Let me start by saying, I am NOT an athlete. I don’t compete in any sports. I don’t have a personal trainer. But I DO have a nutrition coach. Why? I’m so glad you asked :).
High school prom with my hubby. I never saw myself as “fit” or thin in high school. I struggled with eating well and often skipped meals despite hours of sports practice a day. But there were several times as an adult that I wished I could have had this body back!
First, let me tell you a bit about myself. I have always been active. As a child, I played sports, rode my bike around town, and generally played until it was too dark to see (the universal sign to come in is when the street lights come on, right?!). As I moved into adulthood it was hard to really see that type of mentality translate. Learning how to be part of the working world and balance school while maintaining a social life is hard! So it took me a long while to get adjusted.
Thankfully, running is something anyone can do. So, as a broke college student, I grabbed some cheap running shoes and got started! Having this physical outlet back in my life made a HUGE difference. I felt like I was gaining a piece of me that had been lost along the way. And it made me want to figure out how to incorporate more fitness into my regular life.
Running is especially fun with a buddy! Millie has always been a great companion and an especially good running friend!
This led me back to the gym. I was fortunate enough to take a weightlifting class in high school, so I had some foundation and an idea of what to do. I joined the gym, took classes, and tried to find what fitness type worked best for me. It was a fun adventure, but it took a while to feel settled. Now that fitness was back in my life, I wanted to create healthier habits all around. That meant taking a look at my eating habits to see where I could make improvements.
But you know what is really hard? Going it alone. I know that eating fruits and veggies are good for me. Throw in some protein and maybe some nuts and you’re good to go, right? All of this is true, but those cookies and cakes and breads and all the things that I love just call my name! Especially when training for a running race or after a particularly hard gym work out. (I earned them, right?) So to try and resist those callings I tried dieting. I tried clean eating. I tried paleo. I tired keto. I even tried just tracking what I ate and eating under a certain calorie amount.
And it worked… For a while. But all those foods I loved that called my name always found me. And I found them. All. The. Time. Add in the stress of work and you have the perfect storm of binge eating! So when I finally admitted that I wasn’t going to get a handle on my relationship with food without someone else’s help, I signed up to work with a nutrition coach.
After a year of CrossFIt, I finally felt like I was making headway in reaching my fitness goals. But I didn’t start feeling confident in myself or my body until after I began to work with my nutrition coach and tackle the underlying issues I was facing. Photo by Andrew Villa.
Having an accountability partner has been HUGE in my nutrition journey. But even more than that, I have found someone who has helped me learn to love myself regardless of my scale number. She has also helped me to better understand my relationship with food, which has helped me to reign in my crazy eating and focus on how the food I’m eating is working for my body. I still indulge in my favorite treats, but I approach them with caution and joy (instead of reckless abandon!).
Is working with a nutrition coach right for you? Yes, if you want to develop a healthy relationship with food. Yes, if you want to take a deeper look inside yourself and fuel your body to be its best. Yes, if you want to explore how your health and happiness are tied to the food you eat. Yes, if you want to be fully nourished!
Take a chance on loving yourself more. Take a chance on being the best version of yourself. You are valuable and you are worth investing in.