It’s that time of year when people are realizing that it’s time to shed the layers of clothes – AND FAT!! Yes, bikini season is around the corner and, if you are like most people, you aren’t quite ready for it. What a better time to do some spring cleaning to that diet of yours!

Unfortunately, we live in a very toxic world. Not only are our surroundings toxic, our food is toxic too. Even when we try to eat clean, we can still be unknowingly fill our bodies with toxins. Between artificial sweeteners, taste-enhancing chemicals, pesticides and so many other toxic ingredients, there’s no wonder most people do not feel their best.

Are You Toxic?

• Fatigue
• Constipation
• Joint Pain
• Muscle Ache & Pains
• Inflammation
• Mood Swings
• Skin irritations or allergies
• Food sensitivities
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Scent sensitivity
• Bad breath
• Weight gain or plateau
• Digestive issues
• Mental Fog
• Acne
• Premature aging

My Toxic “Fit” Life

As I began to type this list, I started to reflect back on the last two years. I have been SO fit – NOT! I LOOKED fit, but I did not FEEL fit! I had so many health issues. I seriously didn’t even put it all together until right now.

#1 Skin Problems

My first health issue was this ridiculous skin rash all over my body. So bad, I had to be treated by a dermatologist and be put on steroids, along with all kinds of other meds, to try to kick it. This was literally a yearlong battle. It started on my back and stomach, then moved to my arms and face.

#2 Digestive Issues

In addition to my skin problems, I had a series of digestive issues that put me in the hospital. I thought I was having girlie issues with ovarian cysts. But, as I lay on the hospital bed listening to my prognosis, the doctor explained I had two issues. One, he said, was indeed an ovarian cyst. The other, he explained, was something he said was equally concernng; constipation.

At the time, I had no idea that constipation was so harmful to the body. Uncomfortable, yes, but harmful? Since then, I learned how important out digestive system is for getting toxic waste out of our body. When this isn’t done in a timely matter, that toxic waste just sits there – slowly poisoning us. Eeek!

# 3 Muscle Pain

If skin rashes and constipation wasn’t bad enough, let’s talk about pain. One of my chronic issues I was dealing with was my muscles were staying sore for days. I mean, we all have heard of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), but I was remaining insanely sore for 3-5 days.

My muscle soreness was crippling for me. I got where I was dreading every workout, trying to figure out what body part I could actually train because I stayed so sore all over, all of the time. I even got to a point where I told Steve I thought something was wrong with me. Yep, you guessed it. That was another sign of toxicity. But wait, there’s more.

# 4 Back Pain

A once very healthy girl, who had no car wrecks or any accidents, started having low back issues. Not just back aches, but my back would lock up on me, putting me to the ground. I hurt constantly. I no longer could do certain activities and exercises, especially burpees. This was NOT good for a trainer!

It got so bad, poor Steve was exhausted from my complaining. Long rides killed me and even sitting on the couch at night became miserable. I just couldn’t get comfortable, and that made Steve’s life just as uncomfortable.

Steve began trying to feed me fish oil and turmeric to help reduce inflammation, but it didn’t budge it. He even began to tease me about falling apart, but I knew he really was just annoyed and also legitimately hurting for me. And, truth be told, I really started to believe it. I thought, “well, I’m 45 and I guess this is just the beginning.”

#5 Tendonitis

On top of the skin rash, constipation, muscle soreness and back pain, I began to get tendonitis in my right elbow. If anyone watched me on LiveExercise, they have witnessed all these issues firsthand. I couldn’t do upright rows or straight bar curls. I couldn’t do daily chores, like lift groceries out of the trunk with that hand either.

While I worked around it, I was constantly holding my elbow and trying to massage the pain out. The elbow stayed noticeably swollen. I kept doing what I could do and ignoring it the best I could, hoping it would magically disappear one day, like most people.

#6 Depression & Fatigue

Believe it or not, all this led to depression. I know! This sounds ridiculous, but this was my life. Fit on the outside and a hot mess on the inside. My family had a little intervention session with me and told me I needed to “take this little pill”, essentially. Ha! I knew they were right. Being in pain non-stop is exhausting. Dealing with itchy bumpy ugly skin is depressing. No wonder I was tired and depressed. Who wouldn’t be?

Depression paralyzed me. I remember being over at our friends’ house in Utah and I had to write a blog. I literally couldn’t focus enough to even type one sentence. I had no drive, no creativity and no brain function. I was tired and my head was in a fog. This was SO not me! I’m Mrs. energetic and creative. However, all of these problems mounding up on me was even too much for this little Miss Happy to endure.

Ironically, I was still a pretty happy person, despite my grumbling. I just was frustrated. I felt like I was being held back. I wanted to BE as fit as I looked. I wanted to feel good again. Steve probably suffered more than anyone.

I just knew something had to change. I didn’t want to be Debbie Downer al the time and wanted to be a fun wife again. I was ready to make some serious changes. So, I decided to make a new commitment in 2017. I decided to focus on my health and take better care of this body than I ever had before.

In with the New, Out with the Old!

Fast forward to today. Zero chronic pain, zero skin issues, zero digestion issues. zero swelling. I can do burpees pain-free and upright rows like it’s nothing. I don’t take any medication and I have incredible energy – and I sleep like a rock. I literally feel like a brand new person; Bonnie 2.0!

What changed? A LOT!! As I have written in other blogs earlier this year, I explained how my nutrition changed and that I committed to taking better care of my health this year. But, in addition to pouring in good nutrition (which instantly started changing the way I felt), I began eliminating toxic foods from my diet too.

I switched all artificial sweeteners to stevia. No more splenda. I canned the diet drinks and ditched the sugar. I threw out all supplements that were not all natural and cleaned up my pantry. I honestly wouldn’t have believed that my nutrition could have this much effect on my body, but it is undeniable.

We began doing a weekly cleanse and I started researching toxicity and studying labels even more. Energy went through the roof and inflammation went down in just a few days. I still have a lot to learn, but like always, I wanted to share what I’ve learned because it has seriously changed our lives. I say “our lives” because I’m not the only one that benefited. Steve has also had quite the change too.

The man that used to loathe running, has been waking up at 4am to run before work – and I’ve been right there with him. That has NEVER happened. He used to hate running because it literally hurt and I hate mornings so you can see how that has changed. After he improved his nutrition and started to detox his menu, he started having more energy and less pain than I can ever remember. We got a new lease on life!

Clean Up, Lean Down! 30-Day Challenge

There are more reasons to clean up your diet than just eliminating pain. A toxic body can effect weight loss and a host of other issues that can interfere with getting trim and fit. Toxicity can also cause cancer and all kinds of health issues years from now. Since I had such an amazing experience, I decided to hold a 30-Day Challenge to encourage you to get the toxins out too and just see what it does for your body!

You don’t have to do the same cleanse I do or follow my nutrition protocol. You can do your own detox program with the help of our tips. Whether you want to try to completely detox your life or just start with on thing on the list. It’s totally up to you.

I will have two private facebook groups where I will manage the challenge. One will be for everyone in the challenge, no matter what exercise routine they are doing or cleanse protocol they are on. The other group will be a specific product support group just for the people doing what we’re doing.

If you are ready to draw a line in the sand and take control of your health, then join me in the Spring Clean Challenge. It’s totally FREE. You will get tips to help you detox, a few recipes to try, a list of detoxifying foods to eat and a sample workout program to follow.

CLICK HERE to complete the form and join the challenge. Materials will be emailed to you. Finally, you will need to send before and after photos to the email that is in the enrollment form by Monday March 20th.

There is nothing to lose except a lot of toxins! Who’s with me!?