This RD's Food Story.

This story, my story with food, it of course started when I came into this world. According to my mother I was fed by breast milk for a good while, which always makes me excited because we know how healthy breastmilk is! I was also a rather big baby, 9 pounds 14 inches =) I had the cutest rolls. I was always a normal "healthy" size as a kid. It wasn't until my teen years that I started to pack on more pounds. I guess it's a combination of changing hormones and the desire to eat all the wrong things. I love to eat and loved to eat back then too. I had a hard time understanding portion control and the idea that vegetables really do enhance health. I grew up on boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, which my amazing Grandmother had taught me to make. Since she was so dear to my heart and I lost her while I was young, macaroni and cheese made me feel closer to her in some strange way. I ate junk food (sodas, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc). I was active playing basketball growing up. I always played outside after school and rode bikes alot. It's not like I was just sitting on the couch, ok. I still was a bit overweight and had poor self-esteem. So, eventually my weight battling led to an eating disorder. Basically a combination of binge-eating and bulimia. It did nothing for my weight or health. Finally in highschool I got some help from trusted adults and truly began taking my faith seriously. That's when my journey started to turn around and take shape.

I went off to college wanting to be an interior designer. I took some classes, and soon realized it was not for me. I prayed and felt God leading me into the Nutrition field. It was a combination of my own battles and wanting to learn about nutrition and the desire to help others who have struggled just like I had. So, I switched my major to Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics and got busy learning. My journey of becoming a Registered Dietitian included undergraduate education, graduate education, dietetic internship, and a registration exam.

While learning all about nutrition and preparing for a career in it I continued to experiment with my diet and lifestyle choices. In graduate school and my internship I began to take weight lifting more seriously. My boyfriend (now husband) at the time got me more excited about strength training and how it could reshape my body. I started working out more at the gym on campus and started to see results. I saw muscles that I never thought I had, and that was exciting.

This book introduced me to the idea that a treadmill and 5 lb dumbbells were not the way a woman would achieve fitness. This book and my man had introduced me to the world of protein and how increasing my protein would do wonders for my health and body. It did too. It was my first experience in lowering carbohydrates too. I also introduced yoga into my life in graduate school, and have loved it ever since.

I became registered as a Dietitian and began work in a hospital and then moved into a long term care position. Working in the sick healthcare world opened my eyes to how important nutrition is in preventing disease. I became angry and depressed at what I was seeing. I wanted to expand my nutrition knowledge and learn more prevention. I had the knowledge of helping to treat already existing disease but felt I was lacking in how to actually prevent it.

The resources below kicked off my journey and truly inspired me!

Documentaries:
Food Matters
Hungry for Change
Food Inc
Super Size Me

Websites:
Mercola
Natural News

Books:

I now eat organic foods. 

I juice and detox. 

I eat real, whole foods. 

I believe that food is the best and only medicine we truly have.

I believe as a Christian my body matters to God, and I'm responsible to care for it.

and lastly.... I'm now incorporating lower carb.

Paleo is the newest addition to my food journey. It's not a fad. It truly is built on sound principles and it shows results: stable blood sugar, decreased inflammation, more energy, fat burning, weight loss. As time goes and I become more of an expert on paleo I'll share more. For now I'll share what Robb Wolfe says:

The Paleo diet is the healthiest way you can eat because it is the ONLY nutritional approach that works with your genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic! Research in biology, biochemistry, Ophthalmology, Dermatology and many other disciplines indicate it is our modern diet, full of refined foods, trans fats and sugar, that is at the root of degenerative diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression and infertility. 

So to sum up this food story. My mindset has completely shifted. I am a complete believer in holistic nutrition and especially in eliminating modern foods. Whole foods bring health.

The human body is capable of self-healing.
Let thy food be thy medicine.