About

In 2012 we started as a web group called “Save the Spoons” that offered advice and products from one Spoonie to another. I have been a Spoonie for over a decade and have come a long way in my journey. My desire was to share what I’ve learned so others don’t have to suffer too much. In that time, I have not only learned how to adjust, but how to heal.

If you aren’t sure what a Spoonie is, you can read all about it from the person who coined the term, Christine Miserandino, on her blog: The Spoon Theory.

A Little History

I spent my entire childhood as a very skinny and seemingly healthy girl. I didn’t have a big appetite and I was high energy. I spent most of my time roller blading around town with friends or sitting at home playing my PS1. I joined the Army at 18. There I learned the bad habit of scarfing down as much food as I can, as quickly as I can, or I’d be starving in 10 minutes. It didn’t work, I was always starving. That habit never left me. Even after I shattered my ankle. So here I was with an ankle injury so bad I could no longer burn up all that energy, AND I continued to eat too much too fast. Oy vey.

Fast forward a few years. I never really learned to cook. I eat out a LOT. I eat a lot of prepackaged foods and I do minimal exercise if any at all. I’m depressed because I can’t run or skate. I start to feel awful and sluggish. Then the weight starts piling on.

At 27 my health takes a quick turn for the worse. One morning I woke up and it felt like my thumb was on fire. The next day, my whole hand was numb and tingly. The day after that I couldn’t feel either arm. I couldn’t lift them. After 1 year, 3 neurologists, and a lot of medical bills, I finally got diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Neuropathy, or CIDP. I’d spend the next 3-4 years of my life curled up in bed with severe pain from the CIDP and the various nerve pain it caused, including Trigeminal Neuralgia, which is excruciating.

By 31 I was unable to walk more than a few steps at a time. My arms and legs were weak. My brain wasn’t functioning normally. My autonomic nervous system was starting to become affected. Which meant maybe it wasn’t CIDP after all. I had a referral to go to UT Southwestern to get studied. It’s a very prestigious hospital that won 7 Nobel Prizes. I was all set. Then, on my 32nd birthday, my husband passed away. I no longer cared about my own health. I had our belongings packed up and headed back to California to be near my family. I never made it to my first appointment.

Here’s a list of all my diagnoses (that I can remember). Most of which I have been able to cross of my list as I started to heal from both excluding certain foods and eating read food.

Phase 1 of Enlightenment

Just before March 2020, when Covid lockdowns started, I joined a program though my health insurance called Betr Health. It didn’t cost a penny. If your insurance doesn’t cover it, it’s still worth it if you want to lose weight or just learn to eat healthy.

In the first month you eat very simple foods and limit certain types of skincare. The point is to cleanse your body. Trust me you’ll feel the difference very quickly. Betr Health provides you with recipes to help, and you will have a very active coach to guide you any time throughout the weeks. Gradually you will add certain foods back into your diet. Since it’s gradual you can take note on which foods your body doesn’t agree with. For me it’s bell peppers.

By the end of month two you have reintroduced all the real food back into your diet. When I say “real food” I mean stuff that grows. Plants and meats. You will have had nothing that is packaged or processed at this point and you will feel so good.

After the two months was over I went back to my old habits. I failed, and I felt it.

Phase 2 of Enlightenment

I spent 3 months in physical therapy listening to my Physical Therapist talk about food to all his patients, and how it can heal the body, even nerves. I was skeptical. I’ve been told by several neurologists it’s impossible to regenerate nerves. “Nerve damage is irreversible” is something I’ve heard over and over. I accepted it.

My Physical Therapist recommended a book called Metabolical. I ordered it and got it the next day. It was so fascinating that I finished it in about 5 days. It’s written by Dr. Robert Lustig. This is a book I want to recommend to everyone I know, because just about everyone seems to be suffering from some metabolic disorder. He goes into the history and science of how we’re eating in modern times. It’s interesting and quite scary to see the shift in his education after Big Pharma took over the colleges.

He provides solid evidence of people healing after simply cutting out the sugar from their diet. But, most importantly he talks about real food. Having already gone through Betr Health I knew there had to be truth to what we was saying, but now I had a far better understand of WHY I felt so good when I ate only real foods.

Dr. Robert Lustig has another well known book called Fat Chance which is also a great read. But I recommend reading Metabolical first.

Final Phase of Enlightenment

I found something on the Google Books store called The Daniel Plan. As I read through this book I’m starting to get a connection between the science of food, and the spiritual and biblical purpose of food. Tie that in with the experience I have with Betr Health and I knew this is what I needed to do. Whether you’re a spiritual person or not, it’s a good read.

I am a very introverted person. I will rarely start a conversation with someone. I so badly want to talk about everything I’ve learned over the past 10 years but I just can’t do it. So, I started a website! Here I am comfortable being open and honest about what I’ve learned and experienced.

I remarried at 37. My new husband, Daniel, has created some great recipes using only real food. He is an amazing cook and we’re looking forward to sharing those recipes with you.

If you’ve made it this far, that’s awesome! Now, go get Metabolical! I promise you, it is life-changing.