This week I had a follow up appointment with my nutritionist. I am in the home stretch of finishing the Candida Cleanse in my gut. I am so excited! This week I was able to put a few things back in my diet. I can now have almond flour, blueberries, unsweetened applesauce and tequila. Of course all of this is moderation, but hey, I got back my blueberry muffins and unsweetened homemade margarita! It has been a very great weekend- LOL!

The next phase in the treatment is to stay on my supplements that support my system and allow my system to rest for a month. Then we will retest and see where my gut is at this point. If the candida and bacteria are gone, then we start the next phase which is to heal my gut with supplements and work on balancing my endocrine system.

This has been a long and difficult  journey but I have learned so much. I truly have a deeper understanding on how food plays a huge role in our over all health. I want to share what I have learned with all of you. This has been such an education for me and I am hungry for more knowledge. I have an ” Food & Inflammation” workshop planned on Sunday April 8 in Valencia. Additionally,  I am planning to take a nutrition certification course later this year so that I can counsel clients privately on their nutrition/fitness goals.

This gut healing journey has not only taught me about how to heal my physical body, it has taught me how have self-care, self compassion and self-love for myself. If you have attended any of my classes this month you know I have been going into great detail about this topic.  Here is some information from Harvard health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-power-of-self-compassion

The power of self-compassion

Forgiving and nurturing yourself can set the stage for better health, relationships, and general well-being. Self-compassion yields a number of benefits, including lower levels of anxiety and depression. Self-compassionate people recognize when they are suffering and are kind to themselves at these times, which reduces their anxiety and related depression.

While some people come by self-compassion naturally, others have to learn it. Luckily, it is a learnable skill.

Harvard psychologist Christopher Germer, in his book The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion,suggests that there are five ways to bring self-compassion into your life: via physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual methods. He and other experts have proposed a variety of ways to foster self-compassion. Here are a few:

• Comfort your body. Eat something healthy. Lie down and rest your body. Massage your own neck, feet, or hands. Take a walk. Anything you can do to improve how you feel physically gives you a dose of self-compassion.
• Write a letter to yourself. Describe a situation that caused you to feel pain (a breakup with a lover, a job loss, a poorly received presentation). Write a letter to yourself describing the situation without blaming anyone. Acknowledge your feelings.
• Give yourself encouragement. If something bad or painful happens to you, think of what you would say to a good friend if the same thing happened to him or her. Direct these compassionate responses toward yourself.
• Practice mindfulness. This is the nonjudgmental observation of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions, without trying to suppress or deny them. When you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, accept the bad with the good with a compassionate attitude.

Take a moment each day to honor yourself. To do something just for you. Just 5 minutes can go a long way in making you feel happier, energized, and balanced.

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.”
—Christopher Germer, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion

Namaste.