The Darkside of Being Healthy

Being healthy and fit is all the rage.  There are a gazillion blogs out there that have the most incredibly yummy looking pictures of food that make your mouth water instantly.  There are moms blogging about how they are cutting out boxed food and sugar and there are healthy fitness sites everywhere you turn.  Just walking in a grocery store you see advertisements for “lowers cholesterol”, “all natural”, “made with real cheese” etc.

While this is all incredibly wonderful, there is a very dark side to choosing to be healthy.  A side that no one wants to talk about, but it is a reality that slaps you in the face in the beginning and for a few months or years afterwards.  It is something that is so shocking it will leave you shaking your head.

Are you ready for it?

 

1. You will offend people with your choice to be healthy.

 

They will get angry with you or at least roll their eyes.

People will get all weird when you break out your veggies at a social gathering.  They will feel personally offended by your choices.  They will treat you coldly or say lovely comments about how you think you are better then them.  They will talk behind your back or they will tell you to your face that you are crazy or picky.  They will shove articles in your face about how sugar really isn’t that bad for you.

Believe me, all of this happens.  When we first started eating gluten-free as an entire family because of our son’s allergies, we made people uncomfortable.  We made them mad, we insulted their choices of food (or so they thought).  I have overheard people talking about my “pickiness” at gatherings where they thought I was sleeping in the next room.  I’ve had people tell me to my face that my food demands are too high of expectations.

The crazy part is, while it is true we won’t eat certain foods, in the beginning we ALWAYS brought our own food to gatherings if we needed something different.   To us it wasn’t a big deal.  It was about eating foods that didn’t make our son sick and vomiting  for the next few hours!

 

2.  It will rip your heart out to see people suffering from things that could be prevented, lessened or fixed through easy food changes.

 

As our family learned more about how our bodies actually work, function and digest food, we become more obsessed with food and eating healthy.  Through hours of reading and research I realized that our health is directly related to what we eat.  There is no way I could go back, in fact I went deeper.  I became a holistic health coach.  This really seems to be annoying… that I could “cure” something with food.  Most people don’t want to believe it.

The truth is food does heal.  My son no longer has acid reflux and GERD and ridiculous gut problems that he struggled with when he was a baby and that is all due to cultured veggies.  I know people who have beat cancer by changing their diet.  I have helped people avoid diabetes by changing their diet.  I have helped people get rid of their stress headaches.  I have helped people get rid of mouth sores after years of going to doctors.  I’ve helped people clear up their acne.  I have helped people loose 25 pounds over about a month.  I have helped people improve their child’s behavior simply through diet.  I have helped people get back to work who thought they were too sick to carry on.  I have even helped people get their hair to grow in thicker!!!

 

3.  People will incessantly try to feed your kids junk and sugary food because they feel bad for them.

 

Don’t even get me started on this one…

 

But don’t give up, there are plenty of good things that will carry you through and of course plenty of benefits, the biggest being your excellent health.

~Your family will become cold and flu free.

~You will start to have more energy.   As you eat better, as you pursue health, you will have  a renewed sense of energy.

~Things in your life will get clearer.  Your mind will open up.  Your stresses will not seem that big.  Yes, all because of your food choices.

You will start to see life differently because what you eat impacts how your brain functions.

 

The crazy part is some years into your journey, people will come to you all excited about something Dr. Oz said or what they read about wheat and the brain.  They won’t have a clue that it is what they got annoyed at you for years earlier, but that’s ok.  Because this isn’t about who said it first, it is about people realizing that they can take charge of their own health.  It is about knowing that you don’t have to live in poor health.  It is about realizing the freedom you feel when your body is truly nourished.

So go ahead, be healthy anyway.  The journey is worth it.  You are worth it.  Your health is worth it.  The road might be a little rocky, but the path has gorgeous views.  You can be the light that will shine.

March forward and be brave.  For it is worth it, you are worth it.  🙂

To your health~

signature_summer

About The Author

Summer Brackhan

Mom, sociologist, teacher, author, musician, world traveler, parenting and health coach who believes healthy living incorporates body, mind and soul and that life is not about living in little boxes, but experiencing everything at its fullest.

Leave A Response

* Denotes Required Field