Unlocking Wellness: Beyond The Bento

This new space on Love, Jane is the second most visited page on the website (now it’s Leyla K’s Sweet Treats Lol!). That’s not in the thousands or millions of views for me, but it’s enough of readers to know you want to know more.

Wellness has always been important to me. It extends beyond physical health. It’s also emotional, mental, and spiritual. I’ve been sharing this topic online for years. I’ve been sharing this topic offline for many more years. I have shared all of the above topics of wellness – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

You may be wondering why I now have a space on Love, Jane for the topic of wellness (well.) Let me rewind a little. Well, if you look at my highlights, I’ve always reserved a space for wellness.

It started a while ago. My foot swelled, and instead of finding answers, the doctor would give me dismissive remarks about watching my sodium intake. This started as an inconsistent issue, nineteen years of age being my first time with a left foot swollen up like a balloon. It was always the How much sodium are you consuming question. Little did I know, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Years passed, and I found myself in a cycle of fatigue, and swelling at times. I tried everything from mindful eating to workout routines. The symptoms persisted. Despite sharing indulgent recipes like macaroni and cheese and fried chicken, my everyday meals looked a lot different. I experimented with the fun time of meal-prepping my bento boxes (they are so much fun), I got medical advice, but the doctor never really tried to get to the root of the issue. They just threw the option for fluid pills at me. That didn’t answer the question. They followed up with an explanation of inflammation.

Well, having inflammation in my gut led to other issues that would many times just swipe so much of my energy and kept me in either body aches or pain. My gut was so inflamed that it needed a reset. Having gut issues can lead to weight gain and more.

I’ve tried many styles of eating – plant-based, clean, mostly plant-based, eating whatever I want, just in moderation. I am a foodie! I’ve said that time and time again. What’s always been important to me when it comes to food is eating well. Yes . . . I have eaten fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and more plenty of times; however, it wasn’t my everyday eating. Honestly, many times, it wasn’t my every week eating. When I would bloat terribly or swell, I would think ‘Maybe it’s just something I ate’. I didn’t think I was eating enough of the not-so-well” dishes I was developing for Love, Jane to bloat how I was. 

Now, let’s fast forward to a night that changed everything. I instantly felt like it was a struggle to swallow, which made it feel like it was a struggle to breathe and because of that, anxiety sure had its grip on me because I was so uncomfortable. Hours of waiting and tests led to the same conclusion. Frustration and confusion clouded my mind. My husband and I both felt that there was no way that I would have difficulty swallowing out of nowhere. He started reaching out to other doctors to help. We refused to give up . . . and so did my throat. Just days later, I had issues swallowing again. My husband turned the emergency lights on and safely passed up as many red lights as he had to. The good thing is that there weren’t many cars on the road. It was nighttime.

There I was in the hospital bed again. This time, the doctor wanted to go a little farther into seeing what was happening with my throat. We were told that something was indeed happening with my throat…swelling. I was instructed to follow up with an ear, nose, and throat doctor. They gave me medicine for the inflammation and sent a prescription to the pharmacy.

I was determined to get better. I did my research. A few doctor visits later, we uncovered a pivotal truth – my body is sensitive to certain ingredients, ones that I had been consuming for YEARS. It was a moment that simultaneously shocked and empowered me.

I decided I would go on a gut-healing journey. I got book after book, and I read and watched videos to educate myself on the necessary steps. I was already eating clean; however, I needed to specifically make sure I was taking intentional steps throughout the day to nurture my gut. It has been through so much for so long with ingredients that it just didn’t like. My issues of swallowing were my body telling my throat, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. Keep those ingredients away from me, please.’ Ha ha!

I am still on a gut-healing journey. It’s not an overnight transformation. It requires patience and listening to my body’s cues. My swelling, my bloating, the body aches and pains, and the fatigue were all being welcomed by the food on my plate. Yes… even the clean eating because those ingredients oftentimes were on my plate. I didn’t know. How could I? I was eating mostly plant-based throughout the week for years. The ingredients on other days of the week were even tougher on me. I remember seeing my photo in an article I was featured in. I was badly bloated, and I just didn’t look like myself. Or rewind to a moment when I did a video for Instagram. When I looked back at that video, I was so fatigued. It was a Q&A video.

Have you ever lost weight and didn’t realize how much you’ve lost until you look at older photos? Now that I know why I was so tired at times, even looking at older videos, I see just how tough those ingredients were on me. In the video I mentioned, my skin looked different which is crazy because I’m always complimented on my skin. It was the lighting though. I was too tired and felt like the video wasn’t terrible. Now, when I look at that video, I know why I was so tired. Not the autoimmune issue of arthritis like I once thought.

So, the title of this article: Unlocking Wellness: Beyond the Bento. It’s the message of knowing that regardless of what’s in the bowls that have been prepped or the bento boxes, or whatever containers… the key to unlocking wellness goes beyond what’s on your plate. First, you have to know your body.

On my gut healing journey, I am so inspired, and I feel so free in my body. I take it a step at a time. A day at a time. I don’t care what the scale says. I am dealing with myself with so much love and compassion. I still have a stomach that is so sensitive that it just feels like a sip of water bloats me sometimes. Or maybe I just feel full. Ha ha. It’s getting better though. Which is great because my gut-healing journey is so much fun. Either way, I feel free in my skin. I want everyone to feel free. I want YOU to feel free.

I’ve always believed that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. I still stand by that. So, when I look at how the effects of those ingredients and the inflammation that followed moved the scale up a little, I’m okay with that. My husband and our babies love me just the way I am. And I love me.

well. is about embracing your imperfections with compassion and mindfully taking the necessary steps to heal. I’m on a path of healing my gut, embracing each day as a new opportunity to nourish my body. I’m eating nutrient-dense foods that exclude ingredients my body doesn’t like. I am exercising with freedom, meaning I’m not putting unnecessary pressure on myself. It’s a journey of resilience and learning.

I hope to inspire you to listen to your body, prioritize gut health, and embark on a transformative journey towards wellness. Walk in wellness – mind, body, and soul.

Note: My ear, nose, and throat doctor told me there was no swelling after all. I eventually found out it was acid reflux, which I have learned can be healed. I also learned that some of the ingredients that were causing the issues may not always. My gut just needs healing and I am in the process of doing that; however, I am enjoying my way of eating. I haven’t been missing any of those ingredients.

I now have amazing doctors who are helping me along my gut-healing journey.

#stories #well