My Inspiration

        Earlier this summer I met up for coffee with my dear friend Janessa. We hadn't seen each other in over a year. We had so much to talk about we were there for about 3 hours. She had moved out of the area to become a missionary and had so many exciting things to talk about. As usual we talked about just about any topic we could cram into our visit. One of the topics we discussed was nutrition on a budget. Being a missionary is not financially rewarding so making healthy food choices can be really challenging. I really identified with that situation because when I was just starting out with my little family we lived on ramen noodles, mac and cheese, hot dogs and even lunchmeat on a good month. I wish I knew then what I know now. There are so many more nutritious and budget friendly options out there.
       After my 3rd daughter was born I decided to take charge of my health  and my life. I was nearly 100 lbs over weight and miserable. I literally had to retrain my brain to think "am I hungry, thirsty or bored" every time I opened the fridge. I began eating healthier after my baby was diagnosed with a cows milk protein allergy. What that meant for me was no more dairy. Cows milk protein is passed through a woman's breast milk and goes to the baby. The first week I did okay, then my neighbor brought over a pizza for us. Totally a sweet thing to do! I had stir fry and cried. Ok, I was hormonal and I love stir fry but it was really hard to give up dairy. When I got on the scale the next week I had lost 5 lbs without trying! That gave me motivation to start paying more attention to what I was putting into my body. In about a year, between nursing a baby, watching what I ate and exercising on my gazelle I lost 60 lbs total from my post pregnancy weight.
      It has been 4 years since my daughter was born and I have kept off all the weight I lost. I do keep fighting that last 5-10 lbs but for the most part I have been the same weight. I have been asked by many people about how I lost the weight and for recipes and how to get started. I am not a trained professional. I have no formal education in any of this stuff but I do read. I read everything from health magazines to books on how to heal your body nutritionally. I love that God made our bodies to be able to change, to be transformed. As a mother I have experienced having a baby, a whole other person grow from my body. I have given birth and then my body healed and became mostly normal again. I have been weak with illness and have built my immune system and body to be stronger and healthier. We were made to change.
      My goal as of right now is to lead by example. I have 3 beautiful daughters whom I love more than life itself. My hope is that I can encourage not only my girls, friends and family to make healthy life choices but maybe many other people as well. All I have to offer is the knowledge I have gained through trial and error and lots of reading.
     I dedicate this blog to my beloved friend Janessa and to my 3 beautiful girls. You are my inspiration for doing this in the first place. I love you guys.