Would You Like To Be Healthier?

A few years ago, I felt like a victim of my circumstances. I could barely walk and my prognosis wasn’t favorable. I remember lying in bed, with the tears streaming from my eyes, thinking this can’t be it. The quality of my life was in shambles and I begged God to heal me.

My solution wasn’t a quick fix. It took months (if not years) and it was hard. During every challenge, I would always think if I can overcome this then I can teach others how to overcome it as well. 

Years later, I haven't forgotten what that kind hopelessness and pain feels like. I honestly never thought that I could be healthy. Through changes to my diet, my mindset, and exercise, however, I am healthy. I did it all without one drop of medicine. If it was possible for me to do it, then I know it is possible for you to do it as well. 

One of my greatest gifts is the ability to overcome. God has blessed me to write books about my experience, share it on the stage, and now I want to share it with you in a private group. For months I have been wondering about my next step. Where does God want me to be? How can I help more people? How can I use my gifts to help other people? And He reminded me of the time when I was lying flat on my back, feeling hopeless and discouraged, desiring for someone to help me. 

I want to be that person for you! For months, I’ve been writing the formula for overcoming our circumstances. I can give you a step by step guide, suggestions for the tools you will need, and hold your hand throughout the process. 

In the group we will work on the following:

• Discovering why we want to be healthier.
• How to raise our energy levels naturally.
• Raise the necessity of becoming healthier.
• Ways to be more productive and how to set goals. 
• Finding the courage to step out and do it.
• How to develop the mindset of an overcomer.

Would you like more information? The group starts on October 16. No purchase necessary. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

P.S. If you haven’t already, please check out my latest book by clicking here. Despite Your Circumstances shows us the power of the mind as it embraces a positive and thankful attitude, and demonstrates how to build a rich life filled with meaning and joy. The author uses seemingly impossible situations in her life to prove that you can be an overcomer despite your circumstances.

How To Silence The Excuses

It’s 5:00 a.m., and, honestly, I would rather be sleeping. I had to get up a little earlier this morning, because I have to leave my house earlier than usual. When I set my alarm clock last night for 4:30 a.m., my mind started to make excuses.

You can do your workout later.

It doesn’t have to be done in the morning. 

You could just skip it tomorrow. 

I silenced them all, when I set my clock—despite the excuses. And it was non-negotiable in my mind. When the alarm sounded this morning, I did not snooze or even give myself the opportunity to make excuses. I got up. Because I love how exercising in the morning makes me feel all day. And I will not trade the temporary feeling of snoozing for the all day benefits of working out early.

The devil wants to derail my journey. Anytime that I start doing something new, that is helpful to me, he tries to stand in my way. When we set our intentions the night before, and follow through with them, however, there’s not a lot that he can do. The enemy works in our doubts and when we stand on both sides of the fence. When we are uncertain about something is when we invite him into the conversation. And that’s when the excuses start pouring in. As long as we will listen, he will provide us with excuse after excuse. 

At anytime, we can stop the conversation. We do this by taking action. Once we take a step in the right direction, and keep putting one foot in front of the other, we become harder to convince. The Bible tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

P.S. Have you downloaded my free app, “Words of Encouragement” yet?

Persistence Pays Off

Today, I had a wonderful massage. This is huge for me. Usually, they are so painful that I want to cry. But, today, it was great. At the end, when I was relaxing for a few minutes, all I could do was thank God. 

Twenty-three days ago (yes, I’m counting), I started a new workout plan. Well, let me back up a little. Months ago, I cancelled my gym membership and decided to workout at home using Beachbody on Demand. I was hesitant about the process and even had a little resistance. I had been exercising at the gym for three years and doing something totally different scared me. All in the same, I knew it was the right step for me. My new workout program, Core de Force, is working for me. By exercising at home I can get my workout in at 6:00 a.m. before I get started on my day.

When I first started, the punching and upper body moves made my condition worse. The first few days, my ribs came out of place. At that point, I wanted to quit, but I talked to my doctor about it and he encouraged me to keep trying. He really thought it would help me in the long run. 

This is the first time in my life that I have exercised for twenty-three days straight. And it has made such a difference in how I feel. I’m so thankful that I didn’t give up. Pushing through pain, the early morning workouts, and my determination to be well are paying off. 

Just because other programs haven’t worked for you in the past doesn’t mean that your soulmate workout isn’t out there. You just haven’t found it yet. I can help you. Send me a message at candidasullivan@yahoo.com and we will talk. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Finding Your Motivation

People ask me all the time to motivate them to workout. They want to exercise, but they just don’t feel like doing it. Trust me, I understand.

For years, I dabbled in it myself. I worked out occasionally to make myself feel better about it. It was something that I knew I should be doing, but I never really made it a priority. If I had time and felt like it, I would workout a little. Otherwise, I would only talk about it. 

When I woke up one day, barely able to walk, with numbness and tingling down my legs, and in so much pain that it made me cry, my health took on a whole new meaning. Suddenly, being able to walk again without pain was very important to me. 

It didn’t just happen for me. I had to fight for it. It was one of the toughest battles that I have ever faced. Reclaiming my health through changes to my diet, my mindset, and fitness was hard. Many times throughout the process I broke down in tears and wanted to quit. Living without constant pain, however, was my motivation. 

The reason why we do certain things is so important. The force driving us to change has to be stronger than the one trying to stop us. If we have a strong enough why, we can accomplish any goal and overcome any hardship. 

Every time that I want to snooze instead of doing my workout, I think about what it felt like to lie in the bed for months. Every time that I think about eating too much sugar, I am reminded of how it feels to be filled with inflammation. When I want to forgo my gluten free diet and have a doughnut, I think about how it feels to be covered in a rash, with my throat swollen, constant brain fog, headache, and overwhelming pain. 

My health is very important to me, and it is the reason why I am so determined and disciplined. I have lived the life of not exercising and eating whatever I wanted. When I look back on it, I am reminded of tremendous pain. I never want to go back to that place again. So every day I make the decision to heal my body, instead of hurting it. That is my motivation. 

Once you establish a strong enough why, nothing will be able to stop you. If you’d like for me to help you, send me a message: candidasullivan@yahoo.com. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Promote What You Love

Far too many times, I’ve heard the expression, shameless self-promotion. When I first started writing, I joined a writer’s group and this was a term that was often used when referring to promoting one’s own writing or self. For whatever reason, it crawled inside of me and spread like poison. Now every time that I share my blog, share about my fitness business, or share my books, I feel this sense of guilt. 

This guilt is holding me back. It makes me feel as if by sharing my writing, or my fitness journey that I am bragging on myself. But that is the story the devil has weaved. He wants me to be silent about the things which are important to me. Of course, he wants me to promote my complaints and negative opinions. Anything that could help someone else, however, comes with feelings of fear and uncertainty. 

God gives us stories and life experiences to share. He wants us to help each other. When we have the solution to someone else’s problem, then it would be so selfish of us not to share it. If our story would give someone drowning in depression hope, then why would we not share it with them? If we have the tools to help someone lose weight and feel better, then why would we not offer it to them? This is the realization that I had recently. And it changed the story that I’ve been telling myself for years. 

Sharing my story and promoting my passion is my gift. The true shame would be for me to bury my talent, and not use it to help others. I love writing, talking about God, exercising, drinking Shakeology, and eating healthy foods. All the things that I talk about make a difference in my life, and that is why I want to share them with you. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Is The Enemy After Your Health?

How many times a day do we express gratitude for our health? Chances are that most of us take it for granted. I know that I do. 

When I’m feeling great, I don’t really think about it because I expect to feel that way. The moment that I get a sniffle, start feeling stress, or pain though and I start thinking about my health, and trying to feel better. 

What if we were concerned all the time? Sickness has a way of sneaking up on us all. We are never prepared and never ready to spend a few days in bed recuperating. While some illnesses are over in a few days, chronic illnesses can be permanent. 

Stress affects our immune system. Studies show that we consume many foods in our daily life that are actually making us sick, and we often adopt bad habits that negatively affect our health.

We need to do everything possible to stay healthy or better our health—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When one part of our life is off, it affects everything else. If I’m stressed, then I’m more likely to react negatively to my family, and others that I come in contact with each day. If my relationship with God is suffering, then I might be afraid, anxious, or just plain miserable. The same is true with my physical health. When I don’t feel well, it is hard for me to function. 

The enemy doesn’t always come charging at us. He is sneaky and devises ways to trick us. The Bible tells us to watch and pray. 

The good news is that we don’t have to stay in the shape that we are in. If we turn to God, He will help us overcome any challenge. First, we have to decide that we want to change. When God recognizes our desire to better our life, then He will help us make the necessary changes. 

Life is too short to feel bad all the time. What can we do today that will help us have a better tomorrow?

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

10 Ways To Get More Rest

Do you listen to your body and rest when you're tired? Or do you grab more caffeine and use products that supposedly give you more energy?

Every time my doctor told me to rest more, it aggravated me. I did not feel like that I had time to rest. Especially when I had deadlines and a full schedule for months. Resting, when I had so much to do, seemed ridiculous to me. However, I didn’t understand the importance of resting. 

Therefore, my muscles would become so tense and overused that they would pull my body out of it’s natural alignment. When I would work beyond my body’s limits, then I would only create more pain for myself. Now I am learning to listen to my body. When I first feel the burning sensation in my muscles, I stop and take a few moments to breathe and stretch. It’s amazing at what just what five minutes of intentional breathing can do. 

Before, I thought resting was lying in the bed for hours without doing anything, or napping for several hours. As it turns out, studies show that there are so many ways to rest throughout the day. 

1. Slow down. Breathe deeply.  
2. Listen to soothing music. 
3. Read for a few minutes.
4. Take a slow walk in nature. 
5. Take a power nap of 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Meditate 
7. Drink relaxing tea 
8. Take a bath
9. Dream and visualize 
10. Write in a gratitude journal

Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee. More caffeine, however, is not always the answer. We just need to listen to our body and find out what we need. I make sure that I go to bed in enough time to get my required sleep. I also guard my schedule. If it would put a hardship on me to take on another task, then I don’t commit to it. 

Turning off notifications on my phone has also helped. The constant beeping and buzzing is distracting. When I’m working on a project, I commit to giving it my full attention and then have times when I check Facebook and messages. 

Now, I don’t view resting as being lazy or unproductive. I see it as a way to recharge, revive, and relax me. When I take care of me first, then I have so much more to give others. After all, we cannot drink from an empty cup.

Have a wonderful day!

Love and blessings, 

Candida

How I Received A Second Chance With My Health

So often, we use the words "have to" in our daily life. We rarely say we "get to.” However, when we change that single word, it totally changes how we feel about the statement. "Have to” sounds like a chore or a heartache, while "get to” resonates a blessing.

For months, I was barely able to walk. As I stood, my legs would tremble. Every step was incredibly painful. I know what it feels like to lie in a bed day after day, and desire to feel better. It was during this painful time that I learned the importance of my health. 

When God blessed me with healing, I decided that I would not take it for granted again. I know what it feels like to be unhealthy, and, praise God, I also know what it feels like to be healthy. I don’t ever want to go back to that old lifestyle. It truly affected every part of my life.

At one point, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t stand for my children to hug me. Just being touched was painful. My whole body felt swelled all the time. My throat hurt. And half the time, I couldn’t remember things. 

Can you believe that food and my lifestyle caused me so much pain? 

Processed food, high fructose corn syrup, gluten, dairy, and aspartame (found in diet drinks) was all harming me. Even though some of my foods were considered “healthy".  It took many months of food elimination, along with food research, for my body to heal. 

So what did I do?

1. Incorporated more vegetables and fruit in my diet.
2. Replaced my old oil with coconut oil.
3. Started using himalaya salt.
4. Stopped eating fast food and processed food regularly. 
5. Completely eliminated gluten, aspartame, and high fructose corn syrup.
6. Limited dairy. I can tolerate it occasionally. 
7. Increased my water consumption.
8. Added exercise into my daily routine.
9. Started using meditation for stress management.
10. Changed my mindset on food and my health.
11. Supplemented with Turmeric, fish oil, and Vitamin D.
12. Learned to read labels and understand ingredients.
13. Walked more in addition to my workouts.
14. Stopped sitting so much.
15. Later added in Shakeology.

It didn’t happen over night, but my body did heal. Now I don’t feel like I “have to” workout or eat healthy, but rather I “get to”. Every day I am so grateful that I received a second chance with my health. Food is medicine. Chose wisely, my friends.

If this all seems overwhelming and you need some help. Send me a message or comment below. It would be my pleasure to share recipes with you, encouragement, workout ideas, and  just help you feel better. 

Blessings and love, 

Candida

Doing What Is Right Verses What Is Easy

I was all settled in with my book, ready to enjoy my evening. When it dawned on me that I didn’t write my blog before work this morning. Nor did I exercise. Right away a ton of excuses entered my mind. Who will know that I didn’t workout out today? It’s not like the challenge group has even started yet. I’m tired. I’ll start again on Monday. But as the list of excuses poured out, my inner warrior whispered, “You will know and you will be disappointed in yourself. Do this for yourself.”

This inner struggle to do what is easy or what is best for me, reminded of how my life used to be. Years ago, I ate fast food twice a day, every day, for breakfast and lunch. Why? Because it was easy. Taking this easy road continuously, however, made me sick. I suffered for years with a horrible rash on my arms, legs, and hands. It was so painful. The inflammation was widespread throughout my body, and I was sick to my stomach all the time. My body ached so badly that it hurt me to hug my children. I couldn’t work and most days I struggled to even get out of the bed. 

It never occurred to me that my food was making me sick. Once I discovered the foods contributing to my overload of inflammation, I totally changed my diet. For months, I researched foods. It was hard to eliminate so many of my comfort foods. But once I committed to doing what is best for me, even when it’s hard and more difficult, then my body healed. 

I know what it feels like to sit in a room with a doctor, and feel hopeless. I’ve been there. So many times they have told me, “I’m sorry, Candida. There is nothing else we can do for you.”

It breaks my heart that so many people suffer with debilitating health conditions. I feel it is my responsibility to share what has helped me and encourage others to take control of their own health. My every struggle, trial, and hardship has been preparing me for this work. God showed me how to overcome my circumstances, and He will show you as well. As long as there is breath in our bodies, there is hope. We only get this one amazing, beautiful life. Let’s make it great!

P.S. When I went to do my workout, my internet would not stream the video. I could have given up, but instead I put on some soothing music and relaxed with some yoga. Sometimes we just have to modify it to meet our needs. On another note, I’m absolutely loving the new Core de Force workout from Beachbody. I have a challenge group starting on November 14 and I would love for you to join me. If you would like for me to help you take this step toward better health, please comment below or send me an email to candidasullivan@yahoo.com.

God bless, 

Candida

How to Create Lasting Change

Usually when I’m feeling down, it’s because of one of two things. I’m either a) not listening to God, or b) I am resisting the changes He wants me to make in my life. When I know what I need to do, but yet I continue to make excuses, then I’m only hurting myself. 

According to Tony Robbins, there are three principals of lasting change. 

1. Raise your standards. 
2. Change your limiting beliefs
3. Change your strategy 

First, we have to want to change. We have to decide what we want out of our life as well as what we don’t want. When I found myself sick, barely able to walk, plagued with brain fog, I knew that I had to change the way I was eating. My first step to getting well was deciding to adapt the gluten free lifestyle. So I took action immediately and excluded it from my diet. To heal my body, I knew that I needed healing foods. Therefore, I raised the standards about what I would allow into my body. If it doesn’t meet my guidelines, I don’t eat it. 

Secondly, I changed my limiting beliefs about food. Instead of seeing doughnuts and fast food as something delicious, I saw it as foods that were making me sick. Eliminating them from my diet would help me get well. The fruits and vegetables that I once thought were expensive and time consuming suddenly transformed to me. Now I see them as healing medicine for my body. We really can’t put a price on good health. 

Lastly, we have to change our strategy. The way I was eating was not working for me. My body was consumed with inflammation. So once I started researching my food options and educating myself on the different types of food, I was able to heal myself. It took several attempts. I had to change my strategy several times, but I didn’t give up. 

It’s been three years, and I am still gluten free. While my inflammation levels are excellent, I know that if I was to fall back into my old habits, then I would be right back to where I started. When I am tempted, I remember why I decided to make the change and it helps me to stay on track. 

God bless, 

Candida

Getting Back Into the Routine

It is so hard to get back into swing of things. Due to my surgery, I’ve not exercised in three weeks and I’ve not been getting up early. Needless to say, I’m dragging this morning. I would love to go back to bed and sleep for the additional two hours before I have to get ready for work. If I did that, however, I wouldn’t have time to exercise before I go to work or write this blog. And both of those things are important to me. 

If I take the first few hours of my day for me, then the rest of my day just goes better. I love the way exercising makes me feel. When I start my day feeling accomplished, strong, and calm then I'm happier and in a better mood all day. 

While I believe God can heal our bodies, I also believe that He wants us to do the best that we can to take care of ourselves. When I take the time to eat healthy, drink enough water, start my day with Shakeology, exercise, and prayer, then I feel so much better. The opposite is true for when I eat unhealthy food, skip my workouts, and forget to pray. On those days, I feel just feel bad, and the feeling usually stays with me all day.

In order to have more good days, I try to develop better habits and make them part of my daily routine. When I do the same things over and over, then they become a habit and are a part of my routine. Then, I don’t forget to do them. 

They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit, and in 21 days we can also destroy our good habits. Before my surgery, I was doing so well, and now I feel as if I am starting over. Even though I enjoyed sleeping in and getting some extra sleep, I am also so grateful for the health to start working out again.

Instead of beating myself up, I am looking at this as the first day to my new journey. Would you like to start with me? We can do this together. 

Because I needed the reminder. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida

The Struggle is Real

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, nor face my day. Every thing is still a struggle. While the pain in my hand is better, the compensation for my left hand is causing additional pain on the right side of my body. I had a massage yesterday that was so painful. The amount of knots in my muscles was shocking.  

I spent most of my morning talking to God. The enemy wants to silence me. Usually when I feel this way I don’t write, nor post on my blog or Facebook. I give myself time to figure it all out before I share it. But this time, I feel as if God wants me to share the journey—while I am in the midst of the trial. I hate this because my emotions are all over the place. I feel like I am on a roller coaster ride—with constant ups and downs. 

But isn’t that life? We all experience moments that take our breath away. We have all experienced fear, pain, uncertainty, and feeling of being completely overwhelmed. No one is perfect or exempt from these feelings. And we are not alone. 

It doesn’t mean, however, that we should embrace the negative feelings either and continue to listen to the devil. He wants us to quit, get mad at God, and ultimately turn away from Him. What we need to do, however, is spend more time with God and figure out how we can help ourselves.  

In an effort to figure it out, I decided to break down the overwhelming feeling. 

1. What is causing you to feel overwhelmed?
2. What can you do, right now, to help? 

My first step was taking action. I made myself get up and just start doing things. When I started looking at everything that “I felt” needed to be completed today my list was long. But as I started to break it down, I realized that most of the tasks were simple. Checking things off of my to-do list helped me so much, because I could see progress. After days of lying in bed and resting, my mind was missing the feeling of accomplishment.  

I also miss exercising terribly. It is my pain reliever as well as a mood booster. I need some normalcy in my life. So I am ready to get back into the swing of things. Who would like to join me for a free 2 week trial? Beachbody on Demand has tons of free workouts that you can stream to your computer or smart phone. The FREE group starts on October 31, 2016. Message me or Emily on Facebook or send an email to candidasullivan@yahoo.com for more details. 

Together we will support, encourage, and motivate each other! This will also give you an idea of what an accountability partner is and how the challenge groups work.  Please don’t think you have to be in a certain place in your life to start. We will all have different challenges, and we will help each other figure out how to overcome them. 

When I focus on others and how I can help them, then my problems and pain are not nearly as overwhelming. 

Blessings, 

Candida

How to Stop Emotional Eating

Do you reach for food when you are upset? More specifically, do you reach for comfort food?Emotional eating is very common. When we are upset about something, it is only natural for us to seek pleasure. We want the pain to stop, so we try to find a way to feel better immediately. This usually has us eating large of amounts of junk food. For a few moments, the sugar or high fat snack gives us pleasure, so we indulge and eat way more than we planned. Because comfort food has nothing to do with being hungry. 

I am guilty of this as well. Potato chips are my comfort food. If I’m having a bad day, I will usually talk myself into a serving or three. Because in my painful state I believe that I deserve to eat potato chips. While it may make me feel better for a short period of time, the long term effects of this behavior will only bring more pain into my life. When I overindulge in too much junk food, my body responds with inflammation. My digestive system gets upset and I have horrible bouts of nausea. This brings more pain into my life, so I go searching for more comfort. It’s a horrible, self-destructing cycle.

A few years ago, when my body had had enough and decided to rebel on me, I was forced to make some changes. My diet was one of the first things the doctor wanted me to look at. He asked me to eliminate processed food, gluten, and then dairy. The first 30 days was so hard! I realized that I had emotional attachments to food. It made me cry to not eat doughnuts and fast food. I remember crying in the grocery store and thinking that I could not do it. But the alternative to not doing it was remaining sick. So I gave myself a pep talk and worked on changing my thoughts about food. 

I soon realized that willpower would help me to avoid gluten and processed foods for a few days or weeks, but it would not work long term. In order to make a lasting change, I knew that I needed to change my mind-set. That’s when I began educating myself on ingredients and taking a hard look at the nutrition of my food. What I discovered both terrified and delighted me. Seeing all the harmful chemicals in my favorite foods helped me to change my thoughts about it. It no longer sounded appealing to me. Before every bite I asked myself one question, “Is this harmful or helpful to me?” This has helped me to reach for more whole foods that actually heal my body instead of hurting it. 

Now if I’m having a bad day, I have a whole list of things that provide me comfort that has nothing to do with food. 

1. Walk. Walking and talking to my Lord always helps me. 
2. Bath. Soaking in Epsom salt and essential oils is so relaxing. 
3. Prayer. When I take my troubles to the Lord, He always helps me. 
4. Read. Reading the Bible or another book of encouragement helps me. 
5. Breathe. Deep breathing calms me. 
6. Write. Getting my feelings out and on paper helps me to see my situation with a different perspective.
7. Watch a sunrise or sunset. Sitting in nature and appreciating God’s beauty helps me.
8. Sing. Singing comforting hymns helps me to get my mind back to where it needs to be.
9. Talk. Sometimes talking to a friend about our problems helps us to see if differently.
10. Run or exercise. Cardio helps me to release pain killing endorphins. 

The next time you find yourself reaching for some comfort foods, try one of the things on my list and see if it helps you as well. Then work on making your own list. 

When we change our thoughts, we are able to change our life. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida