My Progression to Healthy Eating

My progression to healthy eating has been a slow, gradual one. I’ve spent years refining my diet, learning how to cook healthier meals, and finding foods that make me feel my best.

And let’s clear the air by saying I am not perfect in my eating habits. I still eat dessert occasionally, enjoy a hamburger every once in a while, and like most runners, love my carbs. However, I do my best to fuel my body with healthy fats, whole grains, lean proteins, and keep the sugar to a minimum.

[Side note: every time I see this picture, I think about chopping my hair.]

I didn’t necessarily grow up eating unhealthy foods. In fact, many of the meals my mom made were very healthy: always homemade, rarely any processed foods, high-quality meat from our farm, fresh foods from the garden in the summer. However, it was also your very typical farmer’s diet: meat, potatoes, corn, and dessert for “supper” (which was dinner on the farm). It was instilled in me from an early age that food is fuel and homemade is better than anything processed.

When I went off to college, I was very adamant about not gaining the freshman-fifteen, but the all-you-can-eat buffet three times a day made that tricky. I remember I tended to pick healthier items from the food service line, but I also remember my fair share of chocolate chip Pop-Tarts for breakfast and dessert at least once a day.

Luckily my major and running kept my weight in check. I majored in health education because I became interested in healthy eating and the human body, which motivated me to make good choices in my own eating habits. Being on the cross country and track team also helped as I knew I needed quality food to fuel my runs. My teammates were also health-conscious, so I ate more salads, had omelets for breakfast, and shied away from the pizza and burgers. I think I gained about 5 pounds by the end of college. Running kept the weight gain to a minimum, but the all-you-can eat food definitely made things a little trickier as I had to eat enough to make it worth the cost of the meal plan!

After college, living on my own, I started cooking for myself, but I also had the notion I could eat whatever I want because I ran. My coach in college told us often that we could eat whatever we wanted. I think he said this because he wanted to make sure we were eating enough food and hopefully prevent anyone from falling into the trap of an eating disorder. As I continued to eat as much as I wanted, this quickly turned into gaining an extra 10 pounds. I joked with Craig about my “thunder thighs,” but one day after weighting myself, I quickly realized I had gained more weight than I realized. I immediately knew it was from eating too many calories.

When Craig and I got married, I cooked for us regularly and we ate pretty healthy, but sometimes I look back at old blog posts and think, “I called that healthy?” Craig said the other day I cook better meals now than when we first were married. This is not to say I’m perfect now. I still think my diet is a work in progress. I would love to cut out more sugar and nearly all processed foods. I would like to make my own bread all the time and know I need more protein in my diet.

Like I said in the beginning, it has been a slow progression to where I am now, and I think the progression will continue as I try new foods and learn to fuel my body better. And if you are trying to improve your diet, my advice would be to take it slow and don’t try to change everything at once. Make gradual changes so they will actually stick!

Sometimes I get inspired to write blog posts based off questions people ask me in real life, so thanks Hallidie for the inspiration!