New Book: Whole New You
Derick and I are making changes in 2019. But not of the New Year’s Resolution genre. My body is finally recuperating from years of hormones and fertility medicines and now after being diagnosed with stage 1 endometriosis I’ve decided to take back control of my health. It takes 90 days for your eggs to be effected by new health routines so at first we decided to make healthy eating a priority for three months as we hopefully approach another IVF cycle. But after going through laparoscopic surgery this fall to diagnose and remove the endometriosis I began doing my own research since it is a chronic condition that will grow back. I want to take ownership of it in hopes that I can keep it at stage 1 since this disease undoubtedly interferes with and can pretty much make pregnancy impossible. Of course I want to get healthy just for the sake of getting healthy. But now the stakes are so much higher. There is so much damage control after all of the medications, hormones, and injections. And now on top of that my uterine lining has decided to grow OUTSIDE of my uterus. So there’s that. Google should pay me for increasing their search analytics by 110% in the last few months. But I digress. And we all know what a black hole the online search game can be. So I’ve opted to grow my physical library and am so glad I did.
Derick got me Tia Mowry’s Whole New You for Christmas and I’ve been excited to open it up and dive in. First of all, I think she’s the cutest and her book is just pretty; beautiful photography, fonts (#fontgeek) and graphics. But secondly, Tia shares her struggles with endometriosis, getting pregnant, and diet challenges. I too share an affinity for red velvet cake and I too will dearly miss it! But the best part is that WNY is also a cookbook filled with tons of amazing substitutions and yummy soul food dishes that I know I could never do without. I sat down this weekend and skimmed the first few chapters then curiously thumbed through all of the recipes and I absolutely can’t wait to start trying them out! Tia talks about how she finally felt alive after making these big changes, dairy being a biggie, but also confesses about falling off the wagon too. (I know I will struggle with dairy but I’ve learned how it is the WORST for endometriosis). Derick and I both are beyond desperate for children and while going gluten free might be doable, saying goodbye to cheese is just something we are going to have to pray through! That said, if you told us to stand on our heads during the first full moon while drinking castor oil and pointing our toes to the west…we would SO do it - bottoms up! Making changes to our diet and what we put in our body is not only something we can do to take charge of our fertility but will also result in two healthier, happier humans. And after losing my mom at 67, there’s no time like the present to feel alive and take care of my body #lifeisshort. I look forward to sharing some of my recipe success pics from this book and a full review on WNY plus my other natural fertility books soon!
Here’s to a healthier, and happier, 2019
The other book I am reading which also has some great information about naturally improving fertility is here.
