It’s Friday! And even though weekends don’t mean much anymore now that I’m 100% consumed with a loving spoon, the idea of Friday will always be a positive one.

Before I tell you about an awesome Gutsy teenager today, I want to remind you that the next Gutsy Mastermind Group Program begins on Monday, September 30! The participants from the first group got so many awesome results that many of them are joining again this time for the daily “Gutsy Office Hours.” I cannot tell you how my cup runneth over when women – women just like you – begin to actually heal, actually feel better and are able to smile bigger once again. Don’t wait – just a few spots left. Click HERE to join!

May was the last time I told your Gutsy story. Time for a great one today! (p.s. Do you want to tell your own Gutsy story here? You can. Simply contact me!)

A Teenager’s Perspective on Being a Gutsy Girl

Meet Erica Brahan. I met Erica a few weeks back when she reached out to me with her story:

“I have had a restrictive diet for over two years. The beginning was overwhelming, difficult, and I felt lost and hated almost everything about it. I started the GAPS diet in 2012, which made improvements and revealed that I had a salicylate intolerance. I am 17 now and a senior in high school and can only eat about 20 foods because of the salicylate intolerance (I am trying to reintroduce some of the foods). Although I still do not really enjoy my restrictions, I have learned a lot about what it takes to maintain a semi-“normal” teenage life with food restrictions.

My mom encouraged me to write a book about my experiences to share with other teenagers or parents with teens. When I first started my journey I would have loved, really loved, to have someone give me advice on things like how to go to school, do social activities, and explain my food restrictions. The problem is that there is nothing like that, at least that is easy to find. With that in mind I wrote “A Teenager’s Perspective on Food Restrictions: A Practical Guide to Keep from Going Crazy“. In it I offer all of the advice I wish I had been given.”

I downloaded her book and skimmed through it.

Bravery –  at such a young age!

So I asked her to tell a little bit more about herself and her story so I could share with you:

“I am a senior in high school and have dealt with health problems since I was young. My most prominent struggle is with chronic joint inflammation, which has been on going since fourth grade and intensified with age. I am a softball catcher and at the age of 15 I could barely play anymore because the pain had become so bad. With the guidance of my functional medicine doctor during my sophomore year of high school, I tried several elimination diets. The first improvement in joint pain was as a junior on the GAPS Intro diet. I later discovered I have a salicylate sensitivity that left me with about 20 foods to eat. After I removed salicylates from my diet, the join pain went away completely! Although this journey has been incredibly difficult at times, I have learned a lot and made huge improvements in my health. Last year, as a junior, I played my first softball season without pain since seventh grade.”

And then, of course, I asked her to tell you all a little bit more about her book:

“I recently wrote a book, A Teenager’s Perspective on Food Restrictions: A Practical Guide to Keep from Going Crazy. It is a reflection of my personal experiences and offers the advice I wish I had received before and during my diet restrictions. It is a short book written by a teenager for other teenagers or parents. I talk about the reality of food restrictions and why they are particularly difficult for teenagers, but also the motivation it takes to continue. I offer advice about how to explain your diet, maintain a social life, and go to school along with other topics.”

You can learn more from a Gutsy teenager’s perspective by downloading Erica’s ebook. The ebook can be purchased from her blog, Edible Attitudes, and is available on Amazon as a paperback for $5.99 or as an eBook for $1.99.

Love your guts,
SKH

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Meet Lareasha, a Gutsy girl with a story to share with y’all today….

I married my high school sweetheart in 2004.

We decided we didn’t want to wait, and we would try to get pregnant. It didn’t take long.. and poof! We had our baby boy in 2005. I gained 50 pounds and luckily lost 45 of it afterwards.

I had noticed that a few months later I was having bloody stool. I called my doctor. He told me it was common for women to have that after a c-section. I thought it was strange; none of my friends had it. He was the doctor, so I continued to eat and do my normal routine.

About a year later I started to get some stomach pain, so I called my doctor again. He told me I more than likely had hemorrhoids. I thought to myself, “Hmmm… doesn’t that make it hurt when you sit down?” I never had that kind of pain. I insisted on going in for an appointment. I went in and they checked me. No hemorrhoids. He then said I must have internal hemorrhoids. That sounded more like my answer.  Finally!

But then I was….wrong! I continued to have the blood. No drugs I took would make it stop. I decided to go to a naturalist in my hometown. By this time I had my second child, a beautiful baby girl. The naturalist told me that I had severe problems with my digestion, and she had me do my first cleanse ( I never gave her my health history, she didn’t even know my name, but instead only read my iris). I was amazed! I had been going to the same doctor for 3 years and no results, no emotion and no cure.

I did everything my naturalist told me to do, and the blood started to go away. It was now only a few times a week I would have it. She also told me to watch my food intake and log my stool. I was kind of embarrassed. Really, who does that? I didn’t want to look at my poo! But I did for her, and I saw the change. I was having major reactions to food sugars. I took her advice, and I went off sugar. Then, reintroduced it by slowly eating it here and there.

A year later I starting noticing that my hair started to thin. I called the doctor, and he said it was common for nursing moms to have their hair shed. At this point I wanted to deck him in the face –> Are you kidding me? I have had bloody stools  for 4 years and my hair was now thinning. I was super emotional. I had enough of this doctor.

I switched to the most amazing doctor who took care of me. She was very concerned. She sent me to Mayo Rochester for my hair. The tests showed my hormones were out of whack since having my daughter. I had to take medication to level my hormones. The medication seemed to be working. At the same time, my doctor ordered me a colonoscopy right away. There I was, 29 years old and having a colonoscopy. I felt really old!

I went through the colonoscopy procedure. They found 2 polyps. The doctor sent them in to lab to determine their type. I waited for that phone call. It was the scariest day of my life. I had 2 young children and an amazing husband. I cried everyday. I wanted that phone call to be over with. {Some advice to you: Never look on the Internet while you are waiting for results.}

Finally the call came. They aged the polyps to be 7-10 years old. One of the polyps tested positive for cancer. I nearly fainted. The doctor said, though, that luckily the cancer had not made it into my lining. This meant I was cancer free.

I thought my problems were solved, after all they removed the polyps and the blood went away. That was until bout 3 months after the surgery when it came back. My doctor wanted to have me do an endoscopy and another colonoscopy. So we did. The colon turned out normal. The endoscopy showed blood in my stomach. They were shocked. They had no explanation of why. So they had me come in again and swallow a camera pill. The pill was about the size of a horse pill, and it takes pictures all the way through. From this, they determined that I am sensitive to something and we needed to figure out what that something was. We knew it was something to do with what I was eating, but what would/could that be?

This led me to today, working with a Gutsy Girl. I feel very passionate about natural healing and what we put in our bodies. After all, you are what you eat right? Because of this, I love the Gutsy program. Since starting this journey, I have really felt a sense of peace. My body has changed inside and out. I never thought I would be strong enough to do a program for 21 days, even if it’s only 21 days. For me its not just 21 days. This is just the start of my journey to be healthy.

I want to love me in my skin. I want to live a long, healthy life. I want to inspire those people that need to make a change.

And that, my Gutsy friends, is what I was talking about on Monday…..how I aspire to inspire that change in others to find the change in themselves which leads to the change in sharing the Gutsy way with as many women as possible!

Love your guts,
SKH

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Sarah Kay Hoffman

You will heal. I will help.

http://childlike-sports.flywheelsites.com