My Health Journey

So I've shared with you my natural hair journey, but my health journey was and is also a big part of it! This is because your health dictates the appearance of your hair and skin! If the inside of your body is healthy, then the outside will be as well! When you put junk food, sweets, soda, and other processed foods into your body, then your digestive system has to work super hard to get rid of it because our bodies were not made to digest it. Since it has to work so hard, it wastes tons of energy and then it doesn’t have any energy left to cater to your beauty needs such as your hair and skin. Then, your body tries to store it in forms of fat, and tries to get rid of the toxins in the form of acne and other ways. It also doesn’t have any energy to take care of your hair and make it long, thick, and healthy. Makes too much sense right!? When I discovered this--it changed my wholeee view on eating! It really made me think twice every time I went to reach for that sugary donut or cheesy pizza. Food is soo powerful! It can either be healing and super beneficial, or it can literally be deadly. So I decided to take control of my health and turn it around! Now, I admit this was not an easy transition at all. And I must emphasize--a transition,meaning this didn’t happen overnight. It took time. I started changing my eating habits about a year ago, and I am still changing them. That is why it is a journey! :).

Below are a few of the small steps I made to change my health:

1. I came upon this path by simply cutting out soda and switching to juice! Juice is still bad for you--but it is a lot better than soda, so it was a baby step. However switching to juice helped me to eventually switch to strictly drinking water, and tons of it. The average person should drink at least half of your body weight in ounces. So since I weigh 120 pounds, I need to drink at least 60 ounces of water each day. Just by doing this you will see a hugeee difference in your hair and skin! It will help your hair to grow and it’ll make your skin glowy and clearer.
2. Stopped eating fast food. This is a big one. Fast food is not even real food. It is processed so much that our bodies don't even realize it and they can barely digest it. Its like poison to your body. So, try to at least eat it less, and if possible to stop completely. I haven't had fast food in about a year now. I don't even like it anymore! (Except Popeyes-I stumbled on my path a month ago from being tempted by Popeyes.) Lol I'm not going to lie I enjoyed every last bite of it--but I regretted it later when I had a stomach ache and I was exhausted after. Sticking with whole, healthy foods is so much better and you really FEEL the difference!
3. I started drinking green smoothies. This was by far the most influential change for me. I was deprived of vegetables and I didn't even realize it. The smoothie helped me get a weeks worth of vegetables in one serving! My skin started to glow and I had so much more energy. It also made me crave more healthy foods.
4. I stopped eating pork and beef. This wasn't too hard--except for missing bacon. Ahhhh I love bacon, lol. But thank God for turkey bacon which I like even more now. Pork and beef in general are the worst tons of meet.They have loads of fat and they clog your arteries. So now I stick to fish, turkey and chicken. Also if you want to lose weight, cutting out pork and beef will definitely help you to do so. I wasn't trying to but I still lost a lot from this change in my diet.
5. Ate less fried and processed foods. I really try to cut down these. Pretty much everyone knows that they are terrible for you--yet we love them, I know. But you should try to bake or grill instead of frying, and choose whole, fresh foods instead of processed ones.
6. I tried being vegetarian. About 3 months ago I went vegetarian--well pescatarian (I still ate fish). I really enjoyed it and it wasn't too hard, but this only lasted about 2 months because my friend Shea asked me if I wanted Popeyes and I wasn't strong enough to resist, lol! Ok ok that wasn't the only reason though. I was losing wayy to much weight and I didn't like the way my weight loss made me look. So I added chicken and turkey back in for now. I still don't eat too much meat though and I have tons of veggies! When I get back to a comfortable weight I'd eventually like to try being vegetarian again and possibly vegan one day!

So those are most of the changes I've made, and every day is an opportunity to make healthier decisions. Now does this all mean I never cheat or pig out sometimes? As I said, definitely not! But if you cheat once in awhile that doesn't mean you're not healthy. Its about balance. 90% of the groceries I buy are vegetables and grains from the farmers market. My groceries never include dairy (unless its goat cheese which is a lot better for you), meat (only fish) or processed foods. So most of the time I am making healthy decisions, and that is what matters the most--what you are doing MOST of the time. You can start your journey today by taking baby steps that can cause big changes and be on your way to being healthy and gorjess inside and out!Until Next Time,