Autoimmune to Champion!

Boy oh boy, where do I begin! My entire life growing up since a little girl I struggled with eating. My parents told me I used to play with my food and talk the entire time at dinner with the family and when they asked why I didn't eat, I stated "They told me not to eat". I know what you are thinking! What the hell! Sounds like a kid is possessed! But I think at a young age it was my way of expressing that the food I was eating was hurting me.

I was always very skinny and ill looking as a child. I was called chicken legs, and that my hair looked gray like a grandma! I believe its because I wasn't absorbing the nutrients in my body. Now that's not only bad for looks but for a child to not be getting its correct nutrients to grow is a really BIG PROBLEM that transfers to adulthood problems! Health!

I remember in grade school we would visit a family and eat dinner with them. My mom would always be in the bathroom with me after words patting my stomach and telling me "its just gas honey". However what was really happening was the reaction of my lining of my intestine, esophagus and stomach eating away and damaging my insides! Fast forward to high school I got put on TONS of antidepressants because my body never felt good and I couldn't explain it. My bones ached, no energy, severe headaches, some seizures with fainting, and severe constipation. My second year out of high school and into college I was in the hospital where I took my Uncle who was struggling battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cancer. I was the one that drove him to the hospital for the last time. I believe the amount of stress and sadness during the week of seeing him slowly pass away was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

I could no longer withstand the pain in my stomach. During that time I was asked several times if I was pregnant! I went through x rays that showed my entire intestines were severely compacted with waste that my body could not release. The doctor kept giving me anti acids and lots of laxatives to try and get me to use the restroom but nothing worked! It was 2 YEARS of doctors telling me it was "IN MY HEAD". The part that pisses me off the most is when a doctor makes it seem like you are CRAZY! I was so sick from the toxins in my body that I had to stop eating because I couldn't fit anything else in my body if I wasn't using the restroom! I dropped 40 lbs in 2 weeks, losing from 150/140lbs to 99 lbs! I am 5'7" , so I am fairly tall which made me look really SKINNY! Here are photos to show the transformations I have gone through!

I told my doctor I wanted a specialist and went to see a Gastroenterology Physician. Now keep in mind we did the Celiac Disease blood test several times with it always saying negative! HOWEVER, when I did the Endoscopy 9 years ago they biopsied my stomach and it severely reacted! So my Specialist wrote me a script for a Gluten Free Diet, and I was off on my own. The Gluten Free Diet gave me some relief but its been a long journey to recovery and to feel good about how I look but most importantly how I FEEL!

I have been newly diagnosed with Hoshimotos however I am able to take care of it all with Natural Supplements! I am now happy to say that I have competed in 2 fitness competitions with the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness & Fashion)! My first show was 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas where I won first place and won my Pro Card as a Pro Diva Bikini Model. My second show was in 2018 for my Pro Debut at the World Champions. Ever since then its been new battles to conquer like developing more food sensitivities, bringing down inflammation, getting gluten secretly from my shampoo which costed me $4,000 dollars in medical bills and 6 month recovery, and trying to find a prescription out of the country to treat my SIBO! Now I have been essentially pain free most of the time for the past year while now being able to eat the food I was sensitive to and brought down my inflammation and cortisol levels so that I can have energy, strength, happiness, and live a NORMAL life! Autoimmune doesn't go away, HOWEVER you can become a CHAMPION of your OWN LIFE and live as pain free as possible! I am living proof of that!

XOXO

GracieBFit