Slowing Down for the New Year, Adrenal Fatigue, My Personal Healing Process...

Hello Winners! Hope you are all empowered to kick it into high gear for the New Year!

I have been challenged with some pretty nifty health-related stuff for the last year and probably many more, that have progressively impacted me to an unacceptable level over the last 6 months, based on what my body was telling me and what I was experiencing, and I am FINALLY getting a handle on what has been happening and have already started the healing process. I, of course, want to do my best to share my account of this experience with all of you, as it relates to health and nutrition, with the hopes of raising awareness.

What Is Happening To Me?

During the past year, I have experienced periods where I haven't been feeling anything like my usual energetic/happy-go-lucky self. After checking with my MD and having blood work done early last year, nothing proved conclusive based on my results compared to the symptoms I was experiencing. The frustration continued to build as I tried to figure out WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME! I felt like I had been riding a never-ending roller coaster of fatigue and emotional imbalance that was progressing at a ridiculous rate.

Starting back in June of last year, I started experiencing excessive sleepless nights and disturbances in my regular sleep patterns for the first time in my life. This made absolutely no sense to me, as I got in regular exercise, worked full days, ate fairly healthy and didn’t have anything impending on my mind to disturb me. In addition, on the nights where I did get in enough hours of sleep (6 to 8 hours), I would wake up feeling like I hadn't had an ounce of sleep.....foggy, moody, exhausted, mentally drained, irrational, emotional, lacked energy for my favorite activities, etc. with a full day of work and/or activities ahead of me. Just Great! Eventually it started to impact my performance at work, as I was consistently tired and forgetful and just couldn’t wait for the day to end so I could get home and jump into bed.

I had been through down periods in my life before caused by disagreements, loss, break-ups etc. and wouldn’t accept that I was going through an extended depression because I had never let any of life’s disappointments get to me so badly before that it kept me down for extended periods of time like this...just not typical for me. It was something more...my body was trying to tell me something and had been for a while…and trying to get a handle on what was happening was challenging and frustrating.

At first, I automatically assumed that I needed to engage in more physical activity and/or spend some more time at the gym, so back in May of this year I increased the amount of times I would exercise each week. This wasn’t working out for me. I was working out vigorously and not only wasn’t I getting more energy from my workouts, it was contributing more to my universal fatigue and I wasn’t even getting lighter on the scale…something was seriously wrong!

The overabundance of exercise eventually led to a knee injury in May of 2009 which required surgery that July and I was forced to take a big step down from my regular workouts and to slow down and spend time really paying attention to my body and listening more clearly to what it was telling me. I would have never in a million years thought that knee surgery would turn out to be the biggest blessing in disguise for me.

Adrenal Fatigue

Being a naturalist and trying to avoid being consistently medicated for anything at all costs, I knew it was appropriate for me to do extensive research on my symptoms for alternative remedies and believed that nutrition and exercise was the key, but the right kind and amounts was what I needed suport with most.

About 4 months ago it was like the Man Up Above dropped the biggest gift in my lap. I stumbled upon a wellness practitioner/specialist who works with people all over the greater NYC area and beyond, who also experience my same exact symptoms.  I immediately made an appointment for a consultation.
After discussing my health history extensively and answering a ton of questions, we concluded that adrenal fatigue was most probably the main cause and that this is typically caused by lack of balanced nutrition that works well for each personal individually, whole foods, personal and environmental stress management and a myriad of other external contributors/factors that I personally would have never even spent a second thinking about.

I’ve been working toward healing for about 4 months now and have been feeling more like myself for quite some time now, in addition to the many other amazing benefits that go along with healing and learning what works and doesn't for me on a health/fitness/nutrion and/or mind/body/spirit level, including enjoying amazingy delicious whole foods, healthy glowing skin, restored energy, healthy weight loss without effort, overall happiness and, to my surprise, improved eyesight! I am now consumed with a sense of calm, instead of  the detrimental cycle of stress/fatigue/frustration. First rule of the healing process....SLOW DOWN! and create and follow a nutritional plan that supports me personally! It was tough slowing down the first month, but I also learned how to take the time to balance....such an amazing journey so far. 

Conclusion

I’m hoping that this New Year is supporting all of you. Not only is this a period of new begininings, but the cooler weather tends to create more opportunities for slowing down and staying inside/warm. I am personally doing what it takes to slow down and ask that you spend this time wisely and listen to what your body is telling you…it always knows best and is your life compass...always leading you in the right direction. If you have been experiencing any of my symptoms and require some support, please reach out. That’s what I am here for and what The Biggest Winner Now! is all about.

With Love & Gratitude,
RG aka The Biggest Winner Now!

The Benefits of "Real Food" and Today's "Big Business Food"

"Real Food" consists of naturally grown produce and grass-fed, free-range meats raised at a local farm.  These farms do not treat their crops with chemicals/pesticides or genetically alter their animals with growth hormones, antibiotics, any other types of drugs. "Big Business Food ", a term I created representing most of the meat and produce available in convenient, local supermarkets that are the result of factory farming, where animals and produce are created in mass amounts and the integrity of your food is greatly compromised for purposes of mass consumption and a myriad of other processed food items that are packaged and readily available to you on the shelves of your local supermarkets at anytime....chock full of preservatives and lots of other addictive, unnatural and fat-ridden ingredients that can only contribute to poor health.

When I started doing research on this topic, I couldn't stop thinking about all the health implications our nation is exposed to by ingesting anything but Real Food. The Big Business Food has taken over most of America over the last few decades and our Country's rate of overweight/obese children and adults is growing rapidly and so is the rate of poor health issues including high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes to name a few....all because people have been over-exposed with Big Business Food marketing and don't even recognize Real Food anymore. While all of this is happening, the pockets of the Big Business Food folks keeps getting fatter (no pun intended) and our nation keeps getting sicker and sicker.


To bring things into perspective, think about this. During prehistoric times, people hunted their food and lived off the land...in its natural form.  Your Grandmother's Grandmother ate Real Food back in the day before supermarkets and the Big Business Food came into existence. They didn't purchase their food from a supermarket that was overstocked with processed food, containing addictive ingredients they could not pronounce that our FDA approves and over-marketed with messages to have them running back for more.......they went to a local farm, plain and simple!. 

What can you do to make a difference?

- Get educated and take an interest in the wealth of Real Food there is available to you.
- Support local farms and/or join a food-coop to have access to fresh, untainted produce.
- Purchase only meats from animals that are grass-fed and free-range and do some research.
- Remove products from your diet that contain ingredients you can't pronounce.
- Eat as much food in its natural form as possible.
- Ask your Grandparents what they ate growing up, collect some recipes.
- Express your interest in having Real Food available in schools for your children.
- Share your interest and knowledge with others.

If you haven't tried Real Food yet, experiment with some fruits, veggies and meats. Do taste tests and compare....there really is no comparison. Real Food is so much sweeter, fresher and better-tasting hands down....and you will be amazed at the difference it will make for your health!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have on any of these topics at ReneaG9870@aol.com or you can join "The Biggest Winner Now!" Fan Page and Group on Facebook and post or write to me there.

Taking A Stand For The Health Of Humanity,
RG aka The Biggest Winner Now!