MY PLANT BASED STORY: Why I chose to go plant-based and why it has changed my life forever.

The day was loud and the demands were high. I remember standing in my kitchen and realizing I couldn’t walk. I was struggling to stand and every moment was painful. I was pregnant with my third child and I knew something was going wrong with my hips and pelvic area.

I tried yoga, it only damaged me more.

I took time to stretch and change the way I slept. To no avail, the pain increased and I soon was feeling beyond repair.

Then one day, I collapsed in the hallway. My wobbly steps had amounted to more pain and finally they gave way. I lay there and it hit me with great force, I was not okay. In fact, I was struck with fear that I may never recover and walk properly again.

I called a friend of mine who had been seriously injured 7 years earlier. I had watched her come back from an abdominal torsion accident. Her abilities were limited by the miracle of God, she found the right help and was able to climb mountains and can now perform many functions in her day-to-day life. It is a miracle. This friend referred me to a Physical Therapist named Rogan Taylor of Provo, UT Fyzical. (More on How to choose a physical therapist in this article).

I went to see Taylor for my physical pain. Turns out, I had a problem with my entire pelvic floor. My pelvic bones were rotated almost 90 degrees upwards. This was a problem to even deliver my baby effectively. Like most women, I had a weak pelvic floor and it wasn’t supporting the strains of my pregnancy, (pelvic floor care routine here).

My body started making progress yet it was consistently inflamed and noticeably painful when my PT shifted my pelvic bones back into place causing great inflammation. It got to the point where I was making very little progress. I asked what more I could do. This is when I began and adopted a plant-based lifestyle.

A plant-based diet is an anti-inflammatory diet. This is good when healing. Do you ever get super red when exercising? I do. After I started eating plant-based meals, I no longer flushed tomato red while exercising.

It was a journey and every day it still is. I am open and willing to take care of myself in the best way possible and I found that a plant-based lifestyle helped me achieve lasting healing in my pelvic, along with consistent and valiant efforts to see my Physical Therapist. My mood changed, my energy changed, and my body's needs were able to be addressed with more quality because I could understand when it was needing help.

It is you who ultimately makes the decisions that make or break your life. Some times the beautiful thing about breaking is that you get to rebuild, and you get to decide what you're made of.

I don’t say I am entirely plant-based, vegan, or even vegetarian.

I still eat meat. I still participate in holidays and traditions. I eat meat sparingly and thankfully eat it when I am out, visiting with someone, or want to include it for special occasions. This balance has really shifted my health to new levels. If you would like to know more, take a look at my article 17 Ways A Plant-Based Lifestyle has changed my life.

Thank you for reading my story today. I hope that wherever my story finds you on your journey to health and a life full of vitality, that you will continue to search out the best for you

Article Written by: Kaitlyn Andrews, International Life Coach for Women