. At this point we had been trying for a baby for two years with no luck. Guess what?! Before I knew it our beautiful miracle baby was conceived. Finally, after two years!!

I ate really healthy throughout my pregnancy, and only gained 35 pounds. I had a really great pregnancy, I actually loved being pregnant. In October 2014 our baby girl was born. After her birth though, I found it really hard to lose weight. I was still eating healthy, but it just wasn’t coming off and I actually started to gain weight, even while I was breastfeeding. I decided to visit my doctor to see what was going on, because I was really concerned. 

After a bunch of tests we found out that I had Hypothyroidism, brought on by pregnancy. I immediately got rid of all grains and dairy, and started to feel a lot better. It’s all a process and I hope to soon be feeling even better.  

Honestly, when I look back at the journey I’ve been on, I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have another chance at life. I wouldn’t take it back for one minute. Food is such a powerful tool for health and can either give or take your life. It gave me a my ultimate dream, the chance to be a mother. A gift I can never repay.

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