Why I love nutrition and don't want to study nutrition

Yes, you read that right.

I love talking about nutrition. Just go follow my Instagram and you'll see. I talk about it all the time. To the point, I'm sure many people are like "Enough! We get it already."

But, while I've contemplated going and studying nutrition, I've decided I won't do it.

Now you can go ahead and call me a fraud and think I'm crazy but I've got a really good reason..... trust me.

But first, let me tell you a story.

I haven't always had a good relationship with food. In fact, I used to have a terrible relationship with food.

Growing up I wasn't careful about my nutrition. It never really mattered. We didn't have organic food in the house (partially because organic wasn't a big deal when I was growing up and partially because we didn't have the money for that). I also was so active that it didn't really matter what I ate. I also didn't eat very much anyway.

This is where my disordered eating patterns began.

I would miss breakfast, not bring lunch to school and at lunch I didn't have a lot of money (I had my own job in high school) so I would buy the cheaper unhealthy stuff, but then I would feel bad about it.

So this began the cycle of eating something "bad" and then proceeding to feel guilty about it. And when I feel guilty about something I fixate on it. It stays with me for days.

This got worse in university when I was living on a student loan. I didn't have the money for the best of the best foods (although at this point I was really wanting them) so I bought very few of the best foods (fruits and veggies). 

I pretty much lived off of apples, berries, cucumbers, carrots, organic tortilla chips, and buckets of coffee.

But the issue was.... the guilt was still there.

So to offset what I ate I would exercise. I went for a run (a long run) each day and I also had another workout. Now, this isn't inherently bad but when I had the mindset of "I have to work out to punish myself for eating" that's when we had a problem.

I also measured myself twice a day and stood on the scale just about every time I went to the bathroom.

Things just kept escalating, until I met my (now) fiancé.

Fast forward to now.

• My relationship with food has never been better
• I have been a combo of a vegetarian and a pescatarian since I have 14 or 15
• I just hit my 1 year of being plant-based this week (November 15, 2020!!)
• I use food to fuel my body and for longevity
• I use exercise to stay healthy and not because I have to punish myself for eating
• I make the food rules and I listen to my body (instead of mainstream opinions and the opinions of the people in my life)
• I'm learning to cook
• Food is something that makes me happy and is no longer a source of pain

So why do I love to talk about nutrition but don't have a desire to study it?

I have always found there is a lot of discrepancy around it. It seems like a field that is constantly changing but yet is more than willing to "tell people how it is."

I've always felt like there is a lot of judgment around it.

One minute, this one diet is the way and everyone's obsessed with it and the next month they discovered they were wrong and now it's this other diet.

But it doesn't just end there. There's all this judgement over, this diet is the right diet, and you're not doing it right.

It makes my head hurt and I feel like it's a pretty good way to drag someone down the disordered eating rabbit hole.

Plus..... who knows our bodies best? These supposed experts or us? (If you are a nutrition expert this is not a stab at you being a bad person. Not at all. These are simply my thoughts and feelings based on my background and experience.)

Maybe it's the rebel in me. I've always been really rule focused but when it comes to my body and my health I can't take anything lightly. I have to make the rules.

I know my body best. The experts aren't inside my body listening to its signals. I also have my own brain and I question things that just don't feel right to me.

So what have I done about it?

I have done a lot of my own learning. I have searched for information that is in alignment with what I feel is right and what I already know. Which I think is an important concept that people don't give enough credit to.

Of course, there are many people out there who say "but my body is asking for McDonald's," and if they really thought about it they would realize that, no it's not. There is a difference between a craving and what your body actually needs.

McDonald's fries are a craving. Vitamin C and D are what your body actually needs.

In another blog I'll talk more specifically about what I've learned. I've been obsessed with the work of Darin Olien on Super Foods and Dan Buettner on the Blue Zones.

But why won't I specifically study nutrition? I might consider holistic nutrition but I just don't feel onboard with mainstream nutrition information. Even within the vegan community, there is a lot that I don't agree with (so I don't label myself with that word. I'm very careful about referring to myself as plant-based instead). 

So what do I do instead?

I share what I learn. I don't say "this is the way" (anyone see the Star Wars reference?) instead I say "I learned this cool thing and you might think it's cool too." Even if I think my way is the right way I would never want to take the choice away from someone who didn't align with that information.

I don't feel that is why we were put on this Earth.

The big takeaway.

FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION. You do you. That's very important. There are many things we don't have a choice about but what we fuel our body with is. Even during times when it doesn't feel like it (trust me, I grew up well under the lowest tax bracket).

If you simply own your choice, nothing can stop you. You will find a way.