Arizona
Health Education Awareness Training
My Family....
As you can see by my family picture, I was blessed with an incredibly handsome husband and four amazing sons. Although my sons are strong, healthy and brilliant young men today, things weren't always as such.
During the time my boys were growing up I did what any mother of four eternally-hungry boys would.... I fed them. And fed them. And fed them. Sadly however, I didn't realize that the food I was stocking my fridge and pantry with was killing them.
When my 2nd oldest was in 2nd grade he was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and ODD. My 3rd son in 7th grade was diagnosed with bipolar and my 4th son, also in 7th grade, with ADHD. Who knew that the dozens of hot dogs, bags of chips, liters of soda, gallons of kool-aid, frequent trips through the Golden Arches, and frozen Crispy Crust pizzas weren't healthy?! I had stomachs to fill and a budget to keep!
It wasn't until I, myself, a Christian preschool owner and teacher of 10 years suddenly came down with a nasty case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) that even a double shot of Starbucks twice a day couldn't cure. Reluctantly, I headed to the nearest lab for blood work and came to find out I have Epstein Barr virus. Epstein what, you ask? Basically its a virus that you can have your entire life and never even know you have it because it can remain dormant. But due to my poor diet and the bit of stress I endured due to 4 unhealthy boys, mine became active in the form of CFS.
Because there isn't a medication you can take to cure Epstein Barr, my doctor prescribed a daily cocktail composed of 32 vitamins and minerals. About a month into my hourly regiment of ingesting these pills a dear friend of mine visited from Colorado and told me about some capsules that she just heard of that were made out of fruits and vegetables. So being the teacher that I am, I needed to know why fruits and veggies were such a big deal. And boy did I learn! Once I understood, I immediately began taking these fruit and veggie capsules called Juice Plus. Within a month I was back to my old self, or should I say young self?! My whole family began taking them faithfully thereafter.
My Journey continued....
That was just over 7 years ago. I am happy to announce that all of my sons have been medication-free for almost 6 years. Juice Plus was definately the catalist that launched my family's poor health into wellness, and gradually my need to change our diets all together became a passion.
In January of 2009, I went to California and obtained my certification for Dr. Sears' LEAN program and proudly am 1 of 3 nutrition coaches certified to teach Dr. William Sears' LEAN workshops in Arizona!
I posted the picture of my family (from Oct 2008) above as a very proud wife and mother. Changing the diet of 6 people was a journey, but SO worth it. Each of us "own" our health. We all now know first hand what good health feels like! I praise God for what He's done for each member of my beloved family and pray He will allow my sons to bring the gift of health to their future families.
As you can see by my family picture, I was blessed with an incredibly handsome husband and four amazing sons. Although my sons are strong, healthy and brilliant young men today, things weren't always as such.
During the time my boys were growing up I did what any mother of four eternally-hungry boys would.... I fed them. And fed them. And fed them. Sadly however, I didn't realize that the food I was stocking my fridge and pantry with was killing them.
When my 2nd oldest was in 2nd grade he was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and ODD. My 3rd son in 7th grade was diagnosed with bipolar and my 4th son, also in 7th grade, with ADHD. Who knew that the dozens of hot dogs, bags of chips, liters of soda, gallons of kool-aid, frequent trips through the Golden Arches, and frozen Crispy Crust pizzas weren't healthy?! I had stomachs to fill and a budget to keep!
It wasn't until I, myself, a Christian preschool owner and teacher of 10 years suddenly came down with a nasty case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) that even a double shot of Starbucks twice a day couldn't cure. Reluctantly, I headed to the nearest lab for blood work and came to find out I have Epstein Barr virus. Epstein what, you ask? Basically its a virus that you can have your entire life and never even know you have it because it can remain dormant. But due to my poor diet and the bit of stress I endured due to 4 unhealthy boys, mine became active in the form of CFS.
Because there isn't a medication you can take to cure Epstein Barr, my doctor prescribed a daily cocktail composed of 32 vitamins and minerals. About a month into my hourly regiment of ingesting these pills a dear friend of mine visited from Colorado and told me about some capsules that she just heard of that were made out of fruits and vegetables. So being the teacher that I am, I needed to know why fruits and veggies were such a big deal. And boy did I learn! Once I understood, I immediately began taking these fruit and veggie capsules called Juice Plus. Within a month I was back to my old self, or should I say young self?! My whole family began taking them faithfully thereafter.
My Journey continued....
That was just over 7 years ago. I am happy to announce that all of my sons have been medication-free for almost 6 years. Juice Plus was definately the catalist that launched my family's poor health into wellness, and gradually my need to change our diets all together became a passion.
In January of 2009, I went to California and obtained my certification for Dr. Sears' LEAN program and proudly am 1 of 3 nutrition coaches certified to teach Dr. William Sears' LEAN workshops in Arizona!
I posted the picture of my family (from Oct 2008) above as a very proud wife and mother. Changing the diet of 6 people was a journey, but SO worth it. Each of us "own" our health. We all now know first hand what good health feels like! I praise God for what He's done for each member of my beloved family and pray He will allow my sons to bring the gift of health to their future families.
