Day One.

Today is day 1 of 60. For the next 60 days, my entire full time job is to blaze the trail that will put me on a permanent path back to health. Not just a challenge- a lifestyle. A forever thing. It's do or die- literally.

For me this is a well-timed restart as Dr. Bulsiewicz's new book dropped today, and I've already started to dig in on Audible. So who is this guy?

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz is a board-certified gastroenterologist and world-renowned expert in gut health. He is a New York Times bestselling author known for his book Fiber Fueled and his brand new release Plant Powered Plus. And he also happens to be my personal hero.

Dr. B focuses on using the power of plant diversity to heal the microbiome and tame chronic inflammation. He serves as the U.S. Medical Director for the nutrition science company ZOE and is a leading voice in lifestyle medicine. His approach is rooted in the idea that a healthy gut is the foundation for a strong immune system and overall longevity.

Unfortunately, just knowing things doesn't change anything. Even though I have been armed with the knowledge he (and many other super well informed sources) has bestowed upon my brain hole- if I don't do anything with the information I have, then it's pretty much useless.

This isn't my first rodeo. Ha! In fact, I've been on this very ride for almost 13 years. Back in 2013 I came to the realization that I needed to do something. I was terribly overweight, sick as all get out, and damn near dead. And so the journey began. I started something called The Sage Thrive Challenge. The goal was to prove to myself (and my mother) that despite our terrible genetic predisposition, what we do and how we eat could change our health- and our lives. So I started in on a very intensive challenge- beginning with a juice fast.

I made enormous progress. I shed a bunch of weight, my thyroid was working better, I was having far fewer symptoms of my stage 4 endo, and the (yet to be diagnosed) hEDS wasn't giving me so much trouble. My mother who had been wrought and ravaged by all of these things was shocked and amazed by my progress. But for her, she felt it was far too late.

Mother's Day Weekend 2014, her earthside journey came to an abrupt end. I had made the mistake of 'doing it for her', and when she wasn't here anymore, the challenge was over. I continued on that year to reach my goals, moved to the west coast, and eventually it all unraveled.

I managed to pick myself back up again in 2021 after a pancreatic episode had me on an ambulance ride that triggered my second reboot. But I made the same-ish mistake I did the first time. It was a challenge with an end goal. I needed to get the weight off that was causing me issues, and again I (almost) reached that goal.

That phase ended also.. after almost a decade out west and having built up a life there, everything changed. I lost my career to the pandemic, my hobby farm to the floods, and veered so far off the path to better health that I ended up literally right back where I started 13 years ago.

My end goal this time around is not to have one- to focus daily on the journey, and not the destination. To create and build on sustainable choices that support my body and immune system so that daily life isn't a constant struggle with pain and inflammation. And not to break myself down and give up if I have a bad day.

As I said in the first paragraph- this time, it's do or die. Literally. So here's to the beginning of a life-long adventure back to health! This is the first day of cutting a well blazed path- so that if I ever find myself lost in the woods again, I can find my way back quickly and confidently. And as always- sharing for the sake of accountability.