(All my RECIPES can be found in the menu drop down. Enjoy!)
Survivor of Domestic Abuse 💙 Fitness lover, Audiology Doc, Promoter of selfcare 💪 Joshua 1:9🙏 Be Strong & Courageous 💪
After 1 year of clean eating and resistance training in the gym
I find it is helpful to share my story to better understand what drives me to incorporate health and fitness in much of what I do.
For starters, I found myself at a low point. Following knee surgery and nerve complications, I was on a slow road to recovery. As the months passed by my muscle waisted away on my right leg and my waist expanded with inactivity. In the mix of things I was at the end of a toxic marriage that left me scarred from years of emotional and verbal abuse. I didn’t like myself in the mirror and I didn’t know who I was anymore from years of being torn down. It was at my lowest point that I relied on the Lord for internal strength to carry on and then turned to my brother/certified strength and conditioning specialist for guidance in the gym. My “baby” brother is also my hero. He is legally blind and has acquired and maintained his CSCS and practices what he knows all while not having his eyesight. He gives more strength to me to see what he has overcome, especially since I found out that I have the same degenerative eye disease that he and one of my other brothers have. The eye disease will eventually take much of my eyesight one day. For now I walk by faith, not by sight. I hope to further share my story of surviving the storms of emotional and verbal abuse in my book I am currently working on. But that will be a little while as I am in the early stages of putting my thoughts to paper.
The gym became my sanctuary during my divorce and a refuge from all the struggles that followed. The gym and the Lord were my shelter from the storms of life. And the gym even later opened doors for me to meet the man that would become my best friend and love of my life. He understands the healing powers of the gym and he has taught me what true love is. He has shown me what it means to be a strong man inside and out. It takes a stronger man to not tear you down or demean you, but to instead build you up and support your dreams. After eveything I have survived, I have been beyond blessed to have found my very own man beast who treats me like a queen each and every day! The tears are replaced with smiles and he is the sunshine to my sunflower! We both understand the life of being a beast in the gym and living life to the fullest with our relationship founded in Christ.
My knee issues would not allow me to run so almost all cardio was out. But the gym was the one way I could keep going with my fitness.
As I gained strength in the gym, muscle started to support my knee more. As I experienced the growth of overcoming the moments that seemed impossible, I found that not only did I find outward strength, but I started to slowly believe in myself bit by bit. Along this journey of legit blood, much sweat and many tears, I learned how to find the beauty in the process. Finding your strength can be very purifying to the body and soul with added healing along the way. I have learned so much along my journey of eating better, finding myself, taking care of body and soul, believing in me again and maximizing my workouts with varying schedules in the gym and at home.
Knowing how important my journey has been for me inside and out is when I knew I wanted to do more. My life’s mission now is to promote healthy living for body and soul. Strength for me was a life saver and now I want to share my journey with the world to promote postive living and self care.
I often get asked about what I do for workouts and nutrition ideas. I am often asked about recipes of healthy treats and eats I come up with and share with family, friends and coworkers. So that is when I thought a website would be the best way to share my story and more. I am all about sharing what I can to help others.
Soon I will be sharing my YouTube channel of home workouts and more!
On a side note, with having digestive issues, many of my recipes are modified to include dairy free and gluten free options in much of what I make. With my hubs loving his dairy and gluten at times, I find a balance and still make some things for him and others that are still yummy and contain the good stuff without the dairy and gluten for me. With keto it is tough to find dairy free options, so that has led me to new creations in the kitchen. But, I still make plenty of dairy keto and other eats for my hubs who can handle all that moo juice!
The journey continues. Now my husband and I are settling in central Texas as newleyweds. We are both from Kansas and a lot of our family is back in our home state. He is busy being a junior high math and science teacher, while I stay busy as an audiologist for the department of defense on Fort Hood. We added Gracey a small black Labrador to our family in June 2020–pictured above. We are active with our local church and enjoy volunteering time with working with the youth of our church. Life is busy and now we are trying to find a balance with healthier eating and fitness when we can work it in. If you are reading this, thanks for being a part of the journey. May you be blessed in your own journey, whether it is one of healing or finding strength and balance in your life. Or you just want to enjoy a yummy treat and not feel too guilty! Whatever the reason, may God bless you in your journey and in life!
Dr. Killman Kitchen 