My Journey to Good Health

I thought I would share my story of how I came to study nutrition therapy and how I came to improving my own nutrition.  This will give you some background as to why I am now passionate about what I eat and why I want to help others improve their health through proper nutrition.

Two years ago, I underwent what is apparently the most difficult surgery anyone can go through - a 5-level lumbar fusion (L2-S1, low back to tailbone) because of severe spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease, on top of scoliosis.  Essentially, my spinal vertebrae were collapsing on one another due to loss of cartilage that is supposed to keep the vertebrae cushioned and separated.  Before surgery, I had so much pain from pinched nerves and back pain that I was nearly wheelchair-bound.  I couldn't walk 1/2 a block without having to sit down.  The surgery, although incredibly difficult to get through, kept me out of a wheelchair and painfree.  However, the fusion left me with no motion from the bottom of my rib cage to my hips.  Although limiting, I have learned how to function without a lot of back motion. 

In July of this year, after finding out I had spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease in my neck, I underwent a cervical spine laminoplasty from C3-C7 (in my neck) to open up the vertebrae so I could avoid the need for a fusion (which prohibits motion).  My spine was falling apart and I am only in my 40's!  I also have severe arthritis in my knees and hips.  I know that some of my skeletal degeneration is genetic, but I believe that much of what I am suffering from is because of a history of very poor nutrition that has wreaked havoc on my body.

Essentially, I have spent 49 years eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).  This means lots of meat (which has been raised with steroids, antibiotics and other drugs - eating sick animals = sick people), lots of processed foods (as a working mother and single mother, I did what everyone does - I cut corners by buying and serving food that comes in a box and is loaded with preservatives/chemicals, high in carbohydrates, and deplete of vitamins and minerals), a bit of fast food (although I was never a big fast food eater), and lots of pesticides and chemicals from non-organic produce.  On top of that, I was never one to value physical fitness as a component of my life.  I found myself to be 75 lbs. over my "ideal" weight, with a failing skeletal system, and feeling like I was in my 60's instead of my 40's.  Something was very wrong and something had to change if I had any chance of staying out of a wheelchair and not ending up with diabetes, heart disease, or dead.

I have spent several years moving in the direction of better nutrition, paying attention to studies, doing some reading, and taking advice from a friend who was a nutrition expert.  But because of the past two years of going through spine surgeries, and needing to get my weight under control to ease the burden on my skeletal system, I decided to get serious.  I started working with a personal trainer and watching my diet and I lost 30 lbs. last year.  I still wasn't where I wanted to be with my nutrition.  Additionally, I was working in a very stressful job that was sucking the life out of me and having a huge impact on my health as well.  So in May of this year, I quit my job and returned to school to study nutrition and earn a Master's in Nutrition Therapy at the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver where I live.  After seeing the movie "Forks Over Knives" this summer, I knew that a whole-foods, plant-based diet was exactly what I was needing in my life and in September I did the 28-day program of moving to a whole-foods, plant-based diet by following the book "The Engine 2 Diet."  This book is written by Rip Esselstyn, a firefighter in Austin, TX, and son of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.  Dr. Esselstyn is an Endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic and a huge proponent of a whole-foods, plant-based diet to prevent and reverse many chronic disease conditions that he believes result from following a Standard American Diet.

In the 28-day program, I lost 10 pounds.  I have now lost a total of 50 pounds in the past 17 months, have fully adopted a whole-foods, plant-based diet and am feeling absolutely amazing!!  Combining that with what I am learning in school...I am so excited!!!

I know this was kind of lengthy, but thank you for reading and I hope I have given you an idea of how I got to where I am today as the Nascent Nutritionista!

To Your Health!