Hi! I’m Juniata Ford.
I recall when I didn’t think twice about what I ate. Instead, I was able to eat just about anything that I wanted without gaining any weight. At that time, the only metric I used to gauge my fitness was whether I became overweight, and I made a conscious effort not to allow myself to get fat. For me, this was easy because I held my weight well for the most part. Although I was thirty pounds heavier than I am today, I was never diagnosed as overweight by any doctor. Even better, each time I had one of my four kids, I lost my pregnancy weight fairly quickly. Yet, I was metabolically unhealthy and didn’t even know it!
It was not until I reached age 40 that I began to experience health challenges with an onset of hypertension and chronic inflammation that caused me to experience rapid weight gain out of the blue. During that time, I had no energy and lacked the motivation to get up from my couch beyond going to work every day and grabbing quick, processed dinner options or fast foods for the family on my way home from the office. Then the next day, the cycle would start all over again.
I soon realized that if I didn’t change, I wouldn’t be around much longer to help my husband raise our four kids! The thought of this scared the heck out of me. So, I decided to address these health challenges naturally by adopting a healthier lifestyle that involved eating whole, anti-inflammatory foods and regularly incorporating exercise into my schedule (yes, even on the days when I didn’t want to).
These simple lifestyle adjustments not only had an immediate positive impact on the trajectory of my health, but they allowed me to be an example of what was possible for others in my life, and I began to guide others in making the same changes. This has been the most rewarding part of all. Today, I live an anti-inflammatory diet lifestyle and choose to eat lean meats or other sources of protein, nutrient-dense carbohydrates, which mainly consist of green leafy vegetables and fruit, and healthy fats like avocado and tree nuts. I also cook with non-hydrogenated oils such as olive, coconut, and avocado oil instead of the vegetable and canola oils I previously used.
Because of these adjustments, these days, I no longer experience swollen ankles and lack of energy in the evenings, and even better, my blood pressure has been consistently normal for more than four years without the need for medication.
Food is indeed medicine, my friends. And I consider teaching others how to achieve better eating and fitness lifestyle habits my purpose!
In this blog, I commit to teaching you better approaches to health, fitness, and overall wellness! I look forward to sharing your journey with you.
Stay tuned, and cheers to better health!