At the heart of Sakara's mission, we crave to help the world realize the power of food as medicine. What starts on your plate can improve not only your health, but your confidence, your relationships, your creativity— your ability to accomplish your most audacious dreams. While we've been impacting thousands of Sakaralites over the last six years, we dreamed of being able to gift women and men who were seeking transformation, and so we announced our first Sakara Scholarship at the start of 2018. The (917!!) responses that followed in the next 72 hours were overwhelming and your stories were incredible. While it was tough to choose just a few recipients, a few stories in particular took our breath away and made it clearer than ever that food is the foundation to everything.
When we read Elizabeth's story, we were moved to help her connect the dots and bring big change into her life. It was clear she was incredibly deserving of a month of flooding her body with plant-based nutrition, intense self-care, and fine-tuning her intentions through meditation. Physically, emotionally, mentally-- Elizabeth is a changed woman. (And you could be too!)
Read below to learn more about this new Sakaralite, ready to reclaim her confidence, power and light— beginning with her plate.
"Sometimes there are certain periods of life filled with extreme strife. I'd gone through one of those recently, after the loss of my mother and a divorce in the same year. I was, to say the least, not in the best frame of mind or body. I’d been through such sadness for a while that I had gained some weight, had skin issues and was just feeling at a loss as to how to be my best self.
I was exposed to a vegan diet through a close friend that had helped me through this period, so I started looking at plant based food Instagrams to get some healthy recipes. Social media can be good for certain things but there's a lot on it that can intimidate and cause depression and just as I decided to possibly take a break from it, I saw Sakara. I found it to be an uplifting, educational Instagram feed so I starting following them. When they posted the offer for the body reset scholarship I wrote to them with a heartfelt message of my hopelessness and a desire to change my body and soul from the inside out. Even if I didn't win, I felt honored to share my story and as I pressed send I felt a positive energy come over me at the thought that I might have a chance at this gift of healing.
After one late night out with friends, I came home to an email that said I’d won. I had to read it multiple times to believe it. I couldn’t call anyone to tell them at the moment, so I jumped around with joy by myself, inspired and hopeful that this could be an opportunity for the beginning of change.
I received my first set of meals and heartily dove right in to the fresh, exotic foods along with the beauty, detox waters/teas and the probiotic chocolates. I loved the salads and greens within the meals. The different kinds offered were vast and added to the educational aspect of the importance of greens in your diet to feed your gut microbiome, which was new information to me and an unexpected perk. I also experienced the ease of not having to think about what to eat in my busy day and knowing I was helping my body with the healthy recipes didn't disappoint.
I'm a breakfast person and discovering the delicious breakfasts was a treat in itself, while reading about what I would be eating for lunch and dinner on the packages for later. The beauty/ detox waters are extra incentive to drink more water daily because it’s like drinking a bouquet of roses while getting helpful nutrients. An elixir fit for a queen. Sometimes, I carried my lunch to work along with the detox tea and everyone I worked with were curious about what I was eating, so the nutritional education didn't stop with me.
Then home for a tasty dinner, which was always a filling meal. If I went out to dinner I'd make proper choices that followed the plant based diet ideals and I'd save the Sakara meal for the next night or to eat on the weekends. I looked forward to the probiotic chocolate with more tea before bed which was just enough to satisfy my dessert and chocolate urges.
By the beginning of the second week I noticed my skin starting to clear up and my energy levels increasing. Upon awakening I'd feel some vim and vigor which hadn't been the case for a while. It all started to become more evident through a general feeling of being balanced and grounded.
It was not just a physical metamorphosis but emotional and spiritual too. Less fatigue and clearer thoughts along with a sense that the black clouds were lifting caught me by surprise. It was palpable.
Third week in I noticed weight loss, less stomach bloating and my skin was literally glowing. It must have been more obvious to others too because by the end of the last week I was surprised by how many people asked me what I was doing to get that glow. I actually wanted to go to the gym more and jumpstart my fitness regime. I finally felt better about myself and even started dating again, something I hadn't done since my marriage ended and we can all guess how hard it is to jump into that pool again if not confident in your skin.
The Sakara team was another amazing aspect of this newfound health journey. Their support throughout the weeks and the positive energy from them was uplifting and inspiring. [It is] a community of people who care.
I am forever grateful to Whitney and Danielle for their generosity and the kindness of the Sakara team, for choosing me to be a part of this life changing experience. I am more conscious of what I put into my body now, what I'm thinking as I'm eating food and choosing to be mindful to what this temple I live in needs to fuel my soul and keep me healthy. Even though I might cheat a little and eat some things that could be considered less “good for you” I will always go back to the food ideals and education that the Sakara Life brought me and it will stay with me for the rest of my days.
xo, Elizabeth"
Want to learn more about the food-mind connection? Here's how the microbiome can make you happy. Plus, why we don't count calories—and other Sakara FAQ's answered!
