Hi I’m Paula, a thirty year old woman, wife, architectural designer and a wellness seeker living with Hashimoto’s. I love sharing healthy habits and lifestyle tips to help optimize your health and help make a difference in how you feel everyday. I could say I wasn’t always into wellness, but more accurately I should say I just didn’t have the knowledge and resources I’ve gained in the last couple of years about food, nutrition and habits. I, like many other women, was blessed with genes that allowed me to eat whatever I wanted since I was a kid. I never gained much weight no matter what I ate and was always on the lean side by luck. Diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis at an early age, I took what my doctors prescribed me and never really asked any questions. Into adulthood, I continued to eat unhealthy and live a fast paced life as an architecture student. Lack of sleep, lack of nutrition and excess caffeine and food to power through, was my way of life during architecture school and most of my 20s.
It wasn’t until after graduation when I moved abroad and discovered a slower pace of life, one where it was normal to spend hours of the day outside reading, walking or simply taking in sun, that I started discovering how nice it was to do simple things that made my mind feel good.
On returning back to the states, the covid pandemic hit and like everyone else, I worried for myself and my family as I tried to find ways to boost our immune systems. Something I had never really cared for before. Thankfully the pandemic phased out but some of my habits stayed. Nevertheless, curiosity in my own health and wellbeing began to skyrocket.
I began to listen to podcasts by functional medicine doctors, read books on nutrition, experiment with nourishing meals and really just try to educate myself the best I could about my body, nutrition, health and mind. I didn’t have all the answers and I didn’t have all my problems solved and I still do not. But I have become empowered by what I have learned and by how my body has changed because of this investment and dedication in myself. I feel as though I am on my way. Refining myself. On my way to reversing the damage I have done to my body for years during architecture school and more. Reversing years of speaking negatively to myself and letting my mind keep me in a cycle of negative thoughts. In a way, it became a new way of life for me.
The idea behind this blog started because I became excited to share my findings about health and nutrition with my family and those around me. I wanted them to feel empowered and to feel in control of their health also. I began to write down my findings on post-its while I was at work listening to podcasts, on notepads at home, in my phone notes if I was in transit and anywhere I could jot anything down. I really wanted a way to keep track of everything I was learning, in one place.
Lastly, I believe we owe it to ourselves to care and nourish our bodies and minds not just to prevent disease but to live life fully as we are intended to.