God, Grace & Greens: How God Used Illness to Redefine My Faith and Fitness

I can't believe that it is now 2025, and my last post was during the time I was fasting. So much has happened since 2021, so I suppose I can now update everyone. But let me start from where I left off - fasting. I finished my fast and created an entire YOUTUBE playlist about it. I had a huge miracle that came from it, but unfortunately took for granted. I was going to film it, but forgot and did not end up sharing how blessed I was. God had healed me! I had struggled with this foot issue since I came back from Korea and it seemed to get worse. But once I went on the Daniel fast, my foot was like brand new. No itching, no scales, no dry skin, no peeling skin - it was smooth like a baby's bottom! Unfortunately, I did not maintain the Daniel diet after the 21 days passed. After a month, everything came back. Fast forward to 2025, my allergist tells me that what I have on my foot has no connection to my diet! Not sure I buy that since we all know that our physical wellbeing has a lot to do with our gut health. But that's another rabbit hole we can talk about later.

Since 2021, where have I been? I've moved twice, ended two friendships that wrecked me, our beloved Costco (the one you see in my recipe posts) died suddenly before we moved, we got two new kitties (Cygnus & Memphis), and had to restart my business for the third time.

In the midst of all that I was dealing with health issues from a botched retreatment of a root canal in 2022. I spent near two years unable to run like I used to. My energy started tanking. And by 2024, I found myself in the ER not just once but three times. My blood pressure was extremely low and my labs showed that I was malnourished. I was in denial and couldn't accept it. I was suppose to be this model of health and fitness, and here I was loosing chunks of my hair and having more medical work then I have ever had in my entire life. I felt defeated. I felt like a hypocrite. Was my diet to blame? Was my lifestyle a lie?

This made me rethink my thoughts about what Let's Veg About It was suppose to be, this plant-based website that encouraged a lifestyle that I thought God had encouraged. Was I wrong? I realized that I was not wrong, but the new normal I had to adapt for the last few months, was also NOT wrong.

For many months I struggled with the idea that eating anything other than a plant based diet was a sin. I took Daniel's example to eat nothing but a vegan diet (Daniel 1:8-21) as the intended lifestyle that God would have for me. Don't get me wrong, I saw the beautiful change it had on my body. But with all my numbers down, how do I pick it back up if my lifestyle isn't enough? This was a hard choice and I struggled a lot with it.

In the middle of my struggle, I had a realization - my dietary lifestyle was my god. To some degree, I think I made it my idol. And in some instances in my life, I felt I was a better human being than others because my diet was "superior" in my eyes. But in my health crisis, I was quickly humbled. My dietary lifestyle as good as it may be, is NOT salvational. I remember hearing a commentator state that there were people who felt that because Jesus was not vegan that they were better than Christ. Hearing that caused me to tremble in my thoughts - Would I dare presume that I was better than my Maker?

It was as if God was saying, "Come let us reason together... there is a time and place for meat." As I took the leap of faith, I stuck to the Levitical dietary orders as I believed they are wisely designed for good reason. I limited my consumption. Now that my numbers are back up, I am slowly returning to my plant-based lifestyle.

As a personal trainer, I had been a bit more compassionate on others who were not able to be fully embrace a plant-based lifestyle due to their health conditions, but I realized I was less merciful to myself. I needed to recognize that my heavenly Father would not be as condemning as I was to myself. And when I truly understood that, I saw that everything is set with a purpose even if it is but for a short time.

I still advocate a nutrient dense plant-based lifestyle, but I also recognize that my diet will not save me from my sin, ONLY Jesus can. I have a better understanding of how to balance faith and nutrition.

I know that my diet was not the cause of my illness, but a combination of a few things - first the botched root canal. The bacterial build up went straight to my heart and blood. So no matter how "perfect" of a lifestyle I eat, the perpetual infection in my teeth would fight against me. I did something about that too, I went to a holistic dentist and got it removed. Currently, my heart palpitations are 90% gone. I removed another tooth with mercury filling and see that my health has improved. I am not at 100%, but I am definitely better than were I was over a year ago.

The second cause - stress. Losing relationships are never easy especially when you are the type of person who loves deeply. I vlogged about that lesson on my YOUTUBE channel as more a therapeutic way of dealing with the loss.

What I have learned on this journey is that you can do everything right and your health is not guaranteed. What you do to heal, is not a sin as long as it still abides in the biblical principles and parameters of your faith. Toxins and stress trigger inflammation in ways we cannot foresee or fully grasp. Stay connected with fellow believers and fight with all your physical, emotional, and mental strength to heal. Health is wealth. It is a gift and this one temple we have is all we got.

I spent a year recovering - decreased my workload, focused on my fitness, spent time rejuvenating my mind, body and soul. Within this healing time, I was blessed to see my body bounce back. I ran two 5ks, which was a HUGE testament to God because I had not been able to run more than 1 mile a week for the last three years.

And now I'm back, ready to keep helping others have compassion on themselves if life throws them curve balls. Despite the long silence, thanks for following along on my journey through my different social media platforms. Hope you're ready for more encouraging posts - Let's Blog About It!