ABOUT DR. LEONA
I'm Dr. Leona, founder of Freedom Health Systems and author of A Journey to Healing: 5 Stages to Achieving More Freedom in Your Health and Your Life, and I am dedicated to helping you get your health and your life back.
A licensed chiropractor for almost 20 years, my practice has evolved to embracing more of a whole body, natural health care approach. As an expert and educator of new millennium diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, I deliver innovative programs that can help you reclaim your health and your life by removing the physical and emotional barriers that prevent you from getting well.
My programs are customized based upon a thorough health assessment, as I believe that your current health status is an accumulation of stressors the body has endured over an extended period of time. I work closely with my clients to develop plans designed to reduce the negative effects of physical and emotional trauma, nutritional deficiencies, chronic cellular inflammation, and toxicity.
I UNDERSTAND, I'VE BEEN THERE ...
In my midtwenties, I began to notice changes in my body. I started to experience chronic constipation and fat around my abdomen. I had extreme sugar cravings, especially a few days before my menstrual cycle. My menstrual cramping progressively got worse, where I was literally bedridden with headaches, nausea, and vomiting. I began to tire easily after cardiovascular activities, such as running, going upstairs, or dancing. I also started to develop severe monthly urinary tract and yeast infections. Doctors had prescribed pain-killers and antibiotics that only provided temporary relief.
Frustrated, I began to take matters in my own hands and reduced calories or skipped meals in order to lose the extra fat. I relied on laxatives to relieve the constipation. I also began to experiment with over-the-counter appetite suppressants and energy drinks.
At the time, I accepted these as normal symptoms and treatments, and wasn’t aware that I was setting myself up for a plethora of symptoms that began to develop in my late thirties.
I WEIGHED AT IN 205 POUNDS ...
My struggle amplified after I had my first son in 2008. New challenges came into the mix. My fatigue, headaches, and weight trouble had gotten worse. After the birth of my second son in 2011, I was seventy pounds overweight.
My physical appearance began to affect me mentally. My self-confidence was shattered. How would people listen to me when I didn't look like the picture of health? I leaned on the excuse that I had just had a baby, but that excuse got weaker as the baby got older. I had convinced myself that I was a failure.
I started running again but still struggled with getting my body to bounce back. I added another supplement, did another cleanse, ran more frequently, but I still wasn't feeling better.
On my forty-first birthday, I looked in the mirror and thought enough is enough! I weighed in at 205 pounds and barely recognized myself.
I didn't know what weight trouble was until that moment. For a natural health care practitioner who wanted to help others get healthier naturally, I couldn't get my own health in order. It was frustrating. I was ashamed and embarrassed.
I BECAME DETERMINED ...
Blood tests revealed I was pre-diabetic with liver and gallbladder disease. I knew that if I didn’t get this under control, I was likely to lose my gallbladder or develop heart disease or diabetes, just like many others in my family had. I’ve seen what it can do to the body, and I didn’t want it to happen to me. This was a major turning point in my health, my future, and the way I run my practice.
I had made the decision to get my health back and once I did, I was ready to do whatever it took, no matter what. The first thing I had to do was get me out of the way. I had to stop telling myself, that I was a bad doctor, I was a failure, or that I will never lose the weight. Once I started analyzing my limiting beliefs and came face to face with my current situation, it became had to commit to the required action. I had realized that if my mind-set didn’t consist of determination or commitment or if I didn’t believe or trust in the process, I reduced my chances of getting well.
When you are clear on the health or the life you want to achieve, circumstances will fall in your favor to help you achieve it. The steps no longer feel like an uphill battle. You will begin to embrace the challenges instead of letting them defeat you.
The healing strategies I utilize revolve around removing the physical and emotional barriers to healing and restoring the building blocks of our bodies—the cells. I had to handle my health issues in stages by addressing the priority first. To reduce cellular inflammation, I began to eliminate my intake of inflammatory grains and sugars and increasing my intake of good fats that help rejuvenate the cell membranes. These changes alone helped encourage more weight loss, improve energy, and improve digestion.
I continue to immerse myself in learning about health, listen to audio, read books, and hang around like-minded people. I feed my mind with what I want and cancel what I don’t want. When there are times I feel discouraged, I have to focus on why I started in the first place, and that is maintain a healthy weight, have an abundance of energy and to be in my sons’ lives for as long as possible. I continue to incorporate true cellular detox and reduce the negative impact of my thoughts and actions.
I FEEL LIKE I CAN DO ANYTHING ...
Now, I not only enjoy more health, I feel a different clarity, an inner strength. I feel like I can do anything! I have a deeper purpose in my life. I feel alive! I have found more balance and fun in my life. There is inner peace that resides in me. I am better equipped to face challenges head on!
I enjoy sharing what I went through and encouraging others to do the same. We have so much stacked against us in today’s world, but if I can create more love and health, then I am with it.
Every day, my mission is to be better than I was yesterday. I am able to forgive myself for the past mistakes I’ve made. My experiences help me appreciate where I am today.
This is my journey. Life is a journey. I won't stop. There is always room for more ... for better.
If you have had enough of living with the pain, discomfort, and inconvenience of what your health problems can cause, we can help you find that missing link that may be preventing you from getting well.
We are all on our own journeys. Your journey has brought you right here, right now. Are the choices you're making today bringing you closer to your health care goals? Or are they making you unhealthier?
If you have had enough of living with the pain, discomfort, and inconvenience of what your health problems can cause, we can help you find that missing link that may be preventing you from getting well.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!
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