First off I want to thank all of my family, friends and followers for the prayers and thoughts these last few days as I prepped and got another colonoscopy today!  And extra special thanks to my grandparents who kept my kiddos so I could get this all checked out!!!

For my new followers: A bit of a background…

I suffered through belly pains and various stomach issues through college and against my will…with a little extra nudge from my mom…I gave in – and in the 3 days between my college graduation and moving to the beach I got the dreaded colonoscopy which determined I had Chron’s Disease. Me. 21-years old. In what I thought was pretty decent health…diagnosed with a “disease”.

Seemed crazy but there wasn’t much I could do…or I didn’t think there was much I could do! I got the prescribed, very expensive meds that I would take 3x a day and off to OCMD I went.

In all honesty – I didn’t exactly take care of myself while living at the beach! And that showed through the constant issues I had. I would find myself leaving places suddenly to go home and curl up in a ball on the bathroom floor. It was AWFUL! And this cycle continued for a few years. If I had too much dairy, alcohol, veggies or breads and pastas my body would suffer! I learned the big “trigger foods” but still had my fair share of issues because there were also the “no rhyme or reason” issues too!!! I would continue my annual colonoscopy that would typically show no change…I wasn’t getting worse but I wasn’t getting any better either!

Eventually I came to the conclusion that I would take 3 pills a day and spend $60/month on meds for the rest of my life!!!

Fast forward:

7 years

2 kiddos

and a wealth of mom-knowledge later and I started making HEALTHIER changes in my life that were doing more than just shrinking my waistline.

I started EXERCISING regularly…I started EATING balanced, clean foods – with limited dairy, additives, sugars, and gluten…and I incorporated SHAKEOLOGY – a nutrient dense superfood meal replacement shake that was giving my body superfoods I couldn’t find otherwise. I was fueling my body – treating it the way it was designed to be treated!!!! This combination made the BIGGEST impact in my life!!!

I instantly saw improvements in the way I FELT and reduced my daily Chron’s meds on my own. As these changes became my way of LIFE I saw fewer symptoms even when I would eat those prior “trigger foods”. Finally – 6 months in I made an appointment with my Digestive Disorder Doctor to determine if I could stop all together!!! After sharing my story and completing our consolation he agreed – I could COMPLETELY stop by meds!!! What I thought was even cooler…was that when I shared what I had done he told me that I wasn’t the first to have such similar successes!

You see – they used to be quick to just medicate and move one but what the doctors are realizing is that there is so much weight to be placed on NUTRITION and how that impacts YOUR LIFE. It had already been 2 years since my last colonoscopy so we agreed I’d come back in a year and we’d check – just to be sure!!!!

So today was the day…I prepped (which I have to say either I am growing up or its not nearly as bad as it used to be!!!!), I went in, and the doctor was more than pleased!!! He told me on a scale of 1-10 my Chron’s is “barely a 1” – EEEEEK!!!!

While I will always carry the risk and it could come back…as long as I continue doing what I’m doing and feeling the way I’m feeling I am GOOD TO GO!!!

If you suffer from chron’s or ulcerative colitis or IBS or anything else – I urge you to dig down into the way you’re treating your body!!! I am forever grateful that I joined my very first challenge group last year, that I decided to INVEST in my health and commit to this lifestyle. I have no clue where I’d be if I didn’t – but I don’t ever want to know!

You may have heard it before but I can’t stress it enough:

We get caught up in paying the doctor to make us better but we should really pay the farmer to keep us healthy!!!!

I choose the FARMER – what will you choose?

If you’d like more information on the changes I made in my own life to get to this point – to make this my LIFESTYLE and truly increase the quality of my life – fill out the challenge group application below! I will do everything I can to help YOU have similar successes but it starts with the willingness to COMMIT to CHANGE!

***These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Just when I thought Mancakes couldn’t get any better…this little creation came about

Ok – so a lot of you may already know I am a HUGE fan of Mancakes – specifically the Berry Mancakes however as I was prepping to leave for vacation I had some blueberries that needed to be used up and one very ripe banana so I figured I’d whip up some Mancakes for our road trip to the OBX – after all these are one of my favorite road trip/car meals!

I remembered a little convo with one of my coaches who mentioned she had added walnuts once before so I went for it and then I kept on adding! And while I don’t always want to consume my “blues” with breakfast, these were just like a treat!!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

(makes 2 servings-each serving: 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1/2 Green )

• 2 eggs
• 8 egg whites
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 16 walnuts
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

• Heat skillet to medium heat
• Combine all ingredients into the blender
• Blend until you reach your desired consistency (I usually do about 20-30 seconds)
• Pour into pan and cook as “normal” pancakes – heating until bubbles form on top, flipping once.

This got me about 9 small mancakes for each serving and I loved the little crunch of the walnuts!!!

A repeat recipe no doubt!

Clean, gluten free, and 21-day fix approved!

Whether you’re new to clean eating or a seasoned pro – if you’re interested in more information fill out the form below to join my next health and fitness accountability and support group!

Together we can end the trend of obesity!