As a teenager (about 16) I showed an interest in diet; being influenced by many people who crossed my path.
Macrobiotics was my initial interest much to my Mother’s irritation. The idea of producing different meals didn’t gel with her.
Many different diets were (unsuccessfully) attempted. One that comes to mind is the Mayo clinic diet – lots of eggs!
What a trial for me as I’ve always disliked eggs. The result was CONSTIPATION!
A vivid egg memory at age 5 was organizing to get myself discharged from hospital after my tonsillectomy. A nurse was trying to shovel soft egg down my throat with me protesting vehemently.
“Please phone my mother. She’s a nurse and can care for me at home,” I successfully insisted.
When I reflect on my childhood, regular and vigorous exercise was noticeably missing. From the ages of about 8 to 10, I was a keen, but hopeless baby elephant ballerina. I played tennis half-heartedly once a week from about 11 to 14 - so not much raised heart rate happening there. I was blessed with musical talents, not physical talents (or so I thought). In the early years of marriage, I sporadically attended gym and for a time, dance classes.
My focus was on weight loss and diets only – clearly not sustainable. Simply existing through the given diet, weight loss occurs, but then it was always followed by lapsing back into the same bad habits and ultimately gaining even more weight than before beginning the diet - accompanied by miserable emotions of failure.
Through my first pregnancy, at age 21, I was totally uninformed and had the attitude that I didn’t have a waistline so what did it matter what I ate? If only we could re-live times like this when we know so much better.
Over the years I graduated to excluding red meat as I found it was a heavy meal and the fibres got stuck in my teeth. Then I excluded white meat because I’d lost the taste for it and didn’t enjoy the texture. Through reading I also found that I didn’t agree with the ethics around meat farming and production. Last to go was fish as a result of the possible mercury and other pollution contaminations of the sea. I have never experienced any cravings for any of these foods. At this point I read all Mary-Ann shearer’s books.
Over the years as a teacher, I struggled with regular bouts of colds, sinusitis and laryngitis. This disappeared when I stopped ingesting all dairy products.
The turning point for me was some 10 years ago when recovering from having had a hysterectomy, I read a lot of Patrick Holfords books. I had an epiphany – I started to make meaningful and lasting dietary and lifestyle changes including daily exercise: walking andyoga.
In the last 6 years I’ve been influenced by people like Jen Chapman, Antonia de Luca, Beryn & Peter Daniel; Barbara Leiman, Natalie Reid & Noel Marten, The Hippocrates Institute, Dr Gabriel Cousens, serna Kramer, Elna van Coller and David Wolfe amongst many others. I’m currently doing the David Wolfe certification course.
Included in my daily diet are green juices and algaes, superfood and herbal smoothies, a variety of whole fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, sprouts and fermented foods and importantly, good quality water.
I’ve most recently added Rebounding to my daily routine – this is essential for efficient lymphatic drainage amongst numerous other benefits.
The outcome for me has been phenomenal. Improved energy levels, balanced blood sugar levels, improved eye sight, an enthusiasm and joie de vivre. My taste buds have changed to sing with joy when eating delicious whole foods in their natural state.
Out of all of this flows a passion to live an ecologically sustainable life-style:
· growing my own fruit and veggies in mineral- rich soil.
· Recycling as much as possible including wormeries and Bokashi composting
· Reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible
This in spite of the fact that I live in an urban environment which comes with pollution and other challenges.
Now in my latter 50’s, I’m passionate to assist people to a better state of wellness – REVIVING them, assisting them to a BALANCED state and SUSTAINING them on their journey to continued optimum wellness. It has been, and continues to be, an exciting journey.
When you introduce nutrient dense and mineral rich foods into your body, it responds by healing itself in the most remarkable way.
I love this quote from Project Happiness:
“If you listen to your body when it whispers,
You won’t have to hear it scream!”
Yours in vibrant wellness.
Tricia Hoffmann.
