The beginning
Six years ago, my major food groups were: Sour Patch Kids, Diet Coke, and Whatever Lean Cuisine Had The Most Cheese. After years of unsuccessful diets and self-help books that didn’t work, I felt pretty low and not so good about myself. I didn’t think it was possible for me to have the willpower to become a truly healthy person. Maybe I also didn’t think I deserved it. 

I was also really sick. My endometriosis had gotten so severe that most days I could barely make it out of bed. I tried everything I knew to get better. I had multiple surgeries, tried conventional pain-killers (and less-conventional, leafy ones), fancy yoga and not-so-fancy-yoga, and even therapy to help with the depression caused by the pain. Nothing worked. My doctors gave me one final solution – a hysterectomy.

But then I got an email from a friend that changed my life forever. She sent me a link that outlined a diet plan designed to help with endometriosis pain. No meat. No dairy. No gluten. No sugar. No packaged foods. No alcohol. No fun. 

I was desperate and maybe a bit of a people pleaser, so I decided to try it. I really had nothing to lose. My inaugural meal on my new eating plan was a salsa taco. Literally, a corn tortilla topped with salsa. I didn’t cook, but I was really determined to try this new lifestyle. And after a few weeks, my eyes started to open a little wider. The pain started to fade. I wasn’t sad. And I could sleep after years of insomnia. My husband said that I had “my sparkle back.” I never had to get that hysterectomy and have never looked back.