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). Thankfully I’ve always been in love with the way I look and I am a beacon for body positivity. 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 getting the nutrients my body needed.
When I reached my late 20s, I started to notice the onset of depression and low energy- but I just tried to ignore it. Then I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse, and the new location had unhealthy snacks that were irresistible. My habits got worse and so did my addiction to sugary soft drinks.
It all happened so quickly and a few months into the new job, I went home and looked at myself in the mirror…I was not happy. Something about me was just dull- I was not myself and looking at recent photos made it clear that this was not my normal.
It really wasn’t about looks though- I weighed the same but, 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 mood, skin, energy and even hormone balance.
Nutrients, Check. Food, Check. Trying to manage what I was eating was so much harder than avoiding my bad habits because I grew to love junk 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 depression 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 help 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 mood! My skin slowly started glowing as well!! It took around 4 months but I was transformed and felt like myself again.
It was funny because I really started my journey because of how I was feeling more than how I looked in the mirror. The happy mood 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 optimized!
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