Tea Time with MeMaw

What’s your why? That’s a question I get from time to time regarding my weight loss. My why in a few words are “HEALTH and QUALITY OF LIFE.” As I’ve gotten older, I notice on my social media pages, that more and more of my peers were dying, or dealing with serious health issues. I was 200 lbs. over weight. My body was already telling me, “ENOUGH!” I have had, congestive heart failure, a hysterectomy, stage 3 colon cancer, glaucoma, and a diagnosis of lupus. I was tired of walking into a doctor’s office and getting another diagnosis, and another prescription. This led me to begin researching on ways to get my health back and lose weight. It was so funny that when I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with lupus, he told me to lose weight, it might help with some of my joint pains and symptoms. I lost 45 pounds by my next visit, and he never even acknowledged the weight loss. But, I was encouraged to continue.

I started with the Keto diet. That’s mainly because I had been successful on the Atkin’s diet previously. But something didn’t sit right. Yeah, I lost weight, initially, but I had also developed colon cancer after being on the diet for a few years. I am not attributing my cancer to the diet, but there was something about eating all the meat and cheese I wanted, that didn’t feel right inside of me. So I kept searching.

I had also looked into being plant based. I had “tried it out” during and after my cancer experience. One of the elders at my church had introduced me to the “Hallelujah Diet” and talked about the health benefits of eating this way. I have to admit, although I bought into it. It had been difficult to follow because my mind was still stuck on eating the SAD (Standard American Diet) that I had grown up on. This time was different. I began doing more research and found out that there was a lot of documentation for people reversing many of their diseases after adopting this way of eating. I discovered a book called, Goodbye Lupus. It really got my attention. Then I discovered they had a website, and a Facebook support group, all for free. This really intrigued me. I remember, taking the book into my doctor and asking him his thoughts, and was kind of “pooh-poohed” for thinking there was any way of reversing this diagnosis using food.

After listening to Dr. Goldner, who talked about her battle with lupus and kidney diseasing and how she reversed this I was drawn in even more. She also, didn’t want money, but only to help anyone who was battling with autoimmune disease of any kind. She was so upbeat and positive that it kept me curious.

I learned a lot. After adopting this lifestyle, I have almost reversed my glaucoma. I keep getting looks from the ophthalmologist asking “Who suggested you come to me?” Now the pain in my joints, has gone from a 10 to a 2 as long as I stay on plan. I did have knee replacement surgery on one knee because I was bone and bone and my leg had already started to bow out. But not having to take pain medication after years of use is a big relief. I am still working on getting my lupus numbers down, but I have to admit I have not been 100 percent on plan. Sometimes I ate more cooked and processed foods than I should.

This leads me to commitment. YOU GET OUT, WHAT YOU PUT IN. I understand why doctors don’t count on diet to be the answer. Its so hard to change. It’s not just a diet, it’s a total lifestyle change. This includes food, exercise, sleep, and stress relief. It’s working on the whole person. I admit, I am a food addict. Sometimes, I get drawn into going back to some of my old ways of eating. But, i haven’t gone back to eating meat or meat products. People have talked about me. Someone even said, “What does she think, if she eats a piece of meat that she’ll get sick?” I just said, “You haven’t had cancer, I have. You haven’t had lupus, I have. You haven’t had heart failure and high blood pressure, I have.” As stated earlier, my body is yelling out, “ENOUGH” I just decided to start listening and taking the actions necessary to help it.

Right now, I’m 100% in. I have gotten to the point where I want it more than I don’t. I’ve stopped making excuses for going back to my old ways. I want my health to be restored to even better than it was before. I don’t want to end up in a rehab center with someone having to wipe my butt because I can’t. While I still have a choice, I choose life to the fullest.

WHAT’S YOUR WHY?