You are What You Eat (and what they ate)!

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Surely you have heard the phrase "you are what you eat" more than once in your life. (And what they ate - when it comes to animal proteins). Well, I am here to tell you that unfortunately I have found that to be true for myself, and many know that it ultimate led to cancer in my body. Let me stop here for a moment. I still struggle with saying the "C" word! An uncomfortable feeling rises up in my spirit and it honestly feels like I am swearing or something. If you know me at all, you know that swearing is not part of my vocabulary, so it is a very uncomfortable feeling. It's almost like a paralyzing force, and I have to literally tell my brain that it is okay to say that word in the proper context. I think the reason it is so difficult for me is that I understand the power of the spoken word, and I choose not to give life something so vile and often times deadly. Cancer does not and will never define me! Okay, I had to get that off my chest. Let's move on. 

My GI doctor, Surgeon, nurses and the Oncologist I was referred to all told me that the "odds were in my favor" because of my age, and because I was "otherwise healthy." They are all well-meaning people, but they completely failed to look at my diet and realize that what I was fueling my body with was in fact killing me. I pray that our medical community will begin to realize the importance of proper diet. They simply are not trained in nutrition, and have little to no time to journey down that path once they begin in their practice. My heart breaks for the lives lost that could otherwise be saved through proper diet / nutrition.

Journeying through the healing process post cancer removal operation has not been a walk in the park. It may appear that everything is great all of the time, but let me tell you that it is difficult and often times exhausting. I am feeling great now (most of the time), but it took about 8 months to get to that point. Dietary changes have a great effect on the human body in MANY ways, including changes in sleep patterns, physical energy gain / loss, digestive changes, mental fogginess / clarity, hair loss, weight loss, and the list goes on. My diet is now 95% plant based, with occasional meat protein (primarily wild caught Alaskan Salmon - thank you, Costco). I have learned how to properly balance the acidic with alkaline foods in my diet and have eliminated grains (aside from sprouted grains - Thank you Ezekiel Bread products), legumes, and ALL added sugars. Let's start eating REAL, Whole Foods!

Friends, I want you to know that I care SO MUCH about YOU! While I share my journey I feel that what I am learning is not just a diet to keep me alive, but instead to prove that life is worth living and that with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! I do not know where you are in your health journey, but I know that none of us feel great after consuming "junk food." The convenient foods that I honestly loved eating actually give me a gag reflex now. Some of that is due to knowledge surrounding the ingredients in the food, and some of it is simply because my tastes have changed. I recall the pleasure I felt while eating my favorite chocolate (wax) covered mini donuts and swiss cake rolls. I am now embarrassed to admit how I enjoyed binging on chocolates or candy because, "calories in, calories out" is what I thought really mattered. That could not be farther from the truth! I occasionally miss those sweet snacks, but for those of you not healing from chronic illness, disease, allergies or cancer, you are likely okay eating those snacks on occasion and in moderation. No judgement here. I just cannot personally do that anymore - and that is A-OKAY with me. I feel so much better now! And, side note - I actually crave salad now! (I never thought I would say that)!

As Christians we are called to Glorify God in Everything we do. That includes what we eat! Our body is God's temple. We are supposed to care for our bodies, and what we put in them is either glorifying God or not. I want to live to an old age, and live a healthy life as witness to God's amazing, miraculous healing power! 

If you are looking for encouragement, please consider watching this course. It is free, on a free app download called MessengerX. (It looks like this:

The specific course I am currently encouraging is called, Healthy Living. Click here to open it up (you may need to sign up for a free account in order to access the course).

**I receive no financial benefit and am not affiliated with Messenger International or MessengerX

I understand, firsthand, that making changes to our diet is NOT EASY! I want to support you, and encourage you to reach out to me if you need support, prayer, encouragement, other resources, or simply want to say HI! 😀 You may not be ready to make major changes right away, but small steps are equally important (even if you just need help making the mental shift). Send me an email, text or other message if you would like to connect on any level.

"Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence." Jer. 17:7

We are in this together!

Until next time,

~Steph