A very wise therapist once told me: “We ALL have choices. If you are in a bad situation that makes you unhappy, and there is something you can do to change or reverse the situation – and you don’t – then you are ‘choosing’ to be unhappy.” How true is this statement!
The majority of my health coaching clients have one goal: that is, to lose weight. If that’s all people really want, then just select any one of the 100+ commercial diet plans out there. Stick to the diet religiously and I guarantee a quick weight loss. But I can also guarantee that once the diet is broken or stopped, the weight will come back. I’m in the business of helping to restore health and disease-free vitality to those who want it – and with it comes the added bonus of (permanent) weight loss. It takes time, perseverance, commitment, and hard work. Once you’re there, it’s all downhill.
Today, everyone knows the difference between healthy and unhealthy eating; it’s called media bombardment. It’s in every magazine, newspaper, TV, and daily News! Go to the “Diet and Health” section of Barnes and Noble; there are aisles of books on diet and health. Honestly, it makes your head spin.
Trust me: There is a “place” you can get to, a place inside your being where making food and lifestyle choices becomes as easy and important as breathing in and breathing out, and dieting becomes a dirty word of the past. How do I know? Because I’m there. It’s a place where knowledge, discipline, and life goals triumph over immediate gratification and weakness. It’s a powerful and confident emotion that puts you in complete control over what you do, where you go, and what you choose. Are you interested?? Then choose it, and “I’ll take you there.”
The purpose of my news article is simple: You are the choices you make and you are what you eat. So if you’re not happy with where you are, how you feel, and what you look like, then do something about it. It is your choice.
I am a Lupus survivor. I know, with absolute certainty, I might not have survived this disease if I didn’t make a change. Some doctors agree, others are skeptical. Some experts argue it was probably a concomitant occurrence because I was probably going into remission anyway – with or without a diet change. Scientifically-speaking, they’re not wrong; it’s hard to prove cause and effect. But I’ve been in remission for almost 25 years now without medication – just eating a healthy plant-based diet. So what say you?
Lupus means “wolf” in Latin. It is an autoimmune disease whereby the person’s immune system creates antibodies which, instead of protecting the body from bacteria and virus, attacks normal body tissues and major organs. It causes extreme fatigue, joint pain, muscle aches, hemolytic anemia, bleeding, general malaise and fever. It can attack and destroy vital organs. Lupus is 9 times more prevalent in females than males, and it does appear that environmental and genetic factors predispose an individual to lupus. However, the exact cause(s) remains a mystery. Lupus tends to have 2 stages; a dormant (inactive) phase and an active phase, called a “flare.” During the dormant stage, a person can live a normal, or near normal lifestyle until something triggers a “flare,” during which time the symptoms become severe and crippling. There is no cure; it remains with you for life. Lupus can result in severe organ damage and failure leading to death.
I was officially diagnosed in 1986 and hit rock bottom in 1991. Although I’m doing very well now, I wasn’t left unscathed by its wrath. Like its name (wolf), Lupus hit hard. It attacked my kidneys, joints, and cardiovascular system, destroying my left kidney, and leaving me with residual heart damage and some peripheral joint disfigurement.
Would I be in “this place” if I never got sick? Maybe not. But I had to learn the hard way, as most people do. Serious, life-threatening illnesses have a way of kicking butt and waking people up. Truth be told, it doesn’t have to be that way. Tell me why you put on a seat belt before your car leaves the driveway? Exactly! “If it is to be, it is up to me.”[1]
And remember, I’ll take you there.
[1] William H. Johnsen: Quote
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