It has been a very long time since I have done a blog. Many years ago I had a blog called SingleSassyMom. I would share all my crazy dating experiences and single mom stuff. It was a great outlet and like a journal. Y’all are welcome to go read it if you are curious. singlesassymom.blogspot.com.
Anyway, I’m Kelli! I’m still single, but I have changed my focus for my blogging. Now it’s all about sharing my health journey and hopefully helping you along the way. I have learned so much and I continue to learn everyday. I figured I would share with you an abbreviated version of my story so you can get to know me a little bit before I just jump right in to the meat and potatoes so to speak.
In 2002 my beautiful kids came into my life. They were 2 1/2 years and 8 months old at the time. Talk about becoming an instant mom. I was a step mom, but I desperately wanted to be a mom. My kids came within 2 weeks of each other. Bam! Now I’m a mom! They came just a few short months after my stepdad died. A lot of ups and downs and struggles learning to be a mom and a co-parent with my husband and navigate the step kids and court battles for the littles. It was a very stressful time. In 2003 my husband’s sister was killed in a car accident. That was a really hard time. My husband was already in a downward spiral with 9/11, being retired military and the Army not letting him rejoin, his PTS, losing my step dad whom he was very close with, fighting to keep our kids, and then losing his sister. Our life was in total chaos and not getting any better. In October, 2004 my life changed in a split second. My husband took his own life. That is a story for another time, if I feel in my heart it is the right thing to do to help others. Needless to say, life was different and hard.
Add all of that to working a very stressful job. High stress is never good for the body and I had A LOT of it in my professional and personal life. I was sick, my body hurt all the time, I was exhausted physically and mentally, and I had ZERO confidence. I had heard from someone that gluten was a bad thing for the body and I started researching it. My mind was blown! After more research, I decided to give the Paleo Diet a try. I was Paleo for about 3 years. OMG! I couldn’t believe the transformation! I had eliminated gluten, sugar, artificial foods and colors, and all the toxins. I was eating REAL food and boy did I feel better. I lost weight, the constant pain had started to subside, I was feeling more energetic and my mind was clear.
I eventually got off the Paleo Diet. I still tried to eat good for me food most of the time, but I found that life stress can get in the way sometimes. I had a failed relationship that crushed me and I was dealing with my kids’ mental health issues all the time. I started eating sugary foods again, stopped exercising, and started putting the weight back on.
I had someone from high school reach out to me one day and ask if I was interested in being a health coach. I didn’t even know what that was. I didn’t really want to work for the company she worked for, but I was intrigued. I started doing my research and found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I called and signed up that minute because it was the last week of the special they were running. What an amazing experience! I learned so much and I loved it!
I tried doing the 1 on 1 coaching, but I decided I am better with a lot of people instead of 1 person. Last year I found an advertisement for becoming a Juice Therapist. Hmmm, what is that? I clicked on it and and ended up calling them because I was intrigued. I immediately signed up, because once again, it was the last week for the special they were running. I’m seeing a pattern! That was also amazing and I learned the benefits of juicing. I am now a Juice Guru Certified Juice Therapist.
I recently became and empty nester and I’m going through menopause. My body doesn’t respond to the old ways that I was doing things. It is harder to keep the weight off no matter what I do. I have also been giving everything to everyone else for a very long time and I realized I have no idea who I am. I figured I am already juicing, now is the time to move forward in my health journey. I jumped head first into a plant based diet and trying to figure out who in the world am I. I had journaled in the past and it helped so I started journaling and manifesting. I am seeing some changes and things coming into place! I will definitely go into more detail in later posts on how this has worked for me. I am changing and feeling more confident every day. I still love helping others, but I have learned I have to help myself first in order to help others. I have also learned along the way that good health is not just about diet and exercise. I am changing my relationship with food and all the other things in life, which is called primary foods, are more important and putting them all together helps to live a balanced life. Good health is a journey. There is no end game in the health journey. Life changes regularly and we have to adapt to those changes. Having the skills to adapt to those changes is how we have good health. That is where I come in! I show you the skills to learn to adapt. Everyone is different. A plant based diet isn’t for everyone and eating meat and dairy isn’t for everyone either. Even journaling is different for everyone. Some like a traditional journal, others like an art journal and others like junk journals. It’s personal and whatever works for you! I look forward to getting to know you all and I hope you stick with me! Since I started journaling again with the purpose of manifestation, the ideas just keep coming and I have so much more clarity. I can’t wait to keep adding to this blog and website because I have some amazing ideas and things coming! They will be up on this site soon so stay tuned! #bebrave
Healthy Heart and Happy Soul 