When Andrea discovered that fat-free and sugar-free translated into nutrient-free, she dramatically changed her diet. Now she eats more than ever and is the healthiest she's been in her life.
Andrea's Story
"Growing up I was constantly on a diet."
I ate non-fat, low-fat, fat-free, sugar-free, you name it, if it was diet food, it was in my body. It wasn't unusual for me to drink six-pack of diet soda every day and to eat non-fat frozen yogurt for lunch. Basically, I didn't have any real food in my diet. Then, when I was 28 years old, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The doctor said I needed to take prescription medication for the rest of my life.
"Meds for the rest of my life? Fat chance!"
I'd seen the positive effects of food when my mom was going through breast cancer. My dad came upon something called macrobiotics, and we started to put some real food in my mom's diet. Almost immediately, we noticed some slight changes in her energy levels, and we were convinced it was from the food.
When I was diagnosed with thyroid disease, I wanted to change my diet and see what would happen. I went from bagels, coffee, pizza and non-fat yogurt because to whole grains, beans, fish, and vegetables. My health started to change, and within two weeks, people started to notice. The weight was coming off, and I had a little glow in my face that I didn't have before.
"The doctor insisted it wouldn't last."
Within four months, I went back to the doctor and my thyroid hormone had gone from being dangerously high to low. The doctor thought it was just a fluke and not a cure, but I kept moving forward with my new diet.
I'm not saying that doctors are bad. They're great at traumatic stuff. If I get hit by a bus I want the doctor to come in and fix me up. I don't want somebody to wrap me in seaweed and wave some chopsticks over me. No. Doctors are great at trauma, but as far as healing the body, they're clueless.
Natural healing takes time. For me it took two years to heal my thyroid, but every day I knew that I was feeling better in my body.
"I got into the habit of listening to my cravings."
I read everything that I could and then I experimented on my physical body. I'd eat meals and see how I felt. For example, I happen to like crunchy granola. It's fun to crunch on it. It helps me relieve stress. It's great stuff, but I always get exhausted after I eat granola. Exhausted. I can go right to sleep. There's something about the baked granola, the baked oils and the sugars that don't work for my body. But, I can eat oatmeal all day long. It was about just checking in to see how certain food makes me feel. I got into the habit of listening to my cravings.
I don't do anything extreme these days. I go to the party. I have dessert or I'll have wine. I think of it as fun food, party food, but it's not my every day occurrence. Everything in my home is organic. It's not what I do once in a while that hurts or helps the human body. It's what I do on an everyday basis.