I am a Food Evangalist!

The Whole9 Crew recently rolled out a few new t-shirts that I absolutely love – my favorite being the “Food Evangalist” T-shirt pictured above.

When I saw this T-shirt, it actually caused me to spend a few minutes asking myself – Am I really a food evangalist? I am proud to say that I truly am, and will be able to wear my new t-shirt with pride!

You see, I’m one of those people that can be very charasmatic, and when I find something that changes my life, I just can’t stop talking about it – I want to share with the world how GREAT this new “thing” is!! I somehow find ways to bring it up in almost every conversation, without even meaning too. . .and while I know this may be annoying to some, something about my enthusiasm usually (although not always) sparks interest rather than annoyance.

Two of the things that I’ve found myself talking about A LOT over the last few years are Paleolithic Eating and CrossFit. These to things have together changed me forever – both physically and emotionally. I have a very different approach to food (no longer emotionally attached) and I no longer work out simply to “look good” but instead in order to become stronger and more capable in my every day life. This shift in thinking has resulted in my being a much happier person in general.

Most of the time, I have no idea whether my ramblings ever end up actually making a difference, as often the people that I’m talking to are strangers or very casual aquaintances that I don’t keep in contact with. Occasionally though, someone tells me that something I said really stuck with them and as a result they have been able to change their life for the better – and I can’t even begin to tell you how great this makes me feel. I’ve found these amazing things that have improved my quality of life 10-fold and to know that someone else is experiencing the same quality of life improvement is absolutely awesome!

I’ll just share one recent example: My husband and I take a vacation every year and have found a resort in Jamaica that we love, and have returned to for several years in a row. We just recently returned from our 2010 vacation to this resort. We were boarding the bus on our last day of vacation to head to the airport when I heard someone call my name – I turned around and a girl said to me – “Are you Christie from TX“? When I said yes she said “We were on the same bus to the airport last year, and you were telling me all about the Paleo Diet and the great changes it had made in your life – I just wanted to let you know that when I got home from vacation I looked it up and started it right away. I love it and can’t believe how easy it has become. And I’ve lost 60 lbs over the past year by just following a Paleo Diet and becoming more active“.

Now I have to admit that I felt REALLY bad because I didn’t remember the girl’s name (I am SO bad with names!), and only vaguely remembered the bus trip from the year before, but it felt great to know that something I said had caused her to go home and re-evaluate her diet and make positive changes that improved her life! Unfortunately, the bus driver was waving us on to the bus and I didn’t have time to catch up or get any details or even exchange contact information with her but the fact that she recognized me and shared her amazing accomplishments with me really made my day 🙂

This experience also encourages me to continue to be a “Food Evangalist” – because if I share the “good food word” with even one person that uses it to change their life for the better, and then they share it with one person and so on, maybe, just maybe one day it will help to reverse the rising obesity and unhealthy lifestyle epidemic that this country is facing.

If you think this shirt is as cool as I do and can’t live without it in your wardrobe, visit the Whole9’s shirt store HERE where they have several cool shirt designs 🙂