This picture is a throwback to May 6 2013, the day that I finally clued into the fact that gluten was causing my skin to breakout. It was the day that I became gluten free.

It was our first full day in Mexico, and after 3 days of travelling to get there, my skin was on fire and not just from the sun.

I was in pain, both emotionally and physically, and three new cysts were starting to develop. Three of which are still noticeable today and have the potential to blow up (cystic sac still under skin) at any moment, ughhhh!!

Over the course of the 3 days of traveling, I was away from my kitchen which meant I consumed a lot more gluten containing foods than I was used to.

Up till this point I was desperately trying to figure out what was causing my skin to break out yet again. I had questioned gluten, I'm pretty sure it was an intuitive hit, but I ignored it, because who the heck wants to give up gluten, right!?

As a health coach, I thought I had it all sorted out. I was eating a very clean vegan/vegetarian diet, I was juice cleansing regularly, eating organic, using natural products, and exercising on regular basis. I thought I had it had it all figured out (skin and weight) and that I had solved my health issues. 

How could I have possibly coach anyone around health when I looked anything but healthy!? I lost all confidence in myself and my ability to coach anyone to health. Acne can do that to a person! It has a way of stripping away any self-esteem and confidence you have.

Normally, the first day of vacation is supposed to be a happy one, but this one wasn’t. I was miserable!!

I remember this day like it was yesterday.

When I woke up, I felt the pain that comes when a cyst forms. As if my skin wasn’t already bad enough with all the small little pussy zits I already had, now I had to deal with a f*ucking cyst, f*ck me!!! Talk about embarrassing. I am a health coach, yet I look like a fricken leper. People at the resort would stare at me. The Bell Boy stole for me the only aloe leaf, from the garden, because my skin looked so painful.

Up to this point, most of the cysts I would get would end up lasting anywhere from one to three months. I was horrified that I was facing that potential again. 

I felt defeated, embarrassed, and like I was a fraud. Little did I know that by the end of this trip I'd have 3 huge cysts and that this experience would change my life on so may levels.

Looking back, it’s hard to go feel what I felt during those times. It was a very low time for me. The self-loathing and lack of confidence that I felt were very difficult emotions to feel, especially when I was working so hard at being healthy. 

I am now able to see the gift that came with this experience.

This experience has enabled me to teach the importance of listening to your body. It got me to dive deeper into the science of the body and to understand it in a much more profound way. It helped to me to connect with my body and intuition and to be able to share my process and experience with others. 

Once I accepted that gluten was damaging my body and  I decided to cut it out of my diet completely, finally giving my body the ability to heal. 

Had my reactions to gluten been only on the inside and not on the outside, I may have chosen to ignore my symptoms even longer, causing my body more damage, making it even harder to come back from. I am grateful that my intuition spoke to me and helped me to see what was causing my reactions.

What symptoms/signals is your body sending you? Are you choosing to listen or ignore them?

Oh, and by the way, gluten was just one layer of the onion peel. There are so many things I did to support my body with the natural healing process. I am excited to finally be able to share my health journey and the tools I acquired along the way. Follow us on Facebook to follow my journey or check back here often (more posts to come)...my journey has uncovered lots of valuable tools that can help you on your health journey as well.

Please share if you know someone who could benefit from this post.