I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to share this. My health journey has been a rough one; and not like, I have cancer, rough. Thank the Lord. But its complicated and messy and I’ve had to scavenge to find the right help. For once I’m opening up fully about it. This is my health journey and my new view of myself. These photos in the collage below are just over a year apart. It has been quite the year and I never thought I would ever get to have a before an after comparison photo like this.

My Initial Struggle

Before 2019, I struggled with my weight and my appearance so bad. I had been eating right and working out and all the things but wasn’t getting anywhere. Honestly I thought I was a failure & that I wasn’t doing the right things (even though I was by industry standards) and just wasn’t good enough to actually lose weight. I was having the hardest time not falling asleep at all times of the day. It was tough to stay awake at work when it was slow, riding in the car at any point, or even sitting at my computer editing photos. I finally became tired of being tired all the time and wanted answers.

Seeing My Doctor

So, I went to see my doctor. She did some blood tests which all came back normal and then recommended that I see a sleep specialist because she believed that I had sleep apnea. Guys, first, I thought she was crazy that this was the problem. But you should have seen my boyfriends reaction when I told him this theory. He knew this wasn’t the problem. Even so, I went and saw the sleep specialist and she recommended a sleep study to determine for the sleep apnea. I decided to go for a second opinion which lead to the doctor suggesting that we could start an anti-depressant to see if that would help the fatigue.

Are You Kidding Me?

Seriously?! My boyfriend and I agreed that didn’t seem like the right approach because it wasn’t really solving the underlying issue, which we also didn’t know what that even was. But with no other options, I went and had the sleep study done anyway. Found out I had idiopathic hypersomnia. Basically I’m tired all the time and we don’t know why.

A New Way

My boyfriends sister found out what was going on with me and she suggested a functional medicine doctor out of Bloomington that I should try. For the year of 2018 I was going to see this doctor. She’s amazing and I highly recommend them. But after 12 months of working together I was not feeling better. I needed to find a different approach, again.

The Best Answer

I told one of my coworkers my struggle to find help and she suggested asking the local town Facebook group. That is what lead me to the best health coach a girl could ask for. Amanda from Clearwater Natural Wellness has been amazing in helping me this year, and we’re not done figuring this shit out either. She is the one who discovered all the food sensitivities that I have and that was why I was not feeling good and having so many crazy reactions all time. We have cut out so many different foods to see where the issues lies. It’s crazy that there are so many things I cannot eat, but I know which foods will make me not feel good and which ones are totally good for me. It’s long and complicated to explain because so much is still being worked on.

A Continuous Journey

We have a long ways to go and there is so more to my story, but the point is.. I finally found the right path for me and my body to start losing weight and to be feeling so much better in my own skin. It’s not just the weight loss though, it’s how much better I finally feel overall. I love the person in the mirror because I know I have finally figured out (somewhat 😂) what my body was trying to tell me was wrong!

It was not my fault! I just hadn’t figured out what my body was trying to tell me and what I needed to do differently to help it feel better and be stronger! We all have a different journey to take and a different way of doing things. But damn am I proud of myself for finally feeling healthy and less crappy all the time and loving the person I see in the mirror. This is my health journey and my new view of myself and it leads into everything I do. Head over to my main page if you want to see my work that keeps me going through this all.