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Nutrition 101: Part 1 – Introduction

Nutrition 101
Before we begin discussing the topic of nutrition, I’d like to clear a few things up and tell you about my journey to better health. 
First of all, I do not claim to be an expert in this area. I’m still very much a student when it comes to health. 
Secondly, I’m not trying to say that you need to eat 100% according to the principles I’ll be writing about. Everyone has their own standards. I just hope that you’re able to learn something and be encouraged to try to live a healthier lifestyle.
Lastly, don’t get the impression that I’m a health-freak (well, maybe I am a bit) and never eat anything I consider unhealthy. Just over the weekend we ate fast food. And I like to be polite when I’m at another person’s house and eat whatever they have to offer. But I try to make healthy choices when I can.

Let me tell you about my journey: 


I have been concerned about my appearance/weight since I was a little girl. When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I heard that someone had mentioned that I putting on some weight. I was horrified. Immediately I put myself on a diet and lost weight. 
At 13, I started to put on weight once more. Again I set myself on a diet. I called it the “half diet” – I would estimate how much food I would normally eat and only take half that amount. I was hungry a lot, but it felt good to see myself get skinnier. 
At this point my ideas about nutrition were very limited. I was definitely following the low-fat craze. I made many smoothies with skim or low-fat milk and ate apples for a snack. I was hungry, so I would eat every part of the apple except for the stem and the seeds. 
During this time we were also doing a lot of bike riding. Needless to say, I was able to lose quite a bit of weight. At my lightest I was about 92 pounds (I’m 5’2″). This could possibly be a healthy weight for some people, but this was NOT good for MY body. 
Then I began to dig a little deeper into the nutrition aspect of food. Even from a mainstream source (I think it was a Reader’s Digest article) I was able to discover that not all fat is evil. 
One day Reuben’s mom (who has always been a great source of knowledge about health/nutrition) loaned a book called Eat Fat, Lose Fat to my older sister. It really opened my eyes about healthy fats being essential to good health. From there I continued to read about traditional nutrition.
And so I relaxed and let myself eat again. It felt good. Of course I put on some weight, but that was what my body needed. I had to give up my crazy notion that being super thin was the ideal form of health. Again, some people are naturally thin and healthy, but it wasn’t a good thing for my body. 
Ever since then I have tried to make good food choices. I eat until I’m full and I can easily maintain a healthy weight. Of course I still struggle with body image – what woman doesn’t? But I try to stay grounded in reality.

God gave us our bodies to live in and we should take care of them, but our obsessions about looking a certain way shouldn’t be more important than our character (I’m talking to myself when I say this because it’s something I still need work on).

Okay, I’m done preaching.

Up next I’ll get into more particulars about what I believe to be good nutrition choices.


Thank you for reading my story! How about you? Have you ever struggled with weight/body image?

Cait

Wednesday 4th of June 2014

I had a similar experience in my preteen and early teen years. My mom caught on though, as she had struggled more seriously with an eating disorder when she herself was my age. I don't worry in the same way, but still have to work hard to be content with my body image, especially after my second baby - everything looks so very different, which is hard to grasp. Our diet is full of healthy saturated fats though! I would just like the chance to walk more and have a healthy body, particularly if I am to get pregnant again.

zerowastemommy

Monday 2nd of June 2014

I'm very excited to see where you go with this - especially since I keep coming back here to see pictures of yummy baked goods. After various diets I have come to an understanding (with myself) that I never wish to stop baking (or enjoying the fruits of my labor) but also want to reconcile my eating habits with my "oh no, you're gaining weight, stop!" mindset.

Ellen B.

Sunday 25th of May 2014

This is a great post, I think we've all been there at one point or another in our lives. I've been guilty of skipping meals and looking at the bad aspects of my body image, it's amazing how clouded your vision can get it when you concentrate on the negative. I think this series will be good for many, thanks :)

Mrs. King

Tuesday 20th of May 2014

I agree that I can tell I am going to enjoy this new series. I especially love what you say about being polite when at another person's house. I have so many friends on fad diets rather than necessary dietary restrictions and it is often overwhelming to try and cook for them so I just opt not to entertain. When I go to someone's house, regardless of what I am trying to eliminate from my diet or what foods I don't like I always consume what they serve, though possibly in a smaller portion than another guest.

Elizabeth Hisle

Tuesday 20th of May 2014

Have I ever struggled with body image? You betcha. Thing is, I know I am not overweight, I just suffer from the paranoia of becoming overweight. I definitely have mental blocks around eating enough food. This post is a wonderful inspiration, because this year it has been my goal to kick my disordered eating mindset and now I really want to get on the right track more than ever. Learning to find balance in life is hard! Time to get myself in a place where I eat just enough - not too much, not too little. God bless you, girl.

http://lamentinglizzie.blogspot.com