I believe in finding the path to your best self is critical for living your best life. In keeping with this mindset I am a self-proclaimed wellness kind of gal. What does wellness mean to me? True wellness comes when you take holistic care of your mind, body, and spirit. It’s took me years to realize that self acceptance is what will allow me to have a healthy and whole life.
Today’s world is run by big corporations and everyday we are bombarded with million dollar advertising campaigns in an attempt to capture our dollars. The advertising tends to be in your face, and yet there is always a subliminal message that really seals the deal. These companies pay millions every year to top marketing firms to get people hooked on their products. What if it’s not the product you are buying, but rather an emotion. A hope for what the product will allow you to feel?
I have tried since about the age of 13 to incorporate many “diets” into my life, all in an attempt to achieve the perfect body, glowing skin, and abundant energy. While in my 20’s I found myself working and starving myself most of the time to keep myself model thin. I am embarrassed to say this but for quite a while I sustained myself with buckets of coffee and chocolate Ex-lax. It wasn’t until my hair started to really fall out that I became concerned. It was then that I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, and he was sucking all of what little nutrients my body had right out of me. I will never forget sitting across from the OB/GYN while I told her of my diet. I started crying because I thought that I had already damaged my baby. It was a very emotional day for me, as I was thrilled to find out I would become a mother for the first time, but it was shadowed by the fact that I was going to be gaining a lot of weight. As the pregnancy rolled on I developed a ferocious appetite like nothing I had ever experienced before. In order for me to keep it together my doctor never told me how the weight was piling on over the nine months. I knew that I was getting HUGE, but I just focused on being a healthy mom and having a healthy baby.
It’s been over 18 years since my first child and what I took away from the experience of being pregnant is that being healthy is the critical component to any life that wants to be well lived. I decided that for me “diets” didn’t work. I chose to eat heathy organic foods and strive to avoid the brainwashing of advertising telling me that if I ate ice cream it would make me happy. It never made me happy, but it did break my skin out and fill me with mucous.
Most recently I did the Keto “diet”. I wanted to see if I could commit to it, and ultimately to see how I would feel after three months. I didn’t find it particularly hard to get on board with since there is a wealth of info, recipes, blogs, and support groups for the program. The hardest thing was depriving myself of sugar, and that’s because I didn’t realize how addicted I had become to it. Food manufactures seem to slip it into everything in order to make things “taste better” and lets be honest, get you hooked on their products as sugar is addictive. By the end of month three, I had greater energy, clear skin, I lost weight, and the brain fog that I so often struggle with lifted. What I didn’t like was the constant berating in my head everytime I was tempted to deprive myself of something I was craving. I can be a real bitch to myself. I did the three months but it didn’t take long for me to start eating all of the things that I love, like sugar and bread. Living a life of deprivation and self hate isn’t the path of wellness that I wanted to be on. Even thought I kept some of the keto diet (no sugar in my coffee) the weight snuck back on, my skin started breaking out, and my energy levels dropped and again. Sigh.
I was still looking for a way to become healthier without having to torture myself daily. One day I was browsing through Mind Valley’s Masterclass offerings (If you do not know Mind Valley then I suggest you check it out. Seriously.) I came across one for a quest called Wildfit 90 given by the founder, Eric Edmeades. It took me just 60 minutes to know that this was something that I had to partake in and I signed up. I am heading into week three and I am in love with the program already. I will be blogging about my journey and in 90 days we will see where I find myself. For all of you who are looking for something similar stay tuned.
xo Ella
Here is some info on Wildfit 90 and Mind Valley for you to check out:
rebelthriver.blog 