auntiesusiesunshine
auntiesusiesunshine
| Forum role | Member since | Last activity | Topics created | Replies created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Apr 16, 2015 (11 years) |
- | 0 | 2 |
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Bio
Hi! Many people ask me, "Susie, where did you learn all this stuff? When did you decide to start eating only plant-based foods? Do you EVER eat meat, dairy, or anything processed?" Haha... Questions, questions! Ask away, everyone! If I don't know the answer, I will help find the answer for you.
I grew up on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota, land of freshwater fish, Land O'Lakes Dairy, and meat and potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and supper.
I was first introduced to plant-based foods when I attended the Tranquility Adventist Church in Tranquility, NJ beginning in 2003. They taught a wonderful health message on how we need to take care of our bodies because WE are God's temple, and we need to take care of it! I learned so much about how to make vegetables have the same flavors as meat and be even more satisfying because you know you are feeding your body in a healthy way. I loved the challenge it brought to my cooking and I made it my mission to create new recipes that everyone loved whether they were a vegan or a carnivore.
This new way of eating also greatly relieved the post-meal abdominal pain I had experienced since I was a child. It wasn't until 2007 that we discovered that the pains I was having were due to a genetic condition called Pancreas Divisum that is exacerbated by foods that are difficult to digest, such as meat, dairy, and other fatty foods and processed foods (among other things). This made me want to just eat plants even more, although I still ate meat, dairy, and processed foods when I had cravings.
In January of 2009, after 17 years of being a nurse and "doing everything right," I went to help a patient who had slid down too far in bed. As I lifted, I twisted to bring him from the center of the bed to the top of the bed... Remember that saying we have always been told, "Lift with your legs!" Well, I am now the "poster child" for WHY we should lift with our legs and not bend or twist at the waist when we lift...
I went through many specialist appointments and physical therapy, then to a chiropractor that said I would be good as new after 6 weeks of adjustments. 6 weeks of adjustments later, I could barely walk without a cane. I ended with 8 spinal vertebrae being herniated, a SLAP tear in my shoulder, and the right side facet joints in my neck being completely disintegrated and worn away. As I progressed through orthopedic spine specialists and injection procedures, things only got worse, leaving me to get around in a wheelchair and highly medicated to the point that my husband couldn't even have a normal conversation with me.
I comforted my pain, stress, and depression with food, and not good healthy food either! Chocolate covered cherries were my best friend (but totally NOT VEGAN). Pasta and bread were "plant-based," and they were fat-free also, so I told myself they were good for me. I ballooned into 180+ lbs, which, at 4' 11" put me at being clinically obese with a BMI of 36.4%. I went from a size 4 to a size 14. My husband left me, stating, "You're not the Barbie doll I paid for!" I disgusted even myself.
I learned that I was stuck in a maddening cycle that only perpetuated itself: depression and pain causing me to eat junk, causing me to be fat, causing me to be depressed and in more pain.
My blood pressure soared to 200/100 at times, even on 3 different blood pressure medications. Steroid injections into my spine only caused more pounds to be added on. In January of 2014 I was on 33 medications to control medical issues or the side effects of other medications. Yes, 33. As a nurse, I knew if I continued the way I was going, I was going to DIE.
I made a vow to myself that I was going to stick to what I KNOW I should be doing: eating a whole food, plant-based diet. No meat, no dairy, no processed foods. I continued with my doctor recommendations and therapies and underwent shoulder surgery, 5 spine surgeries and a lot of physical therapy over 7 years.
It was impossible for me to do much formal exercise for weight loss (due to the pain and limited mobility). But, I could still eat right! Even when I couldn't cook, I could still eat some raw fruits and veggies instead of resorting to ordering a pizza. In the first 2 months of eating 100% plant based foods, I lost 40 POUNDS and I couldn't exercise at all. YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO!
UPDATE AS OF 08/16/2017:
I have lost over 70 lbs and I have a BMI of 24.2!! The ONLY thing I did differently is CHANGE WHAT I PUT ON MY FORK!! I now can walk every day and finally get back to working a REAL JOB! YAHOOOBIEEES!
Today, I am only on one prescription medication that I take daily for a low thyroid, but even that dose has decreased by more than half in the last 2 years. No more blood pressure medications--my blood pressure is a healthy 106/62!
As people began asking me why I ate a vegan diet over the years, I began researching more and more to find true, unbiased, CONSISTENT scientific proof of WHAT we should eat, and WHY we should ALL eat it. I found countless documentaries and scientific research studies proving that a #WholeFoodPlantBased lifestyle can not only STOP cancers, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, but eating 100% whole food plants can also REVERSE these diseases (please see the documentaries, Forks Over Knives and What The Health for easy-to-understand details of The China Study done by Oxford University, China, and Cornell University, and other scientific proof of the only diet proven to stop and reverse disease)!!
The more I learned, the more I wanted to know, and the more I knew, the more I wanted to share this information with EVERYONE I know! I even had many opportunities to share this information with my own doctors who had yet to hear of the specifics and details of these studies. They have embraced this current information and now recommend it to their own patients! They encouraged me to become a Food Coach, teaching their patients how to shop, cook, and eat a 100% whole food plant-based lifestyle for LIFE.
I now get to teach my clients how to feed their body the nutrition it needs to REGENERATE itself!!
Please join me, and be a Veg LEGEND with Vegendary Kitchen!! Contact me to get started today!! Check out this website for more information: www.VegendaryKitchen.com
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