How I survived going GF, DF, SF, CF, AF cold turkey

(gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, caffeine free, alcohol free 🤪)

I found myself 55 years old and breaking out severely like a teenager with bad acne. It was awful. I hosted my daughter’s 16th birthday party at the peak of my breakout, the night before Mother’s Day, and I cried most of Mother’s Day. It had taken every ounce of energy to put a brave face on and a smile and enjoy my daughter and her friends. We had planned a beautiful party at our house and she was so excited. I am a picture person and I took pictures with her, but I was dying inside. All I could think was I hope I’m not embarrassing her. 

Don’t feel sorry for me. I did that all for myself for a bit. I was trying so hard to keep things in perspective, because I have friends that have gone through much more serious health problems. But, I was going about it all wrong.

I was resistant, frustrated, sad and discouraged- pretty much every day or at least every meal. 😜

I failed in my attempt to go GF, DF, SF, CF, AF…. until…

How I survived?!

Interestingly, I found a doctor to help me figure out the root cause of my breakouts, & she told me that in order to heal my body my mind had to be on board and I had to lower my anxiety. These were the pieces that were holding me back.

I have literally been trained in the process of managing your mind and emotions and my brain still wouldn’t comply without help.

Talking to my coach every week saved me.

My coach asked me many questions that got to the root of my thoughts and my anxiety. She was able to help me find the thoughts that were keeping me from making these radical diet changes… those sneaky thoughts that made me believe I couldn’t do it and it wouldn’t work. She made me realize that my trying to keep this in perspective was keeping me from having self-compassion. Of course I was frustrated. I was able to process my feelings with her. I felt such relief every time we worked together & continue to work on this.

I have these skills, but the brain is sneaky. As a life coach, I pay attention to my thoughts and my feelings more than the average person, but I have blind spots. The brain has 3 things it focuses on: to keep you safe, seek pleasure & avoid pain. Your brain does not want to do hard things and neither does mine.

My mind was offering me little thoughts all day long that were sabotaging my attempts to eat clean. 

• One teaspoon of sugar & milk every day won’t hurt me. (I drink hot black tea with milk & sugar and at first this was my non-negotiable. But for me, milk and sugar was NOT on my protocol and now I’ve been able to change this thought, this belief, this habit as well. I have a new morning ritual - warm lemon water with aloe vera juice & save my SF, DF coffee for a treat. )

• I can’t find recipes for the whole family, so I’m going to have to cook 2 things… no way

• I don’t want to give up my morning ritual or my weekly lunch with my son.

• Is this even making a difference?

• Will this work?

• How long is this going to take?

Sometimes it’s the simplest thought that you think every day that is sabotaging your results. You may want to cut out alcohol, but every night you think “this really helps me relax” and you’ve thought this and done this for so long you have the evidence that this is true.

Maybe you want to lose weight and you think I've tried everything or I’ll never lose it now that I’m going through menopause. You may have a habit of going to the pantry after dinner for something sweet or feel too tired to get a workout in.

All of these little thoughts and actions become habits. Thoughts repeated over time become beliefs. 

Women I work with fight for the belief “I don’t have time.” They argue with me and give me all of the proof that they don’t have time. This is their truth. They are very defensive when I push back on them.

I get it. I was the same way.

Let me offer you another perspective. 

What if you fought for the belief that would get you the results you desire in your life?

You do have time for yourself, that you can lose weight, only drink one glass of wine, get the new job…. 

I want to have clear skin and a healthy body, and it has taken time but my thoughts and feelings have changed so much about this that my actions have to. Now my result is a clean diet and a healing body, which is very different from where I was a few months ago.

Thoughts become habits. They are choices and you can choose to break a habit.

Think about that for a minute.

If every day you thought (on purpose)...

I’m going to make time for my walk today. I’m going to eat what I planned from my protocol today. I always drink enough water. I don’t need another cup of coffee. Walking relaxes me. I could add so much value. I could totally do this job. I am being paid under market and I bring value that deserves greater pay.

What would your life look like if you fought for those beliefs, if you argued for proof of those thoughts?

It would look different. You would feel different. And you would get different results. Period. That is a fact.

So, as I write this a few months after I went cold turkey, I am gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, caffeine free, alcohol free and it’s not that difficult. Truth, I have caffeine about 3-4 times a week. It’s a treat for me & sometimes I plan around that trip to Starbucks. 😄I drink a skinny cocktail about once a week and I’m always going to have a piece of birthday cake at your party! But, other than that, life doesn’t feel lacking or without. Who knew that eating clean could be delicious and relatively pain free?

So, if you find yourself struggling to lose weight, drink less, spend less, make time for exercise, find a new job, make time for yourself, repair a relationship I’d love to help you. I work one-on-one with women helping them fight for the life they want. I heard this the other day…*open door instead of empty nest. My door is always open for a child that wants to come back home and it’s an open door for me to decide what’s next for me.

I borrow thoughts all the time, so feel free to borrow mine. The open door is waiting for you. Fight for the results you truly want.

*”open door”: I heard this on a new podcast called Welcome to the Party: it’s hosted by my favorite female athlete Abby Wamback & her former teammate Julie Faudy (professional soccer players). It’s a fun podcast they host with Billy Jean King. It’s all about women’s sports. They are both in this stage of life with kids beginning to graduate from high school and leave home. They laugh a lot and are just fun to listen to.