Welcome to our weekly column, Reset. Written by Karen Taylor Bass, this column, published each Tuesday, is about life lessons learned and mastered mentally, spiritually, and physically and how they contribute to a successful life and career.
Indulge me for a few minutes as I share how frazzled my hormones were a few weeks ago. My skin was breaking out, waistline was less than svelte and mood was irritable. I was up to my elbows in stuff and overwhelmed: work deadlines, juggling family, and not getting enough shut-eye. It was time for this momma to press reset.
A friend of mine told me about the New York Times best-selling book, the 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith. The book, which has also appeared on USA Today, Amazon and Publisher’s Weekly best seller lists, offers a plan to safely and quickly detoxify the body, and jump start weight loss. Not only did my skin clear up, I dropped eight pounds, slept better and yes, my mood was remixed.
JJ Smith is a nutritionist and certified weight-loss expert. She has been featured on radio shows like The Steve Harvey Morning Show and graced the pages of Essence, Glamour and Ladies Home Journal. Mark your calendar for a lively Q&A chat with JJ Smith on Brand New Mommy radio.
Smith is a graduate from Hampton University in Mathematics, the youngest African-American to be appointed VP at a Fortune 500 company, an entrepreneur and the VP and partner at an IT Consulting firm. Success generally comes with setbacks, and, for JJ, it was her health. Her body was prone to illness while in her 30s after being diagnosed with mercury poisoning and undergoing major surgery. Here’s her story of taking charge of her health and pressing reset.
MadameNoire: How did you press RESET?
JJ Smith: I remember not feeling well and was at the hospital having surgery for a hernia. I asked the doctor since I was in my early 30’s what was happening to my body and his response was simply, “Things breakdown as you get older.” That answer was unacceptable since I was still relatively young. I knew the doctors didn’t have the answers for my health and decided to find the answers to save my life.
… After years of clean eating, my life changed in 2013 when I was diagnosed with mercury poisoning from the silver filling in my mouth. My liver, kidney, [and] brain were compromised and I was placed on bed rest while on 24 different medications and nothing was working.
MN: What did you do to take back your health?
JJ: I prayed. [And] I decided to start the raw green cleanse for 10 days and asked my family and friends to join and we posted the results on Facebook. I lost a mind-blowing 40 pounds over a period of time and went from 24 types of medication to just four after completing the 10-day cleanse.
MN: Once you started to feel better and gain momentum what did you do?
JJ: I decided to share my experience and empower people to get healthy on social media. Our Facebook group went from 100 to 54,000 and as of January 1, the group has lost 500,000 pounds.
MN: How much does it cost to start the cleansing program?
JJ: The average range is $35 to $110 for the 10 days. If you shop at a farmer’s market, it will be cheaper.
MN: How much money did you spend to promote the book?
JJ: Let me just say this book is self-published through my company Adiva Publishing. The initial promotion was grassroots and via social media. I spent $2,500 initially which covered the copy editor, proofreader, publicist (hired for local promotion), and book design. Also I set up an account on Amazon’s Create Space program (print on demand), which provides distribution for my books.
MN: What has been the biggest lesson learned to date with your lifestyle change?
JJ: We must own our health! Focus on getting healthy and the weight loss will follow.
A health reset: Take ownership of your health as you would any other part of your life. Consult your doctor, do the research and learn the options for getting yourself back to optimum shape. If you’d like to get more information about JJ Smith and the GSC Nationwide Challenge, which begins June 9th, registration is available in this Facebook group.
