Guest Post: Just Enjoy Food, Encouragement for your Health Journey & Healing Nut Butter Fudge

Today I am living life in my new season of healing. This season is one that I worked hard for and waited about 10 years to experience. Today’s experience wouldn’t have happened 5 years ago. Really good days rarely happened during that time in my life. I believe that I experienced nearly 10 years of symptoms and pain to be able to be an encouragement to you in whatever season that you are in, whether it’s in the trenches of your health journey, just starting, or also experiencing a new level of healing like I am now.

I had a passion for natural health that ignited in me around the age of 17. It was a very small flame that contained almost no information to build a firm foundation, but it was there. I believe having that passion starting so early in me and before I got sick was one thing that spurred me forward into a career in natural health as a chiropractor and health coach and what made me so committed to healing my body naturally.

I got sick at 18. There were many stressors that lead to that, but what happened after that was a very unhealthy digestive system. I started to experience something I’d never felt before: bloating. This bloating became severe and constant. My daily pattern was that I would wake up with a bloated stomachache that would get worse and worse throughout the day. It affected everything I did! My clothes didn’t fit well and didn’t feel good in my body. I was so bloated that stretchy pants still felt too tight. My appetite was huge and I had no hunger signals, which made me feel like I was starving regardless of how much food I ate. It affected my brain and I started experiencing debilitating fatigue, brain fog and sugar cravings. As I’ve learned, when your gut is on fire your brain is on fire. This went on for a few years.

My small amount of natural health information wasn’t enough to get me well because I knew so little, but it was enough to be convinced that my body could heal itself. This is when my healing journey really began. I was in chiropractic school, barely well enough to make it to most of my classes, but also with this determination to figure out what was wrong with my body. I read, searched the Internet, hired functional medicine chiropractors and flew around the country to learn at advanced healing seminars. I started changing my diet, detoxifying my body, and changing my mindset and how I felt about my body (healing is both physical and emotional).

I’ve made some significant changes to my lifestyle over this period of time. The bulk of my healing journey was four years long. Had you told me when I started that I wouldn’t feel significantly better for 4 years, I don’t know if I would have ever started the process. As I think about it… I still would have started because for me there was no other option than to become even sicker than I already was and that was not an option. I am not only healthier because of it, but I am all around a better person. My journey was deep with life lessons, and I want to share with you five lessons I’ve learned through healing my body. Whatever season of life you are in and in whatever state of health you are in, I believe you can learn and apply these lessons.

1. Your Body is Created to Heal
This is the core of what I believe about our bodies! We were so dynamically and robustly created. Our bodies are truly magnificent. Just think about that for a second. If you are in a health crisis now, realize that there is something interfering with the healing in your body. Looking for the root cause of the symptoms means you are looking for the interference (or source) of the symptoms. Symptoms are a manifestation of a body functioning at less than 100%. If you can believe that your body was created to heal, you can walk this healing journey through all of its ups and downs. We all have a different path to healing, but I encourage you to learn lots and any get help from natural practitioners or health program that you need.

2. Healing Takes Time
Is it just me or is TIME a 4-letter word in healing? We are in a quick fix and instant society and we want change immediately. I know I did! Most of the time our bodies took years to get sick. We need to set our mind that it can also take years to experience healing. True and lasting healing takes time and what we are looking for is healing that lasts. Throughout your healing you will see success. Celebrate your successes! Big or small, each of them is a huge deal! This will ease the weight of time when you have things to delight in.

3. Be Consistent
Being consistent is a major piece of walking a healing journey. Please don’t confuse consistency with perfection. Oh, there’s no such thing as perfection! That’s just an illusion. Trying to be perfect leaves us feeling deflated, guilty and worse off. Consistency is an overview of what you are doing and seeing lifestyle patterns. Healthy eating patterns, exercise patterns, mindset patterns. Being consistent is something we can do over our lifetime and something that you continually work towards. Guess what? They eventually become habits. If you are overwhelmed by a load of new information, please realize that we have all been there at one time. It’s called a journey for a reason. We are all constantly learning and making changes. Start somewhere and start with baby steps. You will be amazed at how far you come just making the next good and healthy decision. (Celebrate those baby step successes too!)

4. Be Thankful and Have Fun
When I look back at my healing journey, I realize it was often absent of fun. I was way too easily thrown back into feeling deflated and discouraged. I’m not naturally a bubbly and positive person, but I have learned that thankfulness is a learned habit. Find things in your life to be thankful for. I had to write lists that I could refer to often when I would forget. Fun is another thing that is important. Fun doesn’t mean you have to do a big activity or that it needs to be profound. A big activity would always wear me out. Find out what is fun for you and do that. One of the most fun things for me would be to go to a coffee shop with my headphones, jam to some good music, enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book for fun! (I’m such a natural learner that I’m always reading information and educational material). Another idea of a fun time is a good old-fashioned movie night. What’s your idea of fun? Now go do that!

5. Get Healing in the Kitchen
The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in a house. So much happens in the kitchen: meals are made, tummy’s are filled and happy conversations are had. Food is something we know we need on a daily basis and there’s no getting around that. One thing I challenge you to think about is making your kitchen a place of healing. Stock your kitchen with healthy and healing foods and create a culture of health under the roof of your home. Once again, this doesn’t mean being perfect or not having treats. You can make so many treats with unrefined sugars (honey, maple syrup, dates) and grain-free flours and even gluten free treats. If you buy a treat food, have it be high quality even if it costs more. Feed your body with ingredients it recognizes! Eating healthy has lead me back to health but has also allowed so much freedom in my life. I don’t have cravings anymore, my body is healing, my appetite knows how to regulate itself and my clothes fit and feel good to wear! I’m so thankful for the habits that our family has and how we consistently choose an environment of healing in our home. I wanted to leave you a fun and healing recipe that is a favorite in our household! It’s for my Healing Nut Butter Fudge.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://paleoparents.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Meghan-Headshots-0106.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Dr. Meghan Birt is a chiropractor and the creator of Just Enjoy Food, a recipe and resource blog created to support a healthier lifestyle. She believes every individual has the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible, which can be achieved through natural approaches. She overcame her own health challenges and throughout the process has gained valuable education in how our bodies work and heal. Connect with Meghan: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram[/author_info] [/author]