I used to....had been diagnosed with severe IBS, "severe nervous stomach", would vomit at the least bit of stress, suffered from frequent heartburn and acid reflux, couldn't sleep due to the discomfort, stayed miserable most days, was given multiple meds to try to get it all under control, to no avail, often ending up worse off than when I started them....until my consumption choices/habits/addictions finally landed me in the ER with a gall bladder attack and I had more time to think about it. It was either the knife or a lifestyle change, so I chose drastic lifestyle change. Many felt that what I was doing was way too extreme to even think about trying, but I was feeling like cutting me open to remove organs I was born with for a damn good reason was a bit too extreme to think about, especially without even trying the lifestyle changes first.
I gave up meat, dairy, eggs, caffeine, gluten, and alcohol overnight...thinking I'd surely die from bored taste buds, if nothing else. It's the absolute hardest thing I've ever done, but just as equally rewarding, without a doubt. I dropped 110 lbs., no longer have to take any prescription meds, am no longer mostly bed ridden, comfortably sleep through the night, and have learned to make things taste really good so I don't feel like I'm missing out. I was raised on down home southern cooking, freezer meals, fast food, food delivery, sweet tea, loved my sodas, wished I could have gotten my coffee in my body intravenously each day, remained wrongfully convinced that even the sugar filled artificially colored beverages were actually hydrating me, ate meat several meals a day, thought yogurt was a major health food, and was worse than a rat when it came to scarfing down some cheese.
Once I looked behind the curtains to learn more about each product and food-like substance, the energetic exchanges it takes to get it to my table, as well as how my body actually works and what it can healthily work with, there was no turning back. I learned nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels. Although french fries, onion rings, tater wedges, potato chips, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, mostly eaten late at night, are apparently like my food crack and those choices sent me right back into that painful state of remembering why I eliminated them in the first place. I had slacked off due to perceived convenience, but the body reminded me in no uncertain terms that we're not having it any longer. Wishing you improved wellness in whatever you choose.
