It’s Time To Take The Wheel

If an area of your life is out of your control, it’s time to take charge of something you CAN control. Four years ago TODAY was when I took control of the way I fuel my body so I’m celebrating my anniversary with you!

MS is a crazy, unpredictable disease that can trash your feelings of control. It’s total helplessness when any disease, person, or job has their way with you. It can feel as if you’re a passenger along for the ride as your situation takes the wheel.

Gradually, balance, coordination, bladder issues and more were all deteriorating. As confounding as those problems are, I’m continually finding workarounds for all of them. The one that I found most unbearable, though, was the constant, burning, stabbing pain around my midsection. It felt as if I was being pierced with a sharp, hot knife while being squeezed constantly with a torture device. In the MS community it’s ironically referred to as the MS Hug. Hugs are nice. This was not!

On a scale of 1 to 10, the neurological pain was most often a 15 and nothing brought relief. Anyone who deals with chronic pain knows that it changes who you are.

I put on a smiling face for the rest of the world but my poor husband witnessed exactly how miserable I really was as I collapsed in utter agony after most outings and events. In high school I had been, after all, the Thespian Society president. Following these daily Oscar-worthy performances, I wondered how long I could keep it going. I had completely lost control and didn’t see an end to my bleak reality.

In July of 2014, after inspiration from my sister, Becca, and my own research, I started on a journey of clean, REAL, refined sugar-free, gluten and mostly dairy-free foods. With loads of high (heart-healthy) fats and greens at every turn, I transformed and took control of the way I feel. The pain was lessened to a degree that was almost non-existent. I weaned myself from neurological pain meds and kicked my sleeping pill addiction. I could actually function without thinking about pain! I’m now a firm believer that we truly are what we eat. Take that MS!

In my upcoming Stumble to Rise book I share some of the additional positive benefits I experienced. Eliminating the inflammatory-causing stuff I once craved meant that I felt more energetic, I lost weight, my digestion was better and my skin had never looked so clear and smooth in my life. I’m not a doctor and I did not eliminate my MS but it’s a powerful feeling to take control of what I CAN control about my disease. After seeing the positive outcome of this big shift, I felt more confident about myself and what else I could conquer!

In spite of the unpredictability caused by MS, my food transformation put me back in the driver’s seat. No I’m not lying down and taking MS. I choose to defend myself with the best armor possible.

If you’ve lost control, take the wheel by focusing on ONE area of your life that you CAN control. Maybe, it’s walking a mile five days per week for one month, streamlining your messy closet this weekend or sending your resume out to two potential employers per day for two weeks. Whatever it is, make it happen and make it measurable. When you take charge of just one thing and experience success, it spills over and has an uplifting impact on everything else–including your outlook. YOU are in the driver’s seat! Yes, we are required to STUMBLE before we RISE above our challenges.