Making Memories
Have I ever mentioned how much we love to travel? We've been incredibly fortunate to travel to a lot of fabulous places with many of our favorite people over the years. About 3 or 4 years ago, my brother started talking about a trip to Italy after he graduated high school. At the time, it seemed kinda like a "yea, keep dreaming" scenario, but that dream came true. We got to spend two unforgettable weeks this May/June with my mom, step-dad and brother soaking in everything Italy had to offer. My sister and Ethan unfortunately couldn't join us due to school. We indulged in the food, the sights, the history, the landscape. Seeing places and hearing stories that we'd only ever thought we would learn about from the history books was really something. We backpacked and hopped 6 different hotels in 14 days. We saw Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Ana Capri, the Almafi Coast, Florence, Tuscany, Venice, Murano, Burano, Como, and Milan. I ate gelato every day and Jason had pizza for over 3/4 of his meals. We watched the famous Murano glass be made. We toured all the famous monuments and cathedrals. We biked ten miles through the Tuscan hillside to enjoy the beauty and the tastes of wine country. We made friends with an Irish bar owner named Gino and played more games of cards than I can count, including under the stars in front of the Duomo in Florence. We took a gondola ride in Venice and met Joe Minoso of Chicago Fire and his wife on the train. To say this trip was phenomenal would be an understatement. While we weren't ready to see it end, coming home and being reunited with our pups after almost three weeks was pretty special too.
Becoming a Health Coach
In March, I pulled the trigger on something that had been calling my name for nearly eight months. I decided to put all my fears and excuses to bed and do what I knew in my heart I was being called to do: help more people. I enrolled in courses to gain my certification as an Integrative Nutrition Holistic Health Coach. I have fallen in love with health and wellness over the last year. The more my own health was being transformed, the more I wanted to help others experience the same positive changes. I obviously enjoy nutrition, teaching, and inspiring others to eat better and live healthier lives. The ability to do so as a full fledged career path felt like a natural fit. I began my classes right away, and have been pouring lots of hours into my education and building my business model.
But where did this shift in my own health come from? If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know it all started as a way to document my (now) husband and I's journey through the Whole30. Growing up I probably ate more vegetables and fruits than a lot of American children, but I certainly ate my fair share of crap too. Come college, Kool-aid in the fridge and YoCrunch non-fat yogurt for breakfast were staples in our lives. We ate lots of frozen pizza, Pringles and bought the cheapest meats possible at the grocery store. It was sometime in 2011 that my pastry school curriculum required us to watch the documentary Food, Inc. Later that semester I had to write a book report on Michael Pollan's Food Rules. These two experiences began to open my eyes and my mind to what was going on with the food in our country and this is where our shift began. The more I learned, the more I felt duped. Like "Why have I never heard this before?" "How come this isn't common knowledge?" "Its no wonder our society is sicker and more obese than ever... there's so much mis-information we've all been fed!" So I began making smarter choices as I ran out of things at home. We slowly began phasing out the processed food in favor of more nutritious, whole foods. It didn't take long to realize that when you eat better, you feel better.
Fast forward to 2016. We'd now been eating clean (including our round of Whole30) for years; each year getting better and better about our habits and building upon our previous efforts. We were young, we were active, and we were eating really well. We should be feeling phenomenal, right? I wish that were the case. I wish that I wasn't using medications or oils multiple times a week for tummy troubles and head pounding. I wish I was sleeping soundly, waking refreshed, and had sustained energy all day long; but that would be a lie. I wish my legs wouldn't keep me up at night, that my seasonal sniffles were not a struggle, that I didn't get "hangry", and that I wasn't in a brain fog feeling like life was passing me by. But I was dealing with those issues as a part of my daily life. I had been dealing with them (and more) for so long, I'd convinced myself that those issues were normal. It is not normal, it was a glaring indication that something was out of whack. With much resistance and little belief that supplements were the missing piece, I finally took a chance. My cousin Amy had told me about Plexus. To say I was skeptical would've been a total understatement. I asked a million questions which her husband, who holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry, so patiently answered for me. I researched the ingredients to make sure they were natural, safe, and up to my standards. And I placed my first order, still certain I would be getting a refund of my money when they didn't do anything. And then they did. All those things I listed that I was struggling with resolved themselves in only a matter of weeks. But that wasn't enough for me... I wanted to know more. I wanted to understand the science behind it and how something as simple as proper Chromium intake could take away my chocolate cravings. How Magnesium deficiency was causing my head and legs to ache. I dove into research. I studied gut health, blood sugar stability, and inflammation like there was no tomorrow. The more I learned about these things and their connections to so many chronic illnesses we face as a nation, the more I wanted to share this new found knowledge with others. To help educate others on how getting to the root of their issues rather than covering them up could free them from the dark weight they were carrying, just like I had been. It was through my own journey with food, through this blog, through my personal research and experience, through Plexus and my growing passion for health that I realized all of this was leading up to me finding health coaching. That taking this fire within me to the next level and helping others improve their lives is EXACTLY what I wanted to do. So I took the plunge, and I started chasing after what I believed in.
New Projects
While there's a lot that hasn't hit the blog recently, it's not because there aren't big things happening. One big new development I'd like to share with all of you and invite you to partake in is my new page on Facebook: Jordan Clapp - Health Coach in the Making. While I love writing this blog, it doesn't allow me to be as engaged with each of you as I'd like to be. This page is an opportunity of me to share what I am learning, as I am learning it. It's also a way that I can offer video tutorials, live meal prepping sessions, and more. It's bringing the essence of the blog to life in a much more personal way. Not to worry, I still have every intention of blogging our monthly meal plans and many of the recipes you will see me prepare on camera via the page. Through this new page, you'll also be able to find quick tidbits about health, food, and nutrition that may not be fit for a full blog post, but are important and helpful none the less! And the best part (in my opinion) is that you all can interact, make suggestions, ask questions and be involved! If you haven't already "liked" and "followed" this new page, I would love for you to do so.
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There's plenty of other smaller happenings that have occurred in the last few months, but this covers the big things. Now that you're all up to speed, what's next? Well, tomorrow is a new month, meaning another new meal plan will be coming your way soon. There are lots of new recipes to be typed and posted, and lots of things I can't wait to share with you. This year has a lot in store for us. While sometimes I feel like the
hamster on the wheel spinning a million miles an hour, I know that all
of it is so, so worth it. I can't wait to see this next chapter unfold, and I hope that you'll be along for the ride.
