Approaching 40? How Claudia Transformed Her Health, Energy Levels and Shed Stubborn Weight with a Lectin Free Diet

Recently, Miracle Noodle's Teri Market visited with Miracle Noodle Ambassador, Claudia Curici about her inspirational wellness journey. Learn how Claudia has changed her life for the better through healthy habits which include following Dr. Gundry's The Plant Paradox, incorporating Miracle Noodle, and yoga!

Q: When did you decide to make a change in your life for your health and why?

A: It was exactly a year ago (July 2017), around my birthday, when I started to become fed up with being fed up with the progression of my health. I had gained weight inexplicably somehow, because I was on what many consider a healthy diet, and for a while I blamed it on my age (will be 39 this year).

Women are told that once they approach 40s, they should expect hormonal imbalances and weight gain and that there is not much they can do about it. Well, I didn’t quite buy that, and kept looking for answers, until an interview with Dr. Steven Gundry, the author of The Plant Paradox, came up on my Facebook feed.

Q: Which path did you explore to heal yourself and why?

A: The interview I was talking about, had a title along these lines, which is also the subtitle of The Plant Paradox book: ‘The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain’. Because I was living a ‘healthy’ lifestyle, eating the foods generally recognized as healthy (most of them nightshades and whole grains) and practicing yoga six days a week, this title immediately caught my attention.

What if what I ate was not that healthy after all? Once I started reading the book, I realized that most of my diet was made of foods that Dr. Gundry said we should eliminate from our diet, and it made complete sense to me.

I started to eliminate those foods immediately. You can’t unlearn what you read in that book. I did not start strictly with Phase 1 or Phase 2, I just started exploring the recipes from the book and to my surprise I liked everything I ate. I eliminated all grains, all sugars (inclusive fruits, with few exceptions), all nightshades, all legumes and few other things. Except for few days of sugar withdrawal symptoms at the beginning, I started to feel better every day.

The extra weight I was carrying came off naturally, my yoga practice improved dramatically, my headaches and sinus inflammation disappeared, and to my biggest surprise, two weeks into the diet, I experienced the most astonishing benefit, something I never thought was possible. I experienced my first period in my life without cramps. As you can imagine, I was sold.  

Q: How is Miracle Noodle a part of your health plan?

A: I had no idea what Miracle Noodle was before reading The Plant Paradox and it remained a mystery to me for a little while, until I decided to make one of Dr. Gundry’s famous recipes, Healthy Pad Thai. I found the noodles, I tried them and absolutely loved them. Even my husband, who is not on a diet and can eat whatever noodles he wants, could not tell they were not the usual rice noodles. To me, if they are prepared correctly, you can’t tell the difference.

Since then I’ve been trying almost everything that is Plant Paradox compliant, and made countless recipes using Miracle Noodles products. One of my favorite ways to use them is making rice pudding with Miracle Rice.

I have different recipes depending on the mood and season, and I love them all. I eat them as breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, it doesn’t matter. And, my latest discovery and obsession are the Japanese sauces, which are Plant Paradox compliant (due to the fermentation process) and absolutely delicious. I am exploring Japanese flavors and these are my staples.

Q: What other healthy habits do you enjoy?

As mentioned above, my diet is free of highly inflammatory foods, which has changed my health and life in general. I do a six day yoga practice, and when I can’t do yoga, I walk in nature or do other type of exercise. I take any opportunity to walk. If my destination is in walking distance, I don’t drive. I avoid endocrine disruptors, and completely changed all the cosmetic products I use.

Q: What have you learned most about yourself through your experience?

A: I learned I’m much more than just a body craving food. I have a will power, I am persistent and committed, I am consistent - things I was doubting I was. And that I loved to cook more than I thought.

Q: What motivates you to keep going?

A: Firstly, the changes I have experienced. I could never go back to feeling like I was feeling before the Plant Paradox. And secondly, but equally important, the community I build around @CreativeInMyKitchen and seeing how much what I do helps people every day.

The feedback I get is so touching, sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming or it’s reality. I always wanted to do something to make the world a better place, and by helping people find they health I feel like I found my purpose.

Q: What is the biggest benefit you have gained through healthy living?

A: Feeling that I do everything that’s in my power to stay healthy. I always felt anxious about the modern illnesses, like cancer and all these auto-immune diseases, because I didn’t know what I personally do to minimize my risk. It gives me a good feeling to know I have the tools and information that allow me and my loved ones to stay healthy.

Q: What advice would you share with others who are struggling to find the correct path on their health journey?

A: I’d say never stop looking for answers, and be open to receive them. Usually the universe sends us the right signs when we are ready to make the change, and for that we have to stay open to anything. If you feel like something might help, but you are not sure, you have to try. There is no way to knowing if something works for you unless you try.

Change is not easy, and our diet is so much conditioned by the modern living standards, but if you feel overwhelmed, take it as a challenge. Like a personal project. Be curious about how that change can impact your health and try to find answers. And never apologize for your eating or healthy habits in general.

Many of us are fearful of social rejection because this lifestyle will change the way we socialize, but taking care of our health should be our number one priority, and building your lifestyle around that is possible and exciting.

Claudia Curici is a photographer and food blogger who’s on a mission to bring the fun back to cooking and help people cook healthy and tasty food at home. She started her Instagram account @CreativeInMyKitchen to keep track of her own cooking and recipes after she experienced the healing benefits of a lectin free diet. The blog www.creativeinmykitchen.com followed and a strong and inspiring community formed around these two channels. Always a lover of cookbooks and books in general, she hopes one day she gets to publish a cookbook with all her recipes. She credits Ashtanga yoga she practices six days a week for giving her the tools and discipline to change her diet. Follow her for grain-free, sugar-free, lectin-free nasties-free food and healthy living ideas.

For more information on Claudia, please visit her online.

Instagram - @CreativeInMyKitchen

Website - https://creativeinmykitchen.com