My Health Plan

Did you know?

Inflammation is the root cause of many diseases. In fact, arthritis is really just inflammation of the joints. The same is true for heart disease. It is inflammation of the arteries. If we adopt a healthy diet and add in foods to help us eliminate inflammation, instead of consuming the foods that actually cause it, we will be able to dramatically boost our health. 

At one point, my whole body felt swollen. So I eliminated the top inflammation causing foods. I stopped eating dairy, corn or soybean oil, gluten, nitrates and cut back on processed food and sugar. Also, I don't eat fast food. If I do, I pay for it.

Then, I added in foods to help me fight inflammation. Turmeric is a spice: therefore, in my opinion, it is food. I take a supplement of 1,500 mg daily. Drinking a superfoods shake for breakfast has also helped me to add in more of the antioxidants that I need to fight the inflammation. I strive for 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, 4 servings of lean protein, and 1 serving of the good fat through avocados and nuts daily. I try to keep my complex carbohydrates to 2 servings daily. This is the best combination for me. 

If I eat dairy, too many carbs, and too much sugar, my body responds with inflammation. This causes me pain. I have learned the better that I eat, the better I will feel. 

With the weather changing, it is even harder for me to stay out of pain. The cold weather really affects my muscles. So I have to work harder to feel better. Yoga has become my best friend. I woke up yesterday morning with my sciatic nerve bothering me. It comes on suddenly. Before I went to work yesterday, I used a foam roller to work on my achy spots, and then I did yoga for pain relief. This morning I feel so much better. Sometimes we just have to experiment and find out what works for us. 

In the last few weeks so many of you have inquired about my health plan, and this is it. If you’d like to discuss it further or if you have questions, please let me know. It would be my pleasure to help you! <3

Love and blessings, 

Candida

My Catalyst For Change

If we want to move forward in our life, then we have to pay attention to the stories we are telling ourselves. I used to have all kinds of stories that I replayed in my mind constantly. Instead of moving me forward, toward the life and goals that I wanted, my thoughts were moving me further and further away each day. Not all of our thoughts are the truth. 

At one point, I believed and accepted the fact that I was sick, and I truly felt that it was not possible for me to get better. I remember the feeling of hopelessness and misery. Instead of fighting against my problems, I embraced them. I had a negative attitude about exercise. At that point, I could barely lift my arms over my head, so working out was in my category of impossible. 

I also had negative thoughts about food. Healthy foods didn’t make me happy. Plus they were expensive. So in my mind, it was smarter to buy the junk food because it was cheaper and it made me happy. Until, it made me very sick. 

For 10 months, I lay in my bed in so much pain that I could barely move and so depressed that I thought my life was over. It was during this painful time in my life that I changed the story I was telling myself. 

We can change in an instant. But in order to make the change that we need, we have to be honest with ourselves. For me, buying junk food was not cheaper. It caused me to not be able to work for 10 months, and wreaked so much havoc on my body that I could barely eat. I lost weight and had severe problems with my stomach and low blood sugar. Not to mention, all my doctor bills. 

That was by far the worst time of my life. I cried every day and was so miserable. I never want anyone else to go through with what I did. So I talk about my struggles, and hope that it will help someone else. Because I wish that someone would have helped me during that time, and interrupted my negative thoughts with the truth.

Before I changed my lifestyle, I was on several prescription drugs daily. They made me feel horrible. One day, I took my medicine and then couldn’t remember where my kids were. I wondered if I had taken them to school or not. That was the day that I decided I would not tolerate taking all that medicine any longer. It took me months, but I was able to get off of every single pill. 

God gives us all a choice on how we want to live our lives. It’s an individual battle. We have to decide what we want for our lives. Don’t let the devil entice you with his lies. Search for the truth and ask God to reveal it to you. He will. He revealed it to me and showed me what I needed to do. When I became willing to make changes, He helped me every step of the way. Now I praise Him for delivering me out of my misery. He will deliver you as well. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

How We Can Help Ourselves

It’s amazing sometimes at how our thoughts about certain things can totally change. I used to look at exercise as a chore. It was something that I felt like I had to do, or needed to do. Usually, I grumbled through the whole thing and would not allow myself to enjoy the process. 

My eating habits were the same way. I had negative thoughts about healthy food. The things that I use to tell myself, are appalling to me now. Because I took my health for granted and abused my body every single day. I shutter to think of where I would be today if I had stayed on that path. 

Now, I see my health and life differently. I am so blessed that I get to workout. I am healthy. I have energy to do the things that I need and want to do. 

God created our bodies to be amazing and self-healing. Instead of fighting against ourselves, what if we tried to do everything in our power to feel our absolute best each day? What if we take the time each day to make sure that we are eating nutritious food to fuel our bodies? What if we take the time to move our bodies, and reap the amazing benefits of exercise—and nurture our thoughts as well? 

Before I started my healthier lifestyle this was an overview of my life. I had a headache every day, throat pain, brain fog, joint pain, muscle spasms, numbness and tingling in my arms and legs, muscle weakness, digestive issues, slurred speech, rash, and depression. Some days all I had to do was take my kids to school and I struggled to get out of bed long enough to do that. I cried every day and slept most of the time. 

My life today is so much different than it was a few years ago. While I still have alignment issues caused from Amniotic Band Syndrome, I don’t suffer with the other conditions because they were caused by food allergies and lack of movement. Now I can do the things that I want to do, and live the life that I’ve dreamed of. 

If you are tired of hearing me talk about a healthier lifestyle and exercise, I’m sorry. It has changed my life and I just can’t stop talking about it and praising my Lord. And I want to share the amazing benefits with you.

When I was in my sickbed, terrified that I wouldn’t get better I begged God to help me, and to give me another chance at life. At that point, I was willing to do anything. He didn’t just reach down and heal me, but He taught me what to do so I could learn to overcome the pain. Sometimes He wants us to put in a little effort as well. We have to do everything in our power to get better and then trust Him to bless our efforts. 

If you are ready to take a step toward your goals, send me a message or leave me a comment. I would love the opportunity to help you.

Love and blessings, 

Candida

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?

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

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 

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

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

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

Sugar: Is it really harmful to us?

Did you know that sugar is highly addictive? It is also responsible for various health problems. I didn’t really believe that it was dangerous to my health, until I stopped eating it for a while and then reintroduced it. 

When we had our homecoming at church, I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. My mom made gluten free chicken and dumplings just for me. I ate those, as well as sweet potato casserole, and hash brown casserole. I topped it all off by eating chocolate cake. Right away, I felt sick from the sugar overload. 

Even though I had just finished eating and was completely full, the craving for more carbs and sugar intensified. And I became so sleepy. So a few hours later, I ate another piece of cake (to make me feel better). At the time, my mouth was really dry and I just felt bad. By the time that I ate the third piece of cake several hours later, I felt sort of high. I was a little dizzy and all I wanted was more sugar. 

The effects the sugar had on me was scary. The next morning, I woke up craving more sugar. It was as if my body was begging for it. Instead of fixing the french toast that my body wanted, I made a chocolate vegan shake from Shakeology and added in peanut butter and banana. By the time that I finished my shake, my sugar cravings were gone and they didn’t reappear. But the whole process concerned me.

From the moment that I took the first bite, I felt as if I was out of control. It was a downhill spiral of being on a sugar high that resulted in me making bad choices. I ate more food in that one day, than I normally eat in several days.

This whole process opened my eyes. The enemy comes at us in many different ways. He wants to make us sick, and will use whatever vices that he can find to derail us. We need to watch and pray that we don’t fall into his traps. Below is several articles that further explain the harmful effects of too much sugar.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/dangers-of-sugar

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/how-sugar-affects-the-body

https://draxe.com/sugar-addiction/

If you'd like to work with me on becoming healthier, send me an email to candidasullivan@yahoo.com. I will help you find a workout program, nutrition plan, and encourage you along the way. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida

Why You Should Make Yourself a Priority

How often have you tried to drink from an empty cup? We give our time, energy, and love so freely to others, but we often withhold it from ourselves. Where are you on your list of priorities? If we are honest, we will often discover that we don’t even appear on our own list. 

We make time to care for the children, time for our home, but we very seldom ever take a few moments for ourselves. Years ago, I remember being stressed out all the time. I would go to bed exhausted and wake up exhausted. Every part of my day seemed overwhelming. And so many times I prayed to just make it through the day. 

My problem was that I gave all of my energy, time, and love to other people. Every day I continued to give, without ever adding anything back in. I didn’t take time for me. Honestly, I thought taking 30 minutes to exercise, when I was already exhausted, was pointless. I didn’t see how my food would make a difference in how I felt. After all, I wasn’t hungry. Nor did I feed my mind and soul with valuable information.

I got stuck in the survival mode and barely made it through each day. I woke up in just enough time to get ready. My mornings were often rushed and hated. And I wasn’t happy with myself. 

It wasn’t until I decided to make a change in my life, that I found peace. Through it all, I learned to love myself. 

So what did I do?

1. Make the time to exercise. Just a few minutes a day helped me to clear my mind. It boosted my creativity and helped me to deal with my problems. 
2. Change my diet. Junk food has no nutritional value at all. It depletes our energy instead of helping our bodies to supply it. Superfoods, however, do the exact opposite. They fuel our body for peak performance.
3. Read something every day to encourage my soul and feed my mind. Reading scriptures and personal development books helped me to change my mind-set. 
4. Dream. Have personal goals and a plan to achieve them. We all need something to dream about and work towards. 
5. Realize that when I take care of me, I have so much more to give others. When I do all of the above, I’m more patient with my kids, more fun to be around, and have a better outlook on life. 

Decide to make the change today. Don’t put it off another day. Send me an email (candidasullivan@yahoo.com) and I will help you find a workout program that will fit into your life, a nutrition plan to help you feel your absolute best, and books to encourage and inspire you. This is your life, don’t settle for anything less than your dream life. 

Have an amazing day!

Candida