FAITH, FOOD & WELLNESS

I slipped up. A lot. Some of it was unavoidable and some of it was just because I wanted to. Last spring I did a detox that had me almost 20 lbs thinner. I felt healthy, strong, happy, energized and had clarity of mind that was unbelievable. After the detox, I vowed to permanently eliminate certain foods from my diet. For the most part I've been very successful. But more than a few of those items slowly made their way back into my diet. And so did the symptoms I had before I eliminated them. I thought I had fooled my body. You see for the first few months I had no symptoms, gained no weight and still had energy through the roof! Then sure enough just as I got cocky with it and thought I was invincible my body showed me how wrong I was!

The first thing to reappear were the digestive issues. Nothing too noticeable at first, just a little twinge here and there. But then one day they came back full force with indigestion, gas, the whole nine yards! Then the hot flashes came back. And with that, a few episodes of brain fog. Then I noticed patches of fat on my body that hadn't been there before. That spungey, doughey look was showing up on my thighs again in the form of cellulite. Fat on my back that had been nonexistent last year. I noticed my energy level was slightly lower than usual. I gained some of those pounds back. I think the only thing that stopped me from gaining it all back was that I was still working out and doing a lot of walking on a challenging track in my favorite park. And even with all of that, the worst part was still to come.

The more I ate the wrong foods, the more my body craved it. And when I ran out, I couldn't focus on anything else until I had gone out and bought more! OMG! I was going through it! Even when I had gotten past the point where I HAD to eat those foods, I STILL ate them. My willpower was pretty much nonexistent! Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooosah! I feel SO much better after admitting that. But I had to admit it to you and mainly to myself! You know why?

Because I'm on a mission. I have Nutrition Ambition! I'm on a path of reconstruction! I see the light! And I'm not stopping until I get my body to a point where it is at it's ultimate in health and wellness. I'm talking about The Inner Image! The Deeva Pilates & Wellness slogan is TOTAL Body Wellness From the INSIDE Out! I'm rewriting the story of my body. Now more than ever I know I need to LIVE my own slogan. Every day. Religiously. Because now I know. I've learned a thing or two!

A few facts: In 10 years 50% of what doctors learned in medical school will no longer be true. That's not hard to figure out since medicine changes on an almost daily basis. Plus the majority of what physician's learn comes from pharmaceutical journals and conferences. Our healthcare is driven by pharmaceuticals! That's a scary fact, but it's true.

Here's another fact: Insurance companies don't pay for nutritional regimens. At least not the ones that will actually heal you and get to the root of most diseases. They may pay for fad diets, or those programs with the chemically manufactured food. (We all know who they are so I won't mention them) But what the insurance companies also know is that you can't LIVE on those diet foods forever. They know that before long you will go back to your regular eating habits, gain your weight back and probably come down with some NEW disease or condition too! Which means more money for them and more money for the doctors. But don't fault them because it's their JOB to do that! It's OUR job to take control of our own health and wellness

When I go back to biblical times, I see that stuff was happening then too! Think about it. Adam and Eve were told what foods they could eat and what foods they could not. As long as they ate the foods they were told they could eat, they sustained good health. As soon as they disobeyed and ate the foods they were told NOT to eat, what happened?? Disease and death. It's the same now. If you go to the doctor and you're told that certain foods should be avoided and you ignore it, what happens? You get worse. Why? Because those same foods you were told to eliminate were the foods that caused the condition or disease you have. So it stands to reason to say that certain foods fuel a condition or disease. They FEED on those foods and intensify! They are FOOD related! Now you have to go back to the doctor for more medicine and the cycle continues.

It's one thing to pray for healing, but another thing to use that same faith to conquer the flesh when those cravings for those foods come on you. And they will. It's the same as when we were children being told not to do something and we did it anyway. Why? Because we did not WANT to be told that we couldn't do something. We are no different as adults. We still need discipline, the only difference is we have to discipline ourselves.

I've decided to make choices in my diet that leads to life. Life begets life. If we go back again to biblical times, whenever God wanted to work on somebody he had to literally clean them out from the inside out. Mind and Body. Moses was cleaned when he walked through the desert. Jesus was lead into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. This HAD to be done so that God can work through them. He couldn't do that if their minds and bodies were filled with gunk and junk! (Thank you Coach Carmen! I finally get it!)

The same holds true for us now! For me now! So I'm going to do another detox and get rid of those things I put into my body and I'm going to start all over again, but this time with an even deeper mindset and goal. And this time I'll fight even harder when the devil tries to tempt me with those foods again.

I've learned something about myself. I know I can take an occasional break and eat some of those foods I shouldn't eat, but it wouldn't be wise for me to do so. Why? Because our bodies have memory. You give it something it used to have and it will put a craving on you for more of it that will make you feel like if you don't get more of it you can't live! Sounds crazy right? That's the cycle I found myself in and I had to work really hard to get out of it! I know what I can eat that won't spark that craving and I know what I can't eat because it will!

For women who are in menopause this is very important. Pay close attention to your body and how it reacts or feels after you eat certain foods. Eliminate the known culprits.

Sugar, fried foods, sugary drinks, caffeine, dairy, etc. You know what they are. believe me, your body will thank you. Eat a diet that is at least 75% live organic food. Live food gives you life. I

learned that from my own wellness coach, Carmen Abercrombie of Sharing The Bliss. (www.sharingthebliss.com) She taught me about live food and it's benefits and I can tell you with 100% certainty that for a menopausal woman, live organic food is life saving. It generates life in the brain, bones, skin, hair, nails, heart, cells, reproductive system, and every body system we have. Live organic food is medicine for the body. It works better than any drug you can take and if you are taking meds, it actually enhances the drug's effect on your illness so you can get off the meds faster! Pretty powerful stuff that live food!

We would all be so much healthier if we remembered that every time we put something in our bodies, we choose LIFE! That's the WELLNESS goal I'm striving for. What wellness goal are YOU striving for?

Until next time....

Stay Blessed...And Stay WELL!

www.deevawellness.wix.com/deevapilates