Have you been at a season in your life where you knew if you didn’t make changes the future might not have been too pleasant? You know a time when you knew if something didn’t change that you might have a heart attack, nervous breakdown, or worse. A time when you felt so stressed you could barely keep up with everyday activities. That was our family a year ago.
Wake Up Call
A year ago we were heading on an amazing adventure to France. We won this trip and were so excited but little did we know our bodies and lives were at a critical point. We enjoyed the adventure, met new friends, got to sit and have conversation with some incredible mentors and millionaires. But during the whole trip we were exhausted physically, overwhelmed emotionally, and simply not enjoying it as much as we could because of our physical health. We had a wake up call about our health and about our future.
Workaholics
See for more than 15 years we both had burned the candle at both ends. In fact 10 of those years you could all us workaholics. Although one lucrative business was developed, we lost a lot through that 10 year season. Then we got some training, had kids and found a bit more balance in our marriage and relationships but our health was still not a huge priority.
Releasing the Stressor
After that trip to France my husband made the decision to release his corporate 60 plus hour always on call job. Shortly after that we would both become pretty sick and I would have a miscarriage at 20 weeks. Our bodies didn’t immediately recover once the stress and grief lifted. We both carried 40 plus pounds of extra weight, struggled with anxiety, stress, and blood sugar regulation- he was worse than me. We finally had to wake up to the fact that years of high stress, irregular sleep patterns, and poor food habits led to where we were. The irony is we are in the health industry. Our job helps people get healthy. Go figure!
Both of us have released weight in the past, gotten on track with our exercise, eating and supplements. Last time for me was in 2012 prior to the pregnancy of my 2 year old and my husband in early 2013. We both lost more than 25 pounds, and we felt amazing, but weight is only a piece of good health. We have to look at the STRESS in our lives. STRESS can KILL US.
I want you to look at this picture of my husband. This is a picture of my husband in early 2014 when he was under a great deal of stress.
I am remembering that in 2014, I thought that if something didn’t change in his health he was going to die. I remember praying to God to help my husband get the motivation to be healthy again.
Here is Jay in August 2014 during our trip to France.
In September Jay would let go of his job. It would take six months after releasing his stressful job, and 3 months after we had our loss that he would start to get his motivation back. He started researching what was going on with his health, we got some testing done, and he started to understand the toll that all these years of what poor lifestyle habits had done to his body. Because just getting rid of the stressor is not enough to heal the body, you now have to heal the damage.
Spring started a journey back to health for my entire family. Jay recognizes that he has at least 2 years of full healing ahead of him to regenerate hormonally, and physically into the man he desires to be.
At the end of June he got some serious motivation by the Iron Cowboy, one of the world’s best endurance athletes. Jay started competing in 5K runs.
This is him on July 4th 2015 after running a 5K race.
Stress is part of life, but how much you allow in your life and how you deal with it can affect you for years and years to come. You might be in a place where you have no motivation to start. I promise you if you take one small step each day even if it is researching the effects of stress and adrenal fatigue, in the beginning things will begin to change for you. Focus on the positive, speak life into your future, release the negative, and MOVE FORWARD each day. YOU CAN DO THIS!
God Bless your Health Journey,
Mary Starr Carter
your friend who is walking the journey back to wellness with you
Disclaimer: This information is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, treat or cure any illness or disease. It’s strictly for informational, educational, or entertainment purposes ONLY. The products I talk about are not meant to diagnose, prescribe, treat or cure any illness or disease. Any information I give you about them is for informational or entertainment purposes only. They have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. Please seek the qualified health professional of your choice when making health decisions for yourself, your family and your pets.
