Jasmine Elise came from more than just a dream, but from a journey.
So take my hand, and let me take you along.
The journey really begun for me at two years old, where I had my {first} near death experience. I came down with pneumonia, where I ended up spending two weeks in the hospital, along with having surgery to remove fluid from my lungs that was preventing me from being able to breathe. While I do not consciously remember this, the same cannot be said for my mom.
It was this situation that completely shifted my mom’s mindset and approach to health in hopes to re-gain the control and prevent the “helpless feeling” she experienced when I was sick.
I later became “that kid” who would open up their lunchbox to a fruit leather, meanwhile all my friends had fruit roll-ups and gushers. I would longingly look at my friends lunches, wishing mine didn’t have to be so weird.
Now, I thank my mom for the care she took to feed our family healthy food and take care of us. She was really the one catalyst who lead me to practicing preventative health and showing the importance of good nutrition.
Come middle school, I began to express to my mom that something just felt “off”. I would come home from school with no energy or appetite, as I would lay on the couch, holding my stomach, with debilitating nausea. After seeing multiple doctors, I was diagnosed with celiac disease.
And while I will never forget the sadness that came when I ate what I knew would be my last slice of gluten- filled pizza, I was grateful to have answers, and begin to see some of my health complications go away.
Until more began to arise…
I felt so out of control of my life.
In hopes of gaining control of my life, I found control in the only way I could at such a young age: through food.
What began as innocently eliminating potential food allergy “trigger foods” to find answers to my health concerns, turned into a full-fledged eating disorder.
Controlling my food gave me a false sense of “control”, when I felt I had none in my life.
During high school I reached my heaviest weight, right before I quickly lost almost 60 pounds. People began to comment on how “great I looked”, which gave me fuel to keep restricting. It was a game I played with myself that I could never win.
Reluctantly, my mom let me go off to college, in hopes I would find health if I was removed from some of the difficulties I was experiencing at home. I continued to lose weight in college, until the out-patient center I was attending three days a week brought my mom in to tell her if she didn’t take me out of school immediately, I would die from my illness.
But, I was stubborn. And no one was going to take away my “college experience” at my dream school from me.
The day after moving out of the dorms my freshman year of college, I was admitted to in-patient treatment for an eating disorder.
I will forever be grateful for treatment, because they saved my life – for the second time now.
However, I left with a prescription for birth control (to re-gain the period I had lost) and a meal plan according to the USDA Food Pyramid, based on their standard of “healthy”. Which, mind you, suggested that 1/8th of an avocado was an appropriate portion size, and carbohydrates (refined or not), should be the majority of my assigned calorie-plan I was given.
As I went back to school for my sophomore year of college, no one knew I went to treatment except for my best friends from back home who had seen my 40 pound weight loss.
This was the birth of @Berryfitt , my Instagram account. Coming back to school and reality with not a single person knowing what I had just gone through was hard. So I created that account in order to connect with others who were recovering from an eating disorder as well, in hopes to have some sort of community to help me through this transition.
Obviously, this is far from the aim of my page now. Through time and dedication as I found true healing from my eating disorder, and my page transformed into a place to share my love for healthy, nourishing food. But but back then, this account was my community. I was able to see people who were sharing about how hard recovery was, people who were open and vulnerable, and allowed me to be inspired by their strength. I however was always the one who was in the background, admiring their vulnerability and pulling from their strength, because I was still too afraid of anyone finding out about my story.
Unfortunately I continued to encounter challenges with my health… And what a journey it has been… Within the past few years I have experienced:
- IBS/Leaky gut
- Detoxing parasites
- Acne
- Eczema
- Chronic fatigue
- Chronic UTI’s
- Innercystial cystits (IC)
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Irregular hormones
- Thyroid imbalances
- Troubles with my vision
- Staph infection (that took over my entire face)
- Asbestos & mold poisoning
- Depression
- OCD
- Anxiety
- And 100’s of visits to ER’s, Doctors, and Specialists, none of which could really identify what was ever going on
I found myself in a dark place.
Wondering why God had put me through all of this.
Why I had to endure this type of pain.
Why I couldn’t catch a break.
Now I know.
Through holistic nutrition and healing, herbs, energy, divine healing, and discovering the power of my mind,
I found my way from darkness to light.
And so can you.
Health and healing are about so much more than a meal plan and a list of “recommended superfoods”.
True health encompasses inner peace, self love, and not just surviving – but thriving.
I created Jasmine Elise for women who are tired of searching, and ready for answers. For women who are ready to re-discover their inner light.
Here you will find the help, attentiveness, and care I wish I had received along my journey.
So thank you for coming along on my journey…
Now, take me along on yours.
