My husband and I welcomed our daughter in late 2007 and our son in 2010.    Starting a family and a new career were some of the biggest life stressors we had yet encountered.  My husband’s job as an officer takes him away from the house for many days on end.  His job, to say it nicely, is a stressful one.  The pressures of his work, the long hours, the environment he is in for many days at a time started to take a toll on all of us.

During both of my pregnancies, I had gestational diabetes.  Thankfully, I was able to control the diabetes with my diet.  This was the first time I realized how powerful the food we eat is.   Growing up, I was an athletic and healthy kid always on the move.  I never struggled with my weight, ate whatever I wanted and was super fortunate.  My relationship with food was so restricted when I was pregnant that the second those kids were free so was I.  I ate, ate a little more, and ate some more, devouring everything and anything in sight.  I was making up for lost time with my old friends, carbs and sugars. It was sooo good to be with my old friends, until I realized holy shit I am heavier than I had ever been in the history of me.  The combination of unhealthy eating, a newborn, and a husband that was always gone was the start of the downward spiral in my life.

At the time I really couldn’t see what damage I was doing to myself and those around me. The days my husband was home, we called our friends, threw together some food, and drank and smoked till the wee hours.  It was a great, fun way to release all of life’s stresses and get some social time in.  Before we knew it, we were drinking fairly heavy and using this as a means to wind down at the end of each day.  I quickly became checked out, overweight, depressed, and didn’t have the motivation to do much. Leaving me in a complete haze.

It wasn’t until a family bike ride in the park, did I really see how much my body was wrecked and how bad of a hole I had gotten myself in.  Our daughter had just her finished junior high basketball season, she was killing it, strong and healthy.  She was way ahead of us on this ride, yelling from ahead for us to hurry up.  This had never happened.  I looked at my husband who was dripping in sweat, out of breath, hurting pretty good and said, “what the heck, we are not doing good.”  My legs hurt so bad, I couldn’t catch my breath, on a bike ride, on flat ground.  The discomfort of that day put me on the path that I am on today.  After that ride my competitive self said this isn’t acceptable.  This was my bottom, this isn’t how I want my kids to see me, this isn’t how I want to live my life.  I had found my purpose.

Here we are six years later, and I can honestly say I can’t believe it took me so long to realize how little of work it takes to live healthily.  I had tried different fad diets and they worked, but only temporarily.  It wasn’t until I began educating myself on primal living did it all really click for me, it really is simple.  After years of living a somewhat modified primal lifestyle, I decided I would go further and become Primal Health Certified.  I am also currently working on finishing my fitness certification for those who want to take their fitness to a sustainable level.  The best thing about what I learned wasn’t how to lose weight (that was more of a natural bonus), it was how I felt inside.  My brain, my thoughts, the way my body began changing and how quickly it changed.  It takes very little to improve life, while doing it without restricting all the things that are loved.  The benefits of being present, living healthy, and purpose driven will be infectious to those around you. What better feeling than to be of service helping those around you to find their purpose.   I am excited to help you find your own path, the one that leads you to your purpose, the path that will drives your life.

 

Lets do this

Erica