About
Hello everyone!!
My name is Casey Rose, and I thought I would write a little something about myself here, explaining my journey to health and wellness. I hope to inspire you to join me in living an active, balanced lifestyle through fitness and wholesome nutrition!
My name is Casey Rose, and I thought I would write a little something about myself here, explaining my journey to health and wellness. I hope to inspire you to join me in living an active, balanced lifestyle through fitness and wholesome nutrition!
Throughout my childhood years, I dealt with many stomach-related issues, and the source of my trouble was attributed to lactose intolerance and IBS. My mother and father have always promoted a healthy diet in our household, but like any normal kid, I definitely indulged in my fair share of chicken nuggets and french fries from McDonald's. However, after eating junk food such as this, I became wracked with sharp stomach pains and never understood why. I continued to eat this way, dealing with the consequences and suffering the pain.
In the summer of 2005 when I turned 12, my mother wanted more answers for why I was still so small and underdeveloped, constantly feeling sick and tired. There had to be something more than lactose intolerance and IBS. After a few different doctor's visits, I had a blood test to screen for Celiac Disease. My numbers were skyrocketing - a normal gluten level is less than 20; mine was over 200! This was pretty much a sealed deal, but I had an endoscopy to confirm, and that was it - Celiac Disease!
For anyone who doesn't know, Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease where gluten attacks the villi in the small intestine, causing them to flatten and become unable to absorb nutrients from food. This explains why I was always so small, and felt so sick after eating anything bready. I immediately started a gluten free diet and saw tremendous improvement in my health almost immediately. I felt stronger, happier and more alive.
Living on a gluten free diet was tough at first, because there were not many good options for GF substitutions to things like bread and pasta. I never understood proper nutrition as a teenager and continued to eat a diet of highly refined carbs for breakfast such as gluten free white breads and sugary cereals. I avoided fats (even the good ones) and while I was feeling better eating gluten free, my diet was still not where it needed to be.
Until I reached college in 2011 and started my degree in Exercise and Sports Science, I never understood how important proper nutrition and fitness are in living a healthy lifestyle. I realized good health and a balanced diet is about the quality of the food you eat. Eating whole foods, as close as possible to the way they are found in nature, is healing my body naturally.
My passion for fitness has developed as well, since starting my journey with Team Beachbody several years ago. I loved running but was forced to stop when my bad ankle started acting up. That is when I decided to try INSANITY by Shaun T! I LOVED it - I felt stronger than ever by building muscle and strength! I stuck with my exercise routine, even in London when I studied abroad there in the fall of 2013. I now focus mainly on a variety of fun, challenging workouts around Boston in order to stay fit!
While I was in London, I got quite sick due to complications of Celiac Disease and eating too little, due to the lack of gluten free foods. I subsequently lost about 15 pounds and was not living with a healthy mindset. Because of this, I was forced to come home a couple weeks early to recover.
At the start of 2014, I decided to overhaul my diet and made my Instagram account @wholeandhealthy as a way to hold myself accountable for proper nutrition. It has been about 3 years since I came back from London and I have experimented with several different ways of eating to determine what dietary lifestyle fits my body the best.
At the start of 2016, after eating a mainly vegetarian diet, I decided to try a 100% vegan, plant based lifestyle. I started out eating an abundance of plant foods, and I really did feel great. After about 5 months, however, I started noticing that my energy levels were dropping, I was losing hair, my nails were becoming brittle, and my hormones were completely out of whack. Blood tests showed my iron and estrogen levels were in the tank, so I decided it was best for me to incorporate some ethically and sustainably raised animal products into my diet, like pasture raised eggs and wild caught salmon. The improvement was almost immediate - my energy levels increased dramatically and I've noticed my hair feels so much healthier and thicker.
I firmly believe that food, diet and lifestyle designed for YOU and YOUR body will heal! I'm passionate about individualized nutrition education and helping others find the foods that make them feel their absolute best. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
My passion for fitness has developed as well, since starting my journey with Team Beachbody several years ago. I loved running but was forced to stop when my bad ankle started acting up. That is when I decided to try INSANITY by Shaun T! I LOVED it - I felt stronger than ever by building muscle and strength! I stuck with my exercise routine, even in London when I studied abroad there in the fall of 2013. I now focus mainly on a variety of fun, challenging workouts around Boston in order to stay fit!
While I was in London, I got quite sick due to complications of Celiac Disease and eating too little, due to the lack of gluten free foods. I subsequently lost about 15 pounds and was not living with a healthy mindset. Because of this, I was forced to come home a couple weeks early to recover.
At the start of 2014, I decided to overhaul my diet and made my Instagram account @wholeandhealthy as a way to hold myself accountable for proper nutrition. It has been about 3 years since I came back from London and I have experimented with several different ways of eating to determine what dietary lifestyle fits my body the best.
At the start of 2016, after eating a mainly vegetarian diet, I decided to try a 100% vegan, plant based lifestyle. I started out eating an abundance of plant foods, and I really did feel great. After about 5 months, however, I started noticing that my energy levels were dropping, I was losing hair, my nails were becoming brittle, and my hormones were completely out of whack. Blood tests showed my iron and estrogen levels were in the tank, so I decided it was best for me to incorporate some ethically and sustainably raised animal products into my diet, like pasture raised eggs and wild caught salmon. The improvement was almost immediate - my energy levels increased dramatically and I've noticed my hair feels so much healthier and thicker.
I firmly believe that food, diet and lifestyle designed for YOU and YOUR body will heal! I'm passionate about individualized nutrition education and helping others find the foods that make them feel their absolute best. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
Much Love,
Casey
First I would like to say: you are a breakfast goddess - truly inspiring. I love your blog. I'm vegan so I really appreciate how your recipes are so easily adaptable (and creative!) It's so amazing how you've turned what could have lead to a very bland, boring diet into something as beautiful and inspiring as all the recipes you post here! Thank you x
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia, thank you so much for your kind words!!! I understand that many people have dietary restrictions, whether it be a caused by a disease, or a lifestyle choice such as veganism, and I try to make my recipes as easy as possible to adapt to suit those restrictions, while still being healthy and delicious!! I'm so happy you like my recipes, and thank you so much for telling me. It really means more to me that you know! :)
DeleteHi Casey! I love your story and health journey! (I can relate somewhat as I was always sick growing up and also have Celiacs.. as well as lupus and Hashimotos Thryoiditis and I'm 24 years old). Your food is so beautiful, it is inspiring. My family is on the healthy lifestyle ride with me (my 2 year old daughter has had horrible digestive issues since birth). I was just curious as to where you buy your ingredients (more so the flours and such). I don't know what part of the country you are from but around me anything that isn't the "popular over processed bad food" is very hard to find and rather expensive! Any advice would be great.. I'd like to try your beautiful, quick and easy recipes that are so enticing my 2 year old would eat them! Thank you, Amanda
ReplyDeleteOh wow Amanda, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles!! I really hope you are feeling better now :) I usually use Bob's Red Mill brand for flours such as buckwheat, sorghum, coconut, millet, garbanzo bean, and rice. I use Bob's Red Mill amaranth grain and raw buckwheat groats, as well. I can usually find these either in my local grocery stores (I shop at Hannaford and Market Basket usually, but I'm not sure if you have those near you). I also find them at Ocean State Job Lot, they carry the entire range of Bob's Red Mill products. Thank you so much for your kindness! If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me or comment again!!
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThank u for the awesome blog! I'd love to hear about the macros u eat - how much carbs, protein, fat and calories do u have per day and do u do sports?
Im asking since Im a runner myself and have been struggling with my diet lately. I have hypothyroidism and my weight just increases no matter what i eat :( in One year already +40 lbs despite training and healthy diet...
Anyway thanks again and keep up the good work:-)
Hello! I don't really count macros, i find it kind of pointless and unnecessary! However, i'm currently eating a grain free, high (healthy) fat, low carb/sugar, moderate protein diet. I have found that grains and sugars from excessive amounts of fruit are triggers for my IBS, along with dairy, almonds, hazelnuts, and sulfur-containing veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, garlic and onion. These all cause serious bloating and stomach pain, so I avoid them! If i had to guess about my macro percentages, i'd say over half my daily calories come from healthy fats, maybe 25% from protein, and the rest carbs. I don't count calories. I exercise and eat to a comfortable fullness whenever i'm hungry! Please don't forget that every person is different, so don't think my way of eating is the right thing for you! I would suggest that you talk to your doctor or a dietician to figure out if you need to change anything in your diet, especially since you have hypothyroidism.
DeleteGood luck, and thank you so much! :)
It all makes sense now :)
ReplyDelete