What does it mean to live your life Basically Nourished?  Hi there, I’m Krissy.  I created this blog after I had my own health crisis in 2018, when I was diagnosed with Cervical cancer.  I had to have a hysterectomy with several lymph nodes removed, and subsequent complications that developed during my post-operative year.  During this recovery year I began to reevaluate my current (health) state of affairs, and started making some major adjustments.

But first, let me rewind a bit…

Growing up, I played sports and exercised routinely, ate mostly home cooked meals, and spent the majority of my spare time reading books or hanging outside with friends.  Healthy was just second nature for me until I went to University.  Trying to manage a heavy school load, eating from the school cafeteria, and staying up WAY too late was the “new” norm.  I began to develop unhealthy habits that made me feel less than stellar, but youth was on my side at the time, and I kept pushing through.  

I graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Physiology and  Kinesiology (body movement).  My own degree was one that focused on health and wellness, yet I was definitely living a subpar version of healthy myself.  Next up, graduate school where I earned my Masters degree in Physician Assistant studies through UF’s College of Medicine in 2005.  Although I was getting a little better with eating well, I was still living on caffeine and fast food for late night study sessions.  Not to mention, little sleep, less than consistent exercise, and partying on weekends as a way to “release” the stressors of the week.

Fast forward to 2018.  I had a successful career practicing as a Physician Assistant in a very busy clinic, my husband and I had two small children, and I was running all of our household routines.  Then I got the call that changed EVERYTHING.  What seemed like out of the blue, was the diagnosis that I had Stage 2 cervical cancer, and I would have to have a hysterectomy and lymph node removal as the first steps to get well.  My post-surgical downtime from work was 8 weeks, and I was so ready to get back to work that I dove back in head first.  I never allowed my mind or my body to heal completely.  I didn’t process the weight of what I had just gone through, and my body started to sing a different tune.   

I began to notice significant gastrointestinal issues like chronic bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea that would come and go.  I was waking up at 3 am every single night, wide eyed and alert, unable to fall back to sleep.  I developed lymphedema in my left thigh, and had to see a massage therapist several times weekly to help push the fluid out of my leg.  All day everyday, I was exhausted.  Yet once again,  I kept pushing through, doing all of the things that needed to get done each day to keep the wheels on the cart.

I was fragile, moody, and worn out.  One evening, my husband asked me a simple question, and I broke down in tears.  We had a major heart to heart, and it was then that my husband and I realized how burnt out I was, and that changes were no longer an option, but a necessity.

Slowly I began making adjustments.  The first change was with my nutrition.  I got back to my roots of nutrition science and began to focus on including more whole foods, and removing processed foods.  I knew there were specific things that made my GI symptoms worse, and I cut those foods out completely.  I also drank more water each day.  Within as little as 3 weeks, I began to feel a difference. 

What I found most interesting was that the changes I was noticing was not just in my abdominal symptoms, but also in my energy levels.   I slowly started to add in some daily movement in the form of walking or basic resistance training for just 20 minutes, and my sleep started to improve.  In addition to the focus of nutrition science, I also picked up a few books that focused on positively adjusting my mindset.  It seemed that every small adjustment or change, led to benefits in more than the area I was working on.

Over the course of the next few years, I identified five key areas of change that made the most impact to creating better health.  I simplified those key areas and created the Basically Nourished Body using my 5M Method that touches on these 5 pillars.

1. Meals (nutrition)
2. Movement (exercise)
3. Management (of stress + sleep)
4. Mindset (positivity + self-growth)
5. Minimize (detoxing the body, the home, your schedule)

The biggest obstacles to overcome when it comes to making changes to health are usually a lack of time, information overload, and waiting until “things settle down” before making changes.  I get it.  I have been there.  But I also know that sometimes your body may be trying to talk, and you have to be still and listen.  

I want to simplify things for you.  My goal with this blog is to filter out the noise, and get back to the basics of health.  Living a Basically Nourished life focuses on simplicity, because I know firsthand that by creating these foundation basics, you can then build YOUR version of a healthy life.  

Thank you for reading this post, and welcome to living life Basically Nourished.  I can’t wait to help you grow!