In my last post I explained that our writing journey should not be a solo trip. God has placed people in our lives who help complete the mosaic He is creating with our lives. Each piece of a mosaic is called a tesserae. I’d like to introduce another tesserae in my mosaic—Susan Neal.
I met this wonder-woman at my very first writer’s conference and was so impressed with her confidence, knowledge, and genuinely kind personality, but I was absolutely blown away to later discover her age! This youthful lady has some secrets about health to share with us that will help us gain clarity, strength, and success as writers.
1) Susan, tell us a little bit about your health journey and where and when your mission to help others become more health conscious began.
I combated a health crisis at the age of forty-nine. In November of that year, I had a crown placed on a tooth. Little did I know how that would mark the beginning of losing my good health. Ultimately, this tooth abscessed and poisoned my body over the next nine months, resulting in ten medical diagnoses and two surgeries. It took years to recover. I understand the devastating effects of being ill, and I want to help others reclaim their health as I did mine.
For years I did not realize that the nonfiction, healthy living genre was perfect for me. Instead, I tried other genres which resulted in rejection. Ultimately, I figured out my writing path should be where I could use my nursing background and illness to help others regain their health and optimal weight.
I am finally pursuing a divine direction, but it took years to figure it out. I wasn’t supposed to be a fiction or devotional author; I was supposed to use my background to assist others with health issues. I encountered much rejection during the first few years of my writing journey, but I persevered. Have you determined the spiritual writing path that you should pursue?
2) As a writer yourself, you understand the amount of energy, stamina, and patience required to make it to publication. How can the foods we eat make an impact on our success and stress levels during that process?
Unhealthy eating can contribute to poor writing. After a writer consumes refined carbohydrates or high-sugar foods, it negatively affects mood and clarity of mind. The mind becomes foggy, and it hard to remember things. Blood-sugar levels rise, which gives a rush of energy, but then it plummets, and the person feels lethargic. To counteract the effects of low blood sugar, adrenaline is released and causes anxiety. Blood-sugar fluctuations cause moodiness, irritability, and depression. When this occurs we are not at our best.
To produce our best work for the Lord, we need to nourish our bodies with the foods he gave us, not the food industry. Stay away from processed foods in boxes and bags that have a long shelf life. Instead, eat God’s foods that are whole, natural, and as close to harvest as possible. For example, grab some raw nuts to eat instead of crackers or chips. God’s foods will give you energy and mental clarity.
If you lack motivation and mental clarity, evaluate what you ate the previous 24 hours. Did it include sugar or wheat? Determine if something you ate or drank caused your symptoms and record the culprit on your calendar or in the Notes app on your phone. Figure out what makes you foggy-brained and avoid it so you can write clearly and efficiently.
3) Have you found a direct correlation to health and mental clarity in your own writing?
Absolutely, with the holidays I ate more desserts. This caused my mind and body to feel sluggish. I try to avoid desserts that are high in sugar but during the holidays we all splurge. Recently I created four healthy living cookbooks to help others navigate a healthy lifestyle. Currently, the cookbook bundle is half-price here. These healthy, delicious recipes are low-sugar, gluten-free, and provide alternatives for dairy.
3) What advice would you give someone who is just starting out and ready to take the leap to pursue a healthier lifestyle?
I can answer this question best by reviewing some of the steps from my number one Amazon bestseller, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates.
Step 1. Decide to improve your health through proper nutrition.
The decision to improve your health is very personal. No one can make this decision for you. Deciding is the hardest step, but once you decide to change your eating habits you can achieve your healthy living goals.
Step 2. Acquire knowledge and a support system to help make a lifestyle change.
Learning which foods are harmful versus beneficial is crucial in sorting out what you should eat. For example, most oat, soy, corn, and wheat crops in the United States are genetically modified organisms (GMO) Roundup Ready crops where the carcinogen glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup) is used on the crops because the herbicide does not harm them. Therefore, you could
Step 3: Clean out the pantry and refrigerator by removing unhealthy foods, and clean out your emotions.
Remove unhealthy foods from your kitchen so you are not tempted to eat them. Some unhealthy foods include wheat, sugar, corn syrup, white rice, artificial sweeteners, processed meats, processed foods, margarine, milk products, and soft drinks.
God gave us food to nourish our bodies. Yet food can be used for the wrong reasons. We may eat because we are sad, bored, stressed, depressed, or happy. As we engage in emotional eating, we turn to food instead of God. Cleaning out your emotions involves determining your relationship with food. Is it a healthy relationship or dysfunctional?
You can review the rest of the steps and gain the knowledge you need to make positive lifestyle changes in my megabook, Healthy Living Series: 3 Books in 1 and my course 7 Steps to Reclaim Your Optimal Weight. Both are on sale for half-price through January 7, 2021. God gave us glorious bodies that heal from many ailments if we eat His foods. When you are healthy you can produce the best quality work for the Lord. Start the new year by choosing to take care of the glorious body God gave you. May God bless you in 2021.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26, Hebrews 10:24, 1 Peter 3:8
Fun Fact or Helpful Resource:
As a Certified AWSA Writer Coach, Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, desires to help others publish and sell their God-given message. She is the author of seven healthy living books. Her self-published number one Amazon best-seller 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, won the Selah award and sold over 15,000 copies in three years.
Annette Marie Griffin is an award-winning author who has managed and directed programs for children and youth for more than twenty years. She has written curriculum for character growth and development of elementary-age children, developed parent training seminars to benefit the community, and counseled at-risk youth. Her first children’s book What Is A Family? released in 2020. She and her husband have five children—three who have already flown the coop and two adopted teens still roosting at home—plus two adorable grands who add immeasurable joy and laughter to the whole flock.
Susan Neal won the 2020 Christian Author Network Crown Award for Outstanding Broadcast Media for her book marketing campaign. She is a trusted advisor for authors and helps many sell more books. Would you like to sell more books? Susan can teach you how. Take her Serious Writer Academy Course How to Sell 1000 Books in 3 Months. Susan is new director of Christian Indie Publishing Association.
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