The Shared Plate
My Journey
I spent close to 18 years of my life battling chronic illness until one fateful day in 2007 which came close to being my last. Within the course of a month, I could no longer eat or drink without my body becoming violently ill. I remember falling to the floor in dire pain and drifting in and out of consciousness and I was rushed to the hospital. There, doctors discovered my gallbladder was not only full of gallstones but the organ itself was necrotic (dead, and needed to be removed). Can you live without a gallbladder? Yes. However sepsis was setting in and that can and will kill a person if left untreated.
After surgery I wasn’t offered any specific guidance other than to take the prescribed pain meds, to rest for a few days and that I should be able to return to life as normal. Unfortunately, after a week, I was nauseous, in horrible digestive pain and was unable to eat or drink again. I was then prescribed more medication and told I’d likely need them for the foreseeable future. The cost of keeping with this regimen was incredible and what was more damaging was the weight I kept gaining that I couldn’t get off. I thought, ‘How can I change this? There has to be a way!
A month passed before I was able to return to work, however the market crashed and I lost my job. This meant I’d eventually lose my health insurance and without it, the ability to afford my medications and what if I needed further medical treatment? I knew I wasn’t well. Panic set in and I went into survival mode. The question was no longer ‘can I change this’ but HOW. How do I change the state of my health?
I had always been involved and interested in the principles and practice of Natural Health, so that’s where I began looking for answers. I researched tirelessly with the hope of learning how to work with my body to heal. The more I learned, the more engaged I became. I felt better with every passing day. My job search became a quest for work that would teach me how to continue to help myself and eventually help others.
In 2008 I was hired by a health and wellness center specializing in weight loss and detoxification. While there, I expanded my knowledge of Holistic Health and Nutrition and obtained my certification as a Certified Natural Health Practitioner. A few years later I pursued my degree as a Certified Nutritional Counselor. While at the wellness center I had the opportunity to trial the program they offered and I lost a total of 65 lbs! My vision became clearer and literally lighter with each step. I’d lost the stubborn weight I tried for years to lose and I was gaining insight on healing my body through nutrition and optimized digestion. I was able to get off all the medication I had “needed” from the surgery and have never looked back.
In 2017, I created Vegha Nutrition and Wellness and saw the need for a program to help anyone and everyone who struggles with poor nutrition or hormonal, medication and stress weight, just like I did. I developed a program designed to help reset the metabolism by treating hormonal imbalance with dietary changes, homeopathics and nutritional supplements. Along the way I make sure to identify each client’s specific nutritional needs and food sensitivities using the GTEC QEST4 System, as well as creating healthy eating habits to ensure what success you make, you maintain for life.
So how’s that for a journey? After years and years of suffering, I set myself on a path for a more vibrant life. I was finally on a path where I gained the tools to do meaningful work that I feel has sustained me every day of this journey. It’s been over 11 years and I am proud to have had the privilege of successfully guiding hundreds of clients on their natural health journey ever since. Whether it’s to lose weight, manage depression and anxiety, detoxify your body or address digestive issues, my mission forward is to help everyone I can realize and achieve their health goals and transform their wellbeing.
Each one of us deserve the opportunity to course-correct our path. Each one of us deserve the ability to make an informed decision about our life rather than accepting a journey riddled with pain, disease and despair.
If your journey is getting rough, if you’re tired of feeling sick and tired, reach out! Together we’ll make a plan and set you on your journey to a healthy more whole you.
– Loren