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Introduction
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What a whirlwind the past few years have been for this redhead! I became a mom. I created a food blog. I developed an effective eating plan to lose and maintain weight. I launched a pilot for a cooking show, and, if you’re reading this, you can see that I also embarked on a journey to write my first cookbook.
The irony is that I only recently discovered a passion for cooking. In fact, if anyone had told me two years ago that I would write a cookbook, I would have laughed out loud. I was one of those people who only had a kitchen because it came with the house. Being very physic-ally active, I felt like I never had to worry about calories, eating out, or enjoying yummy pastry treats high in sugar and trans fats. I would just work it off later. Ergo, I had no reason to use a kitchen or learn how to cook healthy meals at home. When I did venture into this mystery room in the house, I was clueless: “What is braising?” “Seriously, you can make scalloped potatoes from scratch? I thought they only came in a box!” “You don’t flip your meat a thousand times while cooking?!” My greatest culinary achievement was pouring cereal into a bowl. So how exactly did I find myself in this paradoxical situation?
Physical activity has always been a priority in my life. In my youth, I was a competitive swimmer, training up to nine times a week. I achieved many significant milestones during my swim career: set club records, obtained qualifying times, and attended high-level training camps with Olympic coaches. A healthy, active lifestyle was intrinsic to me and is what inspired me to attend university and complete my Personal Fitness Trainer (PFT) diploma.
A Life Unrooted
In 2012, my husband and I found out the very exciting news that we were expecting our first baby! But by week 15 of my pregnancy, I was having terrible heart palpitations. Following a multitude of doctors’ appointments and tests, and almost a month in the hospital, I was diag-nosed with a rare heart condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
The cells of the heart muscle are bound by proteins, but for those with ARVC, our proteins cannot fully develop so the heart muscle cells detach and do not properly repair themselves. This prevents electrical signals from communicating with the bottom of the heart properly, which results in abnormal heart rhythms and improper
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller
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pumping—the perfect setting for sudden cardiac arrest.
To add to the crazy paradox that is my life, ARVC is genetic and only develops in the perfect environment. Geneticists see a significant correlation between patients who were high-level athletes during their youth and the development of the disease. If doctors knew that I had the genetic code as a child, they would have advised me not to participate in intense physical activity. The active and athletic lifestyle that I had led up to this point was, ironically, the root of my rare and incurable heart condition.
My pregnancy switched from textbook to high risk. At my 36-week checkup, there was concern that my heart might not hold up much longer. I was admitted to the hospital and induced. The delivery was intense, but on May 28, 2013, at 12:15 p.m., our precious baby girl, Charlotte (Charley), was born.
In an attempt to decelerate the damage to my heart and prevent a case of sudden cardiac arrest, I was instructed to cease all physical activity indefinitely. Fitness was my whole life, from swimmer to trainer, so this devastating news turned my world upside down.
I can no longer exercise. My career as a personal trainer is over. I am not allowed to have any more babies because my heart is not strong enough to handle another pregnancy. To add insult to injury, I am not even allowed to have coffee! Grieving the loss of my old life is a dynamic journey with constant ups and downs. However, as I continue to develop new hobbies and
skills outside the scope of fitness, I am learning to not only cope with my new reality, but to thrive in it. I’m completely devoted to my role as mother of the most captivating little girl and wife of a supportive and loving husband, but I still sometimes questioned my purpose.
When Life Gives You Lemons. . . Bake a Lemon Meringue Pie!
After my diagnosis, I began looking for ways to control my weight without physical activity. In February 2015 I started a blog to share my journey of both weight loss and weight manage-ment through proper nutrition. Each week I developed meal plans using a diet analysis program I used in university and shared