Meet Danielle

Changing My Life…

With my 40th birthday fast approaching, I did some real soul searching and decided to change my life, I had high blood pressure, asthma, acid reflux disease,Osteoarthritis and was pre-diabetic. I had tried several different weight lose methods and while they did work, I never lost more then 40 lbs, I researched weight lose surgery (WLS) for more than 3 years however I was afraid,  but one day I decided to give it to God and let him guide the way. Almost 2 years ago on April 20, 2010 I had Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypassSurgery at John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland with Dr. Michael Schweitzer.

 When I woke up from my procedure, first I was overjoyed that I woke – up and next I experienced a feeling of being empowered. I was excited about taking my life back. I was looking forward to be a better me, the person that God had created and ordained me to be.

Since that day I have lost 250 lbs and I am a new person, but only on the outside, my heart and my spirit are the same. I feel like I was granted a new lease on life and what I thought would never be possible is now my reality.

The road that I took to weight lose is not for everyone and while some may say that I took the easy way out, I beg to differ, WLS is not a magic pill, it is a tool. I had some hard days in the beginning but I prayed, followed my Doctor’s orders and focused on my future.

My advice to other women is to strive to be the best you that you can possibly be, whether you are a size 2 or a 22, go to your doctor regularly, try to eat healthy most of the time, drink plenty of water and keep it moving! Our body is our temple, and we have only been blessed with one. Whatever road you choose to weight lose, make small goals, plan, prepare and achieve.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me; danikaiwest@gmail.com.







A Healthy Recipe: Crab and Shrimp Dip

1 cup of back fin or lump crabmeat 

1 cup of large cooked shrimp, chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 large red onions, chopped

1 bunch of cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 fresh lime - squeezed

pinch of salt

Mix ingredients together and chill in refrigerate overnight

or a few hours to allow all flavors to marinate. 

Recipe by Brittany Wallace


 

My Health

Eating the right foods will make a significant difference in your overall health. You will improve your quality of life when you have more energy and clearer thoughts.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

(regarding great websites to view and suggested reading)

Healthy Eating

Regular exercising has endless benefits 

"Eat This Not That"  This is great book to read when it comes to making healthy choices.

Access to Healthcare

Having access to quality healthcare is a integral part to obtaining and maintaining good health. Unfortunately, if you don't have health insurance, having access to good healthcare is more than a challenge.

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It is A New Year and spring has arrived! Now that it is a brand new year, we can start over again to refocus on improving our interior as well as our exterior. Healthy eating and exercise can start you on the road to better health, more energy, in turn, a better quality of life.  Start the new year with being good to you inside out. See simple ways on the My Health page to make the most of your day and to getting back to Loving You "As Is". Health is the key to accomplishing great things which has very little to do with beauty.

Being healthy is a precious gift from God that money cannot buy once it is lost. Furthermore, it is more than a notion in understanding that health begins in the mind. What you think plays a large part in how you see yourself and how you treat yourself. The bible says in Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  

Health can be defined as the state of being well balanced spiritually, physically, mentally, and socially that illuminates inside and out.  There are those times when we really take our health for granted.