Flab to fab

I look at this comparison photo and say "wow"!  I honestly can not believe this is me.... in either photo.  

So let me tell you how this journey began.   In 2011, I was starting to feel more overwhelmed than usual.  Yes, I have 4 children and work full time but this was my norm for the last 10 years.  So why was I just now starting to feel anxious, stressed and have panic attacks?  I had other symptoms as well.... crying spells, drastic mood swings, obsession of having a terminal disease, withdrawn, depressed, insomnia, easily confused, low libido (yes I said it), lethargic and an overall feeling of something gone wrong.  Seriously wrong!  

What do you do when you feel sick?  You go to the doctor, right?  So off to the doctor I go.  I give the doctor a run down of my symptoms and she tells me I need to take an antidepressant for the stress and Xanax for the panic attacks.  I'm still confused at this point....I want to understand why absolutely nothing in my life has changed but all the sudden my body is "stressed" and having panic attacks!  I knew deep down these prescriptions would not cure me and would only mask the underlying issue at hand.  I continued my search for answers.  Several months and several doctors later I finally figured out this was all hormone related.  FINALLY some real answers.

The road ahead of me was not going to be easy.  I knew there was no magic pill that was going to fix me.  I had to undo 40 years of damage (eating junk) to my body 1 day at a time!  "How?", you ask.  Well, you have heard it your entire life.... eat a healthy diet and exercise.  Seriously, that's it!  

I researched foods, vitamins, supplements and different exercises until my eyeballs were cross eyed!    Out of all the exercise information I found, weight training looked to be the best option for me.  I reached out and called Jayla, my friend and awesome fitness trainer.  She convinced me that I could not afford NOT to work out!  Double bonus ~ she has a degree in nutrition.  Score!  Some things are just meant to be.

Fast forward 6 months and you see the new me above!   So now you know my journey was never about vanity or losing weight.  I was desperately trying to regain some normalcy to my life.  Not only did I find Sherry, I found the new and improved Sherry!  I feel like I found the fountain of youth and I want to scream it from the mountain tops!

My transformation is 80% diet and 20% exercise.  Its all about the food!  I know very little about cooking much less healthy cooking.  So I spend hours researching, modifying and testing out recipes.   Now I've decided to start a blog that will highlight healthy recipes I've found, modified and love.  Oh and btw, they will all be easy recipes.  For those of you that don't know me, I've never cooked a day in my life until a year ago!  Yes, you read that correctly....never cooked a day in my life until now!  Check in often to find some of your own favorite recipes that will hopefully help you feel as energetic as I do.  

Remember ~ healthy food is medicine!