My Nutrition Journey

I have been vegetarian since 2001 - that was before my run streak! So I suppose I have a longer streak. My choice in becoming vegetarian I will save for another blog post. My mom would make the meals in my house growing up, but once I began my daily commitment to running (I was a junior in high school) I began to cook my own meals.

I always been health conscious about food - since forever. I felt best when eating nutritious foods. That being said, I certainly ate a good amount of processed foods, dairy and sweets. When I began to run everyday, it was after school and I wouldn’t allow myself to snack when I got home because I enjoyed the discipline of getting home, shoes on, and out to run. I didn’t waste anytime. Great commitment for a 16 year old! So when I was done running, I was hungry and instead of waiting for my mom to start cooking dinner I began to make my own meals. This consisted of pasta and steamed vegetables. Simple, easy…and some ice cream later of course.

My protein game wasn’t strong, maybe some processed soy protein, but I never really thought about it until college where I started getting unsolicited advice about my diet. I actually couldn’t keep up with what the rest of the team was eating, and I thought I ate a lot! We would go to dinner after practice, get a meal, then cereal, then frozen yogurt, then candy from the “devil’s den".”

The pounds began to add up, but I wasn’t too aware of it until second semester. I felt like i had so much free time in college, I was a good student, I had weeks worth of assignments done ahead of time. That’s how I like to approach deadlines. But coming from a super difficult high school, I was actually used to being more busy. So there was extra time for eating.

I never changed my views on being vegetarian, but as an athlete, I felt pressured to start focus on eating more protein. Doing so, I began taking in more calories and eating more processed foods. “Fake meats” are processed and most include soy which can have negative health benefits like increasing the estrogen in the body and can even lead to cancers.

Bottom line, I felt unhealthy even though I was running 70-80 miles per week. My nutrition could have been better. I wasn’t eating junk, but I could have supplemented better and not been so affected by the “need” for protein.

It was once I found a yoga practice, that my eating began to make sense. I was studying Ayurveda and learned how it’s no necessarily the calories or the nutritional content of the food, but it was the pranic energy as well. Foods that are alive give us more energy than those that are dead. I began looking at the foods that would give me energy, bring me joy and allow me to feel energized, light and focused. Dead foods cause lethargy, heaviness and an inability to focus.

Feel for yourself what foods are dead and alive. My eating these days is simple, minimal and colorful! So I am happy to begin to share more about what I eat and how the world around us is also our nutrition.

Until next time!