Your body is giving you clues every day... are you listening?
A few years ago, I had a pivotal moment in my life where I realized I couldn’t keep living my life the way I was.
The constant stress from overworking, the grief I was feeling from personal losses I experienced, the unhappiness I felt with the life I was leading and the fear that I couldn’t change it led me to feeling depressed and anxious and the cycle of bad food choices just led me to feel inflamed and exhausted.
I remember I couldn’t get out bed without experiencing some form of discomfort and thinking “Oh my god, I feel like I’m 100 years old. I can’t keep going like this.” I knew something had to change and quickly but I felt stuck and it was hard to see beyond the negative.
The constant stress from overworking, the grief I was feeling from personal losses I experienced, the unhappiness I felt with the life I was leading and the fear that I couldn’t change it led me to feeling depressed and anxious and the cycle of bad food choices just led me to feel inflamed and exhausted.
I remember I couldn’t get out bed without experiencing some form of discomfort and thinking “Oh my god, I feel like I’m 100 years old. I can’t keep going like this.” I knew something had to change and quickly but I felt stuck and it was hard to see beyond the negative.
That’s when I learned about gratitude journaling and decided I would start there.
It was easy and not time constraining so twice a day, I spent 5 minutes focusing on what I was grateful for and for the good that happened in my day.
I started to notice that my days were smoother and lighter and I started to recognize the good things around me as opposed to staying stuck in my darkness.
Things started to look up.
It was easy and not time constraining so twice a day, I spent 5 minutes focusing on what I was grateful for and for the good that happened in my day.
I started to notice that my days were smoother and lighter and I started to recognize the good things around me as opposed to staying stuck in my darkness.
Things started to look up.
Later, I realized I needed to change the way I was feeding my body. I decided that for 30 days, I was only going to eat whole foods. No drive-thru fast food and no junk food…whatever I fed myself, I made and I knew what was going into my body…that’s it.
Pretty simple yet hard for someone who comforted herself with food but I knew I was not going to be able to live a full, energetic life if I continued down this road so I took some time every evening, in addition to my gratitude journal, to reflect on how I was feeling and to help me keep track of any changes and pivot my plan if needed.
This process helped me understand my body more.
What changes did I notice?
I was getting out of bed quicker and easier.
I noticed my feet weren’t swollen and my inflammation went down.
I felt calmer and my outlook was more positive and I was sleeping better.
Pretty simple yet hard for someone who comforted herself with food but I knew I was not going to be able to live a full, energetic life if I continued down this road so I took some time every evening, in addition to my gratitude journal, to reflect on how I was feeling and to help me keep track of any changes and pivot my plan if needed.
This process helped me understand my body more.
What changes did I notice?
I was getting out of bed quicker and easier.
I noticed my feet weren’t swollen and my inflammation went down.
I felt calmer and my outlook was more positive and I was sleeping better.
So much changed just from eating better, taking time for gratitude and growing awareness of how my body responds.
I got out of that dark space and became stronger.
My journey is not over but I no longer fear that my life can’t change, and I know that I have more control over my outcomes and my health than every before.
This journal is how I started my journey.
Let it be yours as well.
I got out of that dark space and became stronger.
My journey is not over but I no longer fear that my life can’t change, and I know that I have more control over my outcomes and my health than every before.
This journal is how I started my journey.
Let it be yours as well.
Meet Jacqui Onoz, Pharmacist of 27 years and Certified Functional Medicine Consultant
Imagine spending the majority of your 20’s breaking out in hives and welts. That was me.
I was fresh out of college and had just started working as a pharmacist when I started developing itchiness in my hands and it only happened at work. Well, it progressively got worse. My body was continually welting up and breaking out in hives and it was 24/7!
I was fresh out of college and had just started working as a pharmacist when I started developing itchiness in my hands and it only happened at work. Well, it progressively got worse. My body was continually welting up and breaking out in hives and it was 24/7!
I spent 7 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me. One specialist after another and multiple doctor visits later, the only answer I got was Read more...
