Changes boost energy

By Sarah Blackwell

This column will feature the journey of one Anishinaabe family – mine – as we made the transition from sickness and disease into wellness.

Two years ago Fred Bellefeuille, legal counsel at the Union of Ontario Indians and his wife – me– both faced life-threatening diseases.  Through lifestyle and diet changes our lives have evolved and influenced those around us. We feel the effects by having more energy, sleeping better, reducing medications and each have lost excess weight and fat.

If you look at the Ojibway word for good health, it is Bimaadzwin.  Good health is not only the absence of disease, but also the positive influences on our body, mind and spirit.  It is about embracing all areas of our lives to create Bimaadzwin.  As Anishinaabe people how do we do that?  How do we create this for ourselves when we face many challenges, whether it is financial, emotional, spiritual, social or even physical?

Fred  shares what worked for him; “I removed foods I knew were making me sick. I had to focus on my heart health, so I started with reducing sugar, meat and processed foods. I now eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables that are good for my heart and overall health”.

As parents, once you start to make changes in your own choices you will see how much of an impact it has on your own children.  When we made green smoothies the children wanted to try them too!  Now that we have changed what we eat, our children have eliminated packaged foods and eat whole, fresh foods as a part of their daily nutrition.

In addition to making changes in our diets our family has also integrated more physical activity into our lives.  Since Fred works at a desk and travels consistently through the month his exercise routine was less consistent  than the rest of the family.

“I used to think there wasn’t enough time to exercise,” he says, “but now I realize that I wasn’t making the time.  I now go for a walk every single day, rain, snow or hail for a minimum of 30 minutes.  I also started to integrate weights into my exercise routine. This has helped me lose weight, makes me stronger and builds muscle mass. I also will try yoga once in a while when Sarah does it.”

I practice yoga at home where the children will also participate. They have learned more about their body and breath, and my oldest even integrates this in her bedtime routine to help her sleep better.

This family’s journey into wellness is so much more than can be covered in this short column. However, we are discovering what Bimadziwin means to us as a family and as parents.  When you fill your body with more oxygen, whether it is through food or exercise, you will feel better and sleep better.

If you would like to follow our journey as a family you can find me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/SarahBlackwellHealthCoach