Andrea: The Best version of me for my family and my life!

It’s never too late to make the choice to be healthy, and I will forever be grateful that SANE is committed to long-term health so I can be the best version of myself.

When I first heard the SANE term, “nutritional serenity,” I thought, “that’s what I want!” I didn’t want a supermodel body. I really just wanted to be the best version of me. I wanted to spend my time on earth living out my personal mission: to use my gifts of compassion and service and my love of learning and teaching, to help my family and those around me to feel loved and empowered to use their talents and abilities to become their best selves. I didn’t want to spend two hours at the gym every day when I needed to devote that time and energy to my own passions and to help those around me.

I have five children, and with each pregnancy and birth came unique challenges. Most of the time they were common issues that occur with pregnancy, but during the birth of my last two children, I had some pelvic and hip complications. This meant I could no longer “run the post-baby weight off.”

Not long after the birth of my fifth child, a trusted friend recommended the book, The Calorie Myth. The science and explanations made sense to me, but having never done any kind of “diet” I didn’t want to start down that path, so I was hesitant. However, something told me that SANE was different. I sat on the information I had read for about six months, and then I had my “ah-ha” moment. I realized that what I read was still coming back to me months later. I couldn’t forget about it and my health hadn’t changed by doing what I had always done before. This is what prompted me to change my eating habits. I realized that if I wanted to get down on the floor and play with my favorite little people, I needed to be in great shape! Yet again, I wasn’t going to spend hours and hours away from them at a gym and it was this process of prioritization that helped me to realize I needed to change my eating habits. This is when SANE delivered exactly what I needed. A scientifically-proven method for establishing healthy eating habits and not just to lose weight—to become healthy! 

One night my husband and I went on a bike ride for date night down the trail near our home and I mentioned the ideas I’d read in The Calorie Myth and how it just made sense to me. I told him I wanted to make a change in my life because I wanted to live a long life and be able to actively play with our kids. I knew if I didn’t make a change now, it would be that much harder down the road. My husband was a bit skeptical, but he told me he would support me in giving SANE a try.

A few months later we went to The City Museum in St. Louis and I was thrilled that I could easily crawl through of the ground tunnels with my kids. When we were leaving I told my husband, “I want to be able to do that with my grandkids!” He was amazed at how much more energy I had and kept commenting on the fact that I was getting my shape back. He was 100% SANE-supportive once he saw how happy I was and has since learned how to make green smoothies and make a mean veggie omelet.

We have so many choices to make in life, but taking charge of our health is one of the most important. With a healthy and happy body, we have the energy and ability to go to work each day, to play with our family, and to live out our own personal mission. It’s never too late to make the choice to be healthy, and I will forever be grateful that SANE is committed to long-term health so I can be the best version of myself.