Cancer Story

You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important! You is a Thriver!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 5 Comments

Now, didn’t that “Help”? Let’s push on with better grammar…

I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.

I first shared these thoughts a few years ago, but I’ve decided it’s time to revisit this bit of common sense and encouragement.

I first thought to name this page of my blog “Stayin’ Alive!” Love those Bee Gees! Besides, if one doesn’t accomplish at least this much in regards to one’s health, all other attempts are pretty much useless, if you get my drift.

I soon ditched that idea. There’s more to life than stayin’ alive! What’s the point of being here if your quality of life stinks? I decided on “Thrive!”

I got serious about my health during pregnancy. Up until that point, I’d stuck strictly to the See Food Diet. If I saw it, I ate it. Tall and slim, it never seemed to affect me. My dad once told me, as he watched me eat, that someday I’d stop growing up and start growing out and then be sorry about my appetite! I ate three square meals a day – big ones! No one had better leave a box of doughnuts anywhere near me.

But now, I knew that whatever I fed myself, I also fed the baby. Yikes! I spent a lot of time at the library. The baby came (all eight pounds and three ounces of her) along with an epiphany. I needed to keep her healthy till adulthood. And, (DUH!) why feed my child one way and myself another? The adult population seemed to be made up of a bunch of sick people, anyway.

I recently read of an umbilical cord study which showed that a couple of hundred toxins were detected in the cords and the samples were not taken from moms who were addicted to drugs or alcohol or had experienced anything most people would consider hazardous.  They were only moms who used foods, shampoos and body products that most in our society walk into stores and buy without batting an eyelash.

Take a look at this photo. Note your first impression.

Lemonade In Gas Tank www.midweststoryteller.com

That’s the image that came to me. We can’t run on bad fuel! Yet, we live in a country where no one seems to grasp the concept.  Or, if they do, they don’t care!

Can you imagine? Your friend Gwendolyn tells you that she hates the smell of gasoline, dislikes waiting in line at the service station and once even dribbled gasoline into her brand new shoes. She’s switching. From now on, she’ll run her car on lemonade. She likes lemonade. Tastes better, smells better and isn’t quite so icky between the toes.

You stifle a snort of laughter and get down to business. Somebody’s gotta talk Gwennie out of this madness. Doesn’t she know she’ll ruin a valuable machine with a crazy notion like that?

Gwendolyn won’t listen. Her plan is good for her, she insists. She leaves. You call several friends. After howling with laughter over Gwendolyn’s stupidity, some compassionate soul in the group says, “Listen! Don’t you think we ought to call her mother or somebody? I mean, somebody’s gotta stop her!”

I gave myself a “talkin’ to”. It went something like this: “You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to learn. You are important to your family and you need to be the best you can be.”

Poor Smuffy went kicking and screaming all the way, suffering through strange herbs drying on the kitchen counter, whole wheat everything and tinctures galore. He told me once that the thing that kept him healthy was positive confession. Each time he’d cough or sniffle, I’d come running with some form of what he termed “stump water” and he’d call out, “I’m okay. I’m OKAY!”

Despite my efforts, I got that call from the doctor nobody wants – a cancer diagnosis. I’d studied various aspects of health, but hadn’t paid much attention to what may open the doors to cancer. I had no family history and besides, I ate good stuff! With my terrific appetite, I ate the good stuff and had room left over for some of the bad stuff.

People told me I was too young for cancer. I asked myself, “How old is old enough?” The answer, I concluded, was NEVER! After surgery, I endured chemo and radiation as “insurance”, more or less, according to the doctors. I’m sure there will be a future blog post on that nasty little interlude.

People like me are called “survivors”. I rejected that term from the beginning. It left me with an image of someone emerging from a jungle – burned, bitten, half-naked and hunted – running for a lifeboat that may or may not spring a leak. By the grace of God, I’m a WINNER! I am kind to myself. I am smart enough to learn. I am important to God and my family! I’m going to thrive! 

I’ve learned much over the years, and it has turned my health around.  In blog posts here on my Food Freedom page, you’ll be receiving a lot of great health information to chew on so that you can make your own decisions and take charge of your health.  I am not your doctor and don’t pretend to be, but only hope to share helpful information.  You’re smart enough to do your own research.  You may see a few posts with some foods that contain ingredients that I’ve eliminated from my diet as I’ve grown wiser and learned what the real “frankenfoods” are.  I’ll be editing those to help you out as much as I can.

So…about your reaction to the photo. Did you want to scream, “Stop, you idiot!”? Yet, we, almost never stop friends when it comes to food. Cars can be replaced. You only get one body. Why treat the finest, most intricately-designed, valuable piece of machinery ever invented – the human body – as though it were disposable?

Since the purpose of Midwest Storyteller is to take you to a better place, I want to share what I did as a first step. I gave up soda. Why pollute my body with a non-food item? A sugary soda has as many calories as a full meal. (Sorry, but I’d rather have food.) Artificially sweetened, it’s dangerous stuff, and I want to thrive! It’s been decades since I’ve had a soda. I don’t miss it. I do enjoy, however, Stayin’ Alive!

Americans have a big problem. Take a look at this aisle in my local grocery store.

Soda Aisle www.midweststoryteller.com

That’s an entire aisle! All soda! They don’t devote this much space to bread, meat, cheese, etc.  Yes, America has a problem, but you don’t have to.  We can’t fuel up on junk because we feel like it or because, like Mount Everest, it’s there.  We are as capable of making the right choices with our bodies as we are with our cars.

Okay, enough tough love. I believe in you. You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to listen to the “real you”. You are important to God and your family.

You are also strong! Here’s the challenge: Choose one thing – just one – and take that step. Stick with it for thirty days. Whether it is to give up soda, lay off the sugar, exercise for 20-30 minutes three times a week or get more sleep, you can do it!  (That last one is a personal struggle of mine if you came here for true confessions.)

Since I first shared this idea with you, I’ve been introduced to the common sense, sustainable world of Trim Healthy Mama.  After a couple of years reveling in not having to exclude any food groups (except for “frankenfood”), enjoying hearty fat-based meals, satisfying my muscles and hormones with carb-based meals and learning how to make yummy desserts while kicking sugar to the curb, I became a Certified Lifestyle Coach.  Ooh, did I mention that I lost that last annoying ten pounds I thought I’d never lose without constantly listening to my tummy growl?  The Trim Healthy lifestyle is something you can definitely do all on your own and I’d recommend that you start with the book, The Trim Healthy Mama Plan and begin your journey.  It’s written so anyone can understand the science of “why” and without that, we all lose motivation.

If you do decide you’re better off not going it alone, contact me.  I’m happy to coach you privately in person or by phone and if you’re within driving distance at our local weekly group sessions.

Comment, letting me know you’ve chosen one way to live a better life. Or, share something you’ve already done that might encourage others. In thirty days, comment again, letting me know that you’re not only Stayin’ Alive, but determined to Thrive!

SUBSCRIBE, because it won’t be long before I throw myself a little online party, celebrating the twenty-four years that stretch between me and that cancer diagnosis.

Big Announcement Today!

~ Midwest Storyteller

[NOTE:  It is my understanding that there is a weight loss plan out there using the phrase “food freedom” in promotion.  Unaware of this, I chose the name “Food Freedom with Coach Barb”.  The two are in no way connected. Just providing clarity for my readers.] 

I’ve been looking forward to making this announcement and sharing my journey with you.  If you’ve been with me from the beginning, you know that health is a top priority in my life.  I have shared part of my health story here on the blog, and though some of it is scary, I really haven’t told the whole story.

Years ago (I’m thrilled to say) a cancer diagnosis played a part.  If you’d like to catch up on that part of my life, you can read about it here and here.

There are things more difficult to endure than a cancer diagnosis and its subsequent surgery and treatments.  Stage 3 (I’m talkin’ in the pits, folks) Adrenal Fatigue is one of them and I can honestly say that a couple of times during that awful phase I found myself fearful of not making it through the night. 

When I talk to people who seem to care little about taking care of themselves, I sometimes find myself thinking (not sarcastically), “Well, maybe you just haven’t been sick enough yet.”  I have. 

Now back to chemotherapy.  I knew then, but have really come to understand since, what a hormone disrupter that is – as if we women needed another one – right?  As I sat in the chemo room trying not to watch the drip, I’d hear the other women talking about how much weight they’d gained during chemo.  Frightening tales of up to forty-five pounds had me shaking in my blue vinyl recliner!

I didn’t gain forty-five pounds, but I did gain fifteen – the fifteen that would not budge – the fifteen that kept trying to turn into twenty.

I’m tall, but small boned, and excess weight on my body hurts.  It pulls me down.  Because of my height, no one really regarded me as “fat” because I gained it all from the waist down.  This whole new world of walking past a loaf of bread and gaining five pounds was foreign and frightening territory.  I’d spent my whole life eating whatever I wanted and not gaining an ounce.

I joined that group that measures everything and counts “points”.  I stuck to it for years.  It worked – twice, in fact.  Still, at the root of the matter was the fact that I love food.  I may have left the farm, but I took my farm-girl appetite with me, if you know what I mean.  I want seconds – possibly thirds.  I eat.  The portion control police were after me all day long and in the long run, my blood work showed that the plan did me no favors.

When adrenal fatigue showed up and my holistic doctor advised me to give up sugar and grains, my family (the supportive little darlings) told me I couldn’t do it.  After all, they did know me as the Bread & Pasta Queen.  I did do it.  I lost a few pounds, too!  Then it began to creep back on again.  Was there no end?

Then, a couple of years ago, a friend of mine started losing weight.  What struck me most was the fact that she seemed deliriously happy doing it.  Normally, the first thing a dieter loses is their sense of humor.  She’d bring food to gatherings that tasted SO YUMMY and she’d lost over thirty pounds!  When I asked about the recipe, she’d name off a string of ingredients that fit my doctor’s recommendations to the letter.  So, why was she dropping pounds while I couldn’t wait to get home and get the too-tight jeans off?

That’s when she told me about Trim Healthy Mama.  Later, I borrowed her THM book and tip-toed in. It all made such logical sense and avoided extremes.  It didn’t take away food groups.  It simply showed me how to stop duel-fueling my body with fats and carbohydrates at the same time and how to feed my body what all those hormones needed so I could not only walk past the bread, but stop and sniff it and even have a slice!

After a year of baby-stepping and learning how the plan was ideal not only for weight loss, but for those who wanted great cancer prevention like I did, but is ideal for people with diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiac and any number of other issues, I bought the books, including cookbooks and jumped in.

The first recipe I tried in my “Trim Healthy Table” cookbook was Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake.  Oh, my goodness!  If I could eat like this and trim down, I was in!  Smuffy gave it the thumbs up, too.

Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake www.midweststoryteller.com

Today, I have the troublesome weight off.  (Actually, I think I may go ahead and drop another three to four pounds.)  I feel great and this may be my biggest announcement of all today – I’m eating!  I eat seconds.  I eat thirds.  I try to avoid out-and-out calorie abuse, but I don’t measure my portions.  I eat butter!  Repeat after me – B U T T E R!  I pour olive oil on my salad and top it with cheese and nuts.  I eat carbs.  I was made for fats and carbs and am so thankful THM has shown me how to eat them in a trimming way.  It’s so sensible and safe that pregnant and nursing moms can feel free to jump right in! And guys, just call yourself a Trim Healthy Papa (or Dude) because this plan works for you, too.

Knowing that I could be of help to so many others, I decided to become a certified coach through Trim Healthy Mama.  I’ll be sharing lots of recipes and information here on the blog and should you need more, I offer group and private coaching, cooking demonstrations and more.

Click here for a printable information sheet to see if Trim Healthy Mama is right for you.  (It’s also available on the right sidebar.) I can help you via phone and email if you live outside my area.  For dates and times for group meetings or for private coaching, send me an email at barb@midweststoryteller.com

For pricing and discounts, including your first session of coaching absolutely free, plus available discounts, click here. 

If your church group, homeschool group or organization is located in my area, I would be happy to speak to people who are ready to find food freedom, get their health back and if they need to lose the weight – get trim!

Trim Healthy Mama originated when two moms (originally from Down Under and now in the hills of Tennessee) found themselves DONE with diets.  These sisters wrote a book for their friends that became a best-seller because the simple science and healthy guidelines worked for so many people. They now have the #1 health podcast out there, plus books, curriculum and their own line of healthy food and other things that will make your body better!

Meet Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison in this short video where you’ll learn a little more about THM.

That’s my big announcement!  Coming up, I’ll be sharing healthy recipes and providing notations concerning recipes that have already appeared on the blog and whether or not they fit the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  I’ll be making recommendations from THM recipes and providing lots of information on my new Food Freedom Facebook page where I’ll share THM knowledge, recipes, tips and all sorts of other goodies.  Please “like” and “follow” at https://www.facebook.com/Food-Freedom-THM-Certified-Lifestyle-Coaching-100703354727086/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Most of all, Happy Eating!

How’s your New Year’s Resolution coming along? Was it, once again, to either lose weight or eat healthier? Why do you think you fail? I’d love to hear your comments!

I’m Still Here!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 10 Comments

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. It’s late in the day for me to be saying “Hey there!” to all my readers, but this day has been doubly special and I wanted to share.

For those of you who may not be close enough to hear me shouting from the rooftops for the last five months, I am pleased as punch to announce that I am soon going to be a grandma for the first time! I spent the afternoon at a lovely baby shower for my radiant daughter, watching family and friends bless her and welcome our new little one.

Becoming Grandma www.midweststoryteller.com

Is that exciting, or WHAT!?

The thing that makes it doubly sweet is that today is also an anniversary for me. No, it’s not the day I married Smuffy.

Twenty years ago, I got that call from the doctor that no one wants. When you hear, “The biopsy does show cancer”, everything shifts. Life is different. I was young. My daughter was not yet fifteen. I was homeschooling and to me it was a calling. Up until then, when I overheard people with health problems saying, “Well, you know, I just take one day at a time”, I thought it was canned conversation – something you say when you don’t know what else to say. Over the next several months, I learned what it meant to take one day at a time – to do what I could when I could and let everything else go.

The world calls us cancer survivors. I refused to adopt that term for myself. In my mind, it forms a picture somewhat similar to someone who has been rescued from months lost in a jungle after a plane crash and crawled back to civilization on their belly and elbows – someone who will never be the same again. By the grace of God and carried on the prayers of family and friends, I came through not as someone battered, scarred and fearful, but as a winner! The enemy that attacked me is defeated and the trophy is mine!

You’ve probably heard it said that the best revenge is a life well lived. What better revenge can I have than to mentor other people with their health and help them to thrive? If I can help someone avoid the path leading to failing health, then I am a success.

Two decades later, I got to glory in this shower welcoming my grandchild rather than…well, you know…the alternative.

So, I sent myself a card because…why shouldn’t I? I couldn’t let this day close without inviting you all to join me in wishing myself a “Happy 20th Healthyversary!”

May you learn, grow and thrive in body mind and spirit! God is good and I am blessed!

You can find more of my story on my Thrive! page and lots of healthy recipes and great healthy tips are always being added to my Food Freedom page.