My Nutrition Story
Nutrition plays a huge role in how your body functions, both properly and improperly. Simply said, what you eat can affect how long you live, improve or destroy your immune system, and cause physical changes in your body. Although I am HUGE advocate for fitness and proper daily exercise, I do not believe exercise is the determining factor in creating a healthy and balanced life. "You can't outwork a bad diet".
I want to share my weight loss journey and health transformation, briefly, to maybe help influence just one person to turn to a healthier diet. I want to show how good nutrition can reverse illnesses, improve health, and regain motivation!
I was never overweight as a child, but entering into college, I definitely gained the freshman 15, plus some! In fact, I had put on close to 40 pounds in the first two years of community college, and gained an additional 10 when I transferred to Washington State University. I ran outside frequently, but not avidly. Probably close to 3-5x a week for 2-5 miles at a time. I was also a part of an inter-mural volleyball team my junior year in college and we all trained 3 times a week for an hour each time. The rest of my hours and days were spent walking all over campus! Anyone been to WSU? Then you know that basically everywhere you go, you have to go up and down a hill. I definitely gained my "cougar calves" that year! If anything, I thought I was pretty active and ate what I wanted. I wasn't huge into fast-food but I did eat out at restaurants all the time! (Same thing, just kills ya slower). My life quickly and drastically changed when I was diagnosed with Stage II Uterine Cancer finishing my junior year in college. Shortly after the diagnosis and treatment began, I was put on a fairly strict diet and told to "regularly exercise". I immediately stopped going out to eat, and my boy friend at the time was very supportive and patient, learning with me how to cook homemade meals on a college budget, minus a few thousand dollars for radiation treatment.
As I educated myself on basic cooking skills, over time, I really began to enjoy planning my weekly meals out in advance and then buying the fresh ingredients for them! Buying these new foods, tasting new meals, being able to cater to my friends with fresh food when they came over for a study group or girls weekend, were all an amazing feeling and helped me regain my pride and confidence in myself!
Half way into, my senior year, I was told my cancer was in remission! I had lost 41 pounds since my first diagnosis. Most of the weight loss was because of the chemo and radiation, but another large part of it came from eating healthier, exercising regularly and regaining my physical and mental strength through healthy habits I created! And in less than 1 year after my remission, I had a stronger immune system, was getting sick less often and recovering quicker, and I had more energy and determination to power through my day, work, and studies.
Now, I'm not saying that eating healthier and quitting fast-food was what put my cancer into remission, but I am sharing my personal experience with battling cancer and coming out a Survivor with the help of many factors contributing from eating healthier. Eating at home and making my own food not only gave me a better understanding and appreciation for food, but has also lead me to become more passionate about nutrition, so much so that I studied and practiced for years to become a certified Sports Nutritionist, start my own meal prepping business, and help dozens of clients achieve their health and fitness goals!
I have definitely had my fair share of slipping off the workout bandwagon, but I have rarely slipped off from eating healthy whole foods and homemade meals. Now that I have seen how good nutrition has positively impacted my life and continues to do so in so many aspects, I don't even crave fast-food or junk foods. My idea of dessert is whipped yogurt, granola, and blueberries. My entire mindset about how food impacts my life, has changed forever!
And I don't blame those who have cravings for fast-food and don't understand how awful it can make your body feel because you've gotten use to how you feel, thinking it's normal to feel slugglish, tired, weak, never hungry or too hungry, too often. The food-like things you order and eat from most restaurants and fast-food chains have so many chemicals and processed ingredients that your body doesn't know how to process it or use it efficiently, and in turn makes your body and mind feel lethargic and demotivated...and that's NOT how we are supposed to feel! It's like you have a constant cold and your body and immune system never completely fight it off. That's what fake food and poor diet does to our bodies....and we have gotten way too use to feeling that way! But you are the only one that can make a change in yourself.
Make nutrition a priority to you, and if not for you, then for your family and loved ones. Set a good example by speaking up and suggesting a homemade meal, or recommending a healthier alternative at the grocery store. Make cooking fun by having a friend cook-off or holding yourself to a food photo challenge! Nutrition doesn't have to be boring and difficult. Be open to new recipes and ingredients because that's how you're going to experience change in yourself, you body and your cravings!
I was never overweight as a child, but entering into college, I definitely gained the freshman 15, plus some! In fact, I had put on close to 40 pounds in the first two years of community college, and gained an additional 10 when I transferred to Washington State University. I ran outside frequently, but not avidly. Probably close to 3-5x a week for 2-5 miles at a time. I was also a part of an inter-mural volleyball team my junior year in college and we all trained 3 times a week for an hour each time. The rest of my hours and days were spent walking all over campus! Anyone been to WSU? Then you know that basically everywhere you go, you have to go up and down a hill. I definitely gained my "cougar calves" that year! If anything, I thought I was pretty active and ate what I wanted. I wasn't huge into fast-food but I did eat out at restaurants all the time! (Same thing, just kills ya slower). My life quickly and drastically changed when I was diagnosed with Stage II Uterine Cancer finishing my junior year in college. Shortly after the diagnosis and treatment began, I was put on a fairly strict diet and told to "regularly exercise". I immediately stopped going out to eat, and my boy friend at the time was very supportive and patient, learning with me how to cook homemade meals on a college budget, minus a few thousand dollars for radiation treatment.
Half way into, my senior year, I was told my cancer was in remission! I had lost 41 pounds since my first diagnosis. Most of the weight loss was because of the chemo and radiation, but another large part of it came from eating healthier, exercising regularly and regaining my physical and mental strength through healthy habits I created! And in less than 1 year after my remission, I had a stronger immune system, was getting sick less often and recovering quicker, and I had more energy and determination to power through my day, work, and studies.
Now, I'm not saying that eating healthier and quitting fast-food was what put my cancer into remission, but I am sharing my personal experience with battling cancer and coming out a Survivor with the help of many factors contributing from eating healthier. Eating at home and making my own food not only gave me a better understanding and appreciation for food, but has also lead me to become more passionate about nutrition, so much so that I studied and practiced for years to become a certified Sports Nutritionist, start my own meal prepping business, and help dozens of clients achieve their health and fitness goals!
I have definitely had my fair share of slipping off the workout bandwagon, but I have rarely slipped off from eating healthy whole foods and homemade meals. Now that I have seen how good nutrition has positively impacted my life and continues to do so in so many aspects, I don't even crave fast-food or junk foods. My idea of dessert is whipped yogurt, granola, and blueberries. My entire mindset about how food impacts my life, has changed forever!
And I don't blame those who have cravings for fast-food and don't understand how awful it can make your body feel because you've gotten use to how you feel, thinking it's normal to feel slugglish, tired, weak, never hungry or too hungry, too often. The food-like things you order and eat from most restaurants and fast-food chains have so many chemicals and processed ingredients that your body doesn't know how to process it or use it efficiently, and in turn makes your body and mind feel lethargic and demotivated...and that's NOT how we are supposed to feel! It's like you have a constant cold and your body and immune system never completely fight it off. That's what fake food and poor diet does to our bodies....and we have gotten way too use to feeling that way! But you are the only one that can make a change in yourself.
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