Hi.
You don’t know me yet, so I thought I’d give you the rundown of why I’m spending what little and precious time I have pouring my heart out on the net.
10 years ago, if you asked me who I was, I would have just said that I am a singer and an actress. I grew up in a “Hollywood” family, went to Hollywood High School where I won Best Actress, I trained in New York City, traveled all over the world singing for a living. I lived the actors life of staying out late and waking up at noon. I partied and didn’t really care all that much about my health or how healthy my relationships were.
At 27, I had a roomate who took me to church with her and I accepted Christ as my Savior. After that lifechanging experience, I got injured in a show at 27 and was basically told I could never dance again. Not that dancing was my forte, however, it’s hard to make a living in Musical Theater if you can’t even fake it anymore..
During the run of that show, before my injury, I started dating my now husband and after I was sent home to “recover” from my exploded disc injury, my husband and I fell very deeply in love and got married a year later. Very soon after our wedding, 26 days to be exact, I got pregnant with our first daughter.
While I was pregnant, I found out that I had gestational diabetes. I had to be put on insulin and go on a very restricted diet. I had to work extremely closely with a dietitian. While I was MISERABLE at the time, I now see why this had to happen…
I was actually being given a gift from God. He wanted me to see that I not only was I genetically predestined to be a diabetic, if I didn’t start eating within healthy limits, but also, that I had a real passion for healthy food and healthy living!!! And, he wanted me to share this gift with others!!!
So, 3 pregnancies later and having been gestationally diabetic each time, I can say now that I am not a diabetic and don’t ever plan to be one. I have finally connected how vital food and health are and I am no longer unmindful while eating. I eat with purpose – to feed my body the nutrients and energy that it needs.
The other change is that I am no longer just thinking of myself as an actress and a singer. Not that those aren’t good things – they are. But there is a reality to the fact that I am now a Mom and I want to be home to raise my kids. It is an unfortunate truth that to be a professional Musical Theatre actress, you really have to travel.
So the true blessing that came from my injury was that I realized that I can do something else with my life and feel fulfilled and enjoy the outcome for others. So, now I am going back to school to be a Registered Dietitian so that I can help people, especially moms, feed themselves and their families well. Because honestly, so much of our health is dependent upon what we put in our bodies.
One thing that is lacking in our culture is proper information about food – how to get it, what kind to purchase, how much of it to eat…especially because NO ONE makes any money off of us eating better. These big companies with their processed foods certainly don’t want grassroots, organic, whole food companies stealing their thunder.
So, I guess my basic mission here is to relay info that I learn in school or thru my different reading with you. I am hoping to put my little dent in this EPIDEMIC of obesity that we have in this country. And, if you are a mom reading this, you have a HUGE responsibility to change the projected outcome for not only yourself as a woman but also for your children: who are only eating whatever you give them.
So now, I would describe myself first as a child of God, a wife to my awesome husband, a Mom to my three beautiful daughters, a singer and actress and now, a student - who hopes to one day be a Registered Dietitian. Wish there wasn’t all that darn math but, oh well…
Please read my blog as I share interesting info about Nutrition, Health, Wellness and how to keep these things a priority in your life. God Bless and be mindful, Mamachow
