Robbie’s Story (in his own words…)
Nearly six years ago, I went to a counselor to get some help for some very difficult anxiety that had gotten quite a hold over my life. The strain on my wife and 9 month-old daughter from my anxiety had reached a level that could not be ignored any longer.
There were a variety of strategies that the counselor gave me to help cope with the general anxiety disorder that I had been suffering from. From the number of strategies, there were two that I stuck with long-term and that had far reaching positive effects on me.
I began to look into completely changing the way that I ate. I started to read up on all of the different ways that I could eat in a more healthy way. I cut back my intake of meat, and when I did eat meat it was organic. I ate more fruits and vegetables as well as changed the types of carbohydrates, sugars and fats that I ate. I also reduced my caloric intake to a much more healthy level, and began to regularly exercise.
The effects were enormous for me! I began to feel much better and the anxiety began to ease, with my new strategies for coping.
I began to lose weight. I had been at a pretty unhealthy 240 pounds for a number of years. Month by month, and what ended up being year by year, I continued to stick to the new way of eating that I had adopted…and the pounds continued to come off. I also began to run, bike, swim and lift weights pretty intensely.
Six years later, I’m 33 years-old, 80 pounds lighter and in the best shape of my life. The key to this success is that it was a complete lifestyle change, and not just a phase that I adopted to lose weight for the summertime.
The other extremely important aspect is that both diet and exercise were part of the solution. These two strategies by themselves can only go so far, but when put together, they can be very powerful.
I’m also so happy to say that my wife and I just celebrated 11 years of marriage and have 3 wonderfully healthy children who, among many other things, are learning to eat in a healthy way.
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Organic Living with Rachel
Nathan’s Healthy Change
