The Lifestyle
I was never super thin growing up. In fact in high school, I played goalie for field hockey because I was one of the “thicker” girls on the team (I also happened to be really good on the field thank you very much). When I got to graduate school the stress of rigorous academics got to me- So I turned to easy bites and quick meals on the go which included a lot of starchy foods and processed frozen entrees. And since I was so busy with trying to be a boss babe with a new corpo job, I wasn’t exercising much except for the walking commute to work.
When I reached my late 20s, I started to notice stretch marks on my hips and legs and I had to keep buying bigger clothes- but I just tried to ignore it. Then I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse, and the new location had an all-you-can-eat cafeteria that was irresistible. My food intake increased and so did my addiction to sugary soft drinks.
The Dread
It all happened so quickly and a few months into the new job, I went home looked at myself in the mirror…I was not happy. I weighed myself that night and realized I had gained 30lbs in less than a year. Looking at recent photos on social media made it clear that this was not my normal.
It really wasn’t about looks though- as the weight started packing on, my energy levels tanked, and my digestion became horrendous. Apart from the constant fatigue, I was extremely bloated, and my skin was constantly breaking out (adult acne anyone?). Some weeks I had to run to the bathroom during work, while others I was constipated and couldn’t go for a few days. My body was broken, and I was not able to function at work, or in life like I was used to.
Something had to change, and I decided to educate myself and completely change my lifestyle. I started learning about how important gut health is, especially for women, regarding weight management, skin, energy and even hormone balance.
The Turnaround
Exercise, Check. Diet, Check. Trying to manage what I was eating was so much harder than starting to work out because I love food. After learning more about the microbiome, the first step I took was trying to hop on a daily gut supplement.
The gut microbiome plays important roles in both the maintenance of health and the development of disease states (like the weight gain I was suffering from). Its delicate balance can be disrupted, from infection, toxins, antibiotics, and chemicals among many others. After learning about this I started taking probiotics- most of which did not work for me, and many that made me feel worse. Turns out that probiotics are highly individual, and you really must know which strain works for you, when to take it, and how to take it. All of that got a bit too complicated for me- until I found a company called Klora.
I discovered that prebiotics and postbiotics are arguably way more beneficial than probiotics alone. Prebiotics help the body’s immune function by feeding the good bacteria and by increasing microbial diversity. Postbiotics promote the formation of healthy digestive cells, modulate function, and helps the integrity of the gut barrier (so you can fight off things like leaky gut). Klora’s Gut-Renew is the only supplement that I could find that had this unique combination of pre and postbiotics
Along with my diet changes, I started to implement a daily supplement routine which included Klora’s Gut-Renew capsules to restore my microbiome back to the way it used to be. It took a few weeks, but slowly my digestive issues got way better and… so did my weight! I lost 10 lbs. the first 6 weeks I started my routine and then another 20lbs two months after. It took around 4 months but I was down a whole 30lbs!
But what about my love for food! Klora also had digestive enzymes called Bloat-Digest which helped me feel way less bloated when I was eating my meals. It also made me less hungry after meals because I was absorbing more of the nutrients from the food compared to before when my gut was likely super imbalanced.
Apparently, our food supply has become so bad that the natural enzymes that are in for example fruits and veggies have been diminished. This is in part due to agricultural practices, like genetic modification and monocrop farms. The yield of the crop is less nutrient dense and lacking enzymes, so our bodies are less able breakdown these meals.
New Gut, New Me
It was funny because I really started my journey because of how I was feeling more than how I looked in the mirror. The weight loss was a welcome sign, and it was because my gut was in such bad shape from all the stress, food, and trauma I was putting my body through. The implementation of diet, exercise and Klora got me back to where I needed to be.
Nowadays everyone is so busy with the chaos of the work life balance that gut health is put on the shelf. For me, it was the answer to my problems- once I solved my gut issues everything else fell into place. I can now go to work with a full tank of energy and go out on weekends with my friends without worrying how I will feel the next morning. And yes I’m still able to go out on occasion and eat the junk foods I want to without issues now that my gut is healed!
