About Fuzzy Slippers Forever

Barbara Helms-Bot

I always share my personal health story so you can understand how stress, poor lifestyle choices and even my thoughts have affected my health. Maybe you will see some of yourself in my story as well. There have been times when it seemed as if life didn’t show much mercy. Times when I thought I was going a bit crazy but knew I was not.  Times when I had pretty much lost all hope and lived in constant fear, anxiety and sadness. Times when I felt incredibly weak and insecure. However, even at my lowest points, there was always the tiny voice of a survivor (a voice I believe, resides in all of us), coaxing me to hang on and seek solutions.

I have been blessed with many mentors and friends who have supported me, loved me and guided me. I do believe “angels” come to us in many forms during our times of need. Of course, whether we notice or take action depends on how “awake” we are at the time they appear. Believe me there are times when I was “fast asleep”. Thankfully, I woke up.   It is to these angels in my life that I say “thank you from the bottom of my heart”.  It was by seeking help and taking action that I was able to move from a place of:

• Despair to hope

• Inner turmoil to inner peace

• Fragility to strength

• Tears to laughter

• Fearfulness to courage

• Insecurity to confidence

It is my sincere desire that the information in this site, the information that transformed my life will do the same for you or someone you love. I wish you the best of health!

So, here is my story:

As a child and into young adulthood, I suffered with serious allergies, fatigue, headaches and as a result of poor eating habits was overweight as a child. I spent many years doctoring for those problems, with allergy shots, surgery, and medications.  I never got any better.

As a young girl, I did not feel desirable, which eventually led to an eating disorder. I wanted to be invisible and just be left alone.  Over time I became passionately interested in nutrition and fitness.  It gave me a path to get to where I wanted to go. It did require determination on my part.  This was a way for me to feel strong and beautiful and ultimately confident and hopeful. For the first time I had satisfaction in my life and could focus on other areas.  This literally transformed my life and for a number of years, I experienced tremendous health and energy.

I sailed along until my mid 30’s.  Notice how my life seems to change by decades?  Hmmmm! Anyway, I was very busy teaching and pursuing my Master’s Degree. I was under a lot of stress. I started eating more junk food and quit exercising. I convinced myself it was because I was so busy trying to keep up with the demands of the teaching profession.

I gained weight and had extreme cravings for sugar, just like when I was younger. In fact I was the queen of sugar cravings. 24 Oreo cookies in one sitting was not difficult for me to do.  I suffered from fatigue and muscle weakness. I would develop severe bronchitis every year, which would last for 4-6 weeks at a time.

I also developed  Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which would literally cause me to spend my nights crouched in a ball because the pain was so severe.  I developed  muscle tension in my neck that resulted in a full year, where every second of every day, I had headaches  so debilitating, that I was on the verge of taking a medical leave from teaching. I began to look and feel much older than my ag.

I was a walking example of the kinds of physical problems that develop as a direct result of stress and lifestyle choices.  I was incredibly frustrated, despondent, and dissatisfied at this point in my life. My husband Larry and I wanted to pursue adoption from Korea . I knew I would never qualify or be able to parent effectively unless I took charge of my health. So, I started once again incorporating healthy nutrition, exercise and responsible supplementation into my lifestyle. These are the things I share in my workshops and on this website. As a result I had tremendous health, fitness and energy during my 40’s. There was a time in my life that I gasped just walking up a flight of stairs. Little by little, day by day I built my health and my stamina. I now lift weights and participate in aerobics classes that my 14 year old finds challenging.

However, health like life is a journey with its ups and downs.  A year ago, hormones, life circumstances and stress came crashing together in my life.  I started to have panic attacks and anxiety which triggered a severe bout of irritable bowel syndrome.  I lost a significant amount of strength and muscle mass. People asked me if I was going through cancer treatment. I looked in the mirror and saw this incredibly fragile, traumatized woman. I looked like someone you could blow on and “poof” I would disintegrate and not even exist.  If I hadn’t been so strong and healthy going into it, I most certainly would have been hospitalized. Through the ideas presented on this site I once again was able to rebuild my health and this time my spirit as well. I had to learn to love myself even at my weakest point before I could move forward. I am so grateful for the knowledge and resources I had available to me.