Why I Went Gluten & Dairy Free For 15 Days

I've said before, both on here and on my Facebook page, that I tend to jump into things, but that thankfully I usually have pretty good judgment, even if I don't do my fact checking.

Well, today I wanted to share an amazing story that I believe played a part in the fact that I am now 22 weeks pregnant.

When Jake and I got married we planned to wait two years before we started having kiddos. We felt that it was important to lay a strong foundation between the two of us before we added to our family. That was a good decision for us because our marriage struggled a lot for the first year and a half or so.

When our two year anniversary had come and gone we decided we were ready to bring on some kiddos. We expected to get pregnant fairly quickly, I mean, we were both young, healthy, and it should be easy, right?!

Well after about six months we learned about some complications that required me to go on medication if we wanted to be successful at starting a family. The medication put my hormones in a tailspin and made me CRAZY! So after going through the initial treatment we decided not to ingest me with any more drugs. The medication was stressing me out too much and putting too much strain on our marriage.

However, by NOT taking the medication we knew we were running the risk of possibly never conceiving at all, which was a hard pill to swallow—no pun intended.

In June I made a sweet new friend. I had known her husband for years, but they lived in Texas and so I had never met her. Over the next couple of months we chatted back and forth and then spoke on the phone. In our conversation she shared how they were also having trouble conceiving and that a doctor had told her to go on a dairy and gluten free diet. This included eating three eggs a day.

The diet sounded better than medication, and though I had no way of knowing whether it would help me in my specific situation, following the eating plan at least made me feel like I was doing something.

So starting September 1 I followed this eating plan strictly for about 15 days, and then we visited the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory and... well, they had ice cream there. Who could resist? I kept up with the diet loosely for the next week or so before deciding I would just start it again the next month.

But I never did start it again, because on September 28 I found out that I was pregnant!

I don't know why some people say this diet can help you conceive other than gluten really seems to affect some people's hormones. All I know is that it worked for me. I 100% believe it was not a coincidence that this girl and I became friends when we did, or that she chose to share this eating plan with me. It was a God thing and I am thankful for it and for her!

I Have A Blog?? Oops!

Four months have passed by since my last post - that is CRAZY!

It's not that I have stopped working out, eating healthy or building my amazing team of coaches so we can help even more people reach their health, fitness and financial goals. It's that other significant life evens happened.

September was a busy month with hosting two sweet girls from Life Action - a ministry that travels the country speaking in churches and helping to ignite revival in the hearts of God's people. Jake and I were personally challenged during that time and grew closer in our relationship with the Lord and each other. We also had lots of fun showing the girls around VT - bringing them to Ben & Jerry's, through the Smuggler's Notch and then over to NH to explore Franconia Notch, Polly's Pancake Parlor, Windy Ridge Orchard and the Brick Store.

At the end of September I found out we were pregnant with our first baby - something we had been trying for over a year to have happen. It was a fun time of sharing the news with Jake, family and then the facebook world.

If you would like to see our announcement video go here: Young Couples Pregnancy Announcement To Families

The next couple of months were busy as we prepared to move to Maui, pack up our things and spend time with family and friends.

On December 31st we found out that this little one is a BOY and we again had fun sharing the news with family and friends.

If you would like to see that announcement go here: Jake 'N' Dani's Gender Reveal

Now I sit here writing from my little apartment on Maui, were we have begun to settle over the past week. It's amazing for me to look back and see what God has done over the last four months and will continue to do as we seek Him on this adventure we call life.

I hope to keep up with this blog more faithfully sharing recipes, my life as a coach and our life here on the beautiful island of Maui.