nutrition

My Passion for Nutrition and Food

A friend asked me yesterday why I am here, what am I passionate about, why do I love food and nutrition?

And I realized that for many of you, you may not know my story and what fueled me to be where I am today. So if you want to learn more about my journey, how corporate America pushed me into food and nutrition, and why I am passionate about helping others manage their stress through simple shifts in food and lifestyle I hope you watch the video below. It is filled with heart and emotion that cannot be conveyed through writing.

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Food Allergies vs. Sensitivities

The common misconception is that people who chose to eliminate specific foods are picky eaters, inconvenient and just doing the latest fad.  The truth is that some people have become in tune with their bodies and notice adverse effects when certain foods are consumed.  Everyone’s reactions are different in how they manifest.

For example, while eating out I may ask if something is “gluten-free”. Almost every time the person will ask “Are you allergic or is it a preference?”.  This question erks me. Who cares if it is my preference! If I want something gluten-free I should have the confidence in knowing what I’m eating is just that! And to be honest, now when posed with that question, I tell them I am allergic.  I won’t die if I have it, but my body will tell me it is angry with me for consuming it.  It’s my choice that I don’t want to eat gluten, others shouldn’t sabotage it.

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Giving in to Supplements

My belief has always been that the food we consume can heal us. However, I was reminded that our food does not contain the same nutrient content as it once did as the soil our food is grown in is often nutrient deficient due to monoculture, pesticides, etc.  Although I’ve drastically overhauled how I eat, it is clear something is still fucked up – could be I’m not digesting my food properly and/or not absorbing nutrients. Honestly, I’m at my wits end over here, so I have finally caved on supplements.

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Health Update

At the end of last year, I had given up hope on healing my body. I felt like I had done everything right – I eat a clean diet, minimal sugar, followed a leaky gut protocol for 30-days, reduced my workouts, and had significantly reduced my stress. But my face remained the same and it seemed other things were starting to pop-up — dry skin around my hairline and muscle fatigue in my shoulder which can be bad at times.  I had researched a low-sulfur diet, but honestly it was so restrictive I was hesitant to implement it – okay I don’t want to. I basically told myself, screw it until the renovation is done because at the end of the day, I think it is the culprit for most of my issues. Full disclosure – I don’t clean often and with the reno it is ALWAYS dirty that I don’t see the point.

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Healing SIBO and Parasites

We passed!! The NYC NTP class did it!  It has been 3 weeks since passing my final for my NTP certification from the NTA! Ah, now what do I do with all my free time?!?!

Well, guess what isn’t resolved? Yup, face rash not gone, still red and getting itchy again!! (yeah the kitchen reno isn’t done either, but I have very little involvement in that)

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Training for Success

Do you have to eat every 2 hours? Get HANGRY if you don’t?  Are you able to go go go all day long then crash once you actually sit down?  Require a giant glass of wine/beer after work just to “unwind”?  Use working out to beat yourself up as a stress relief?  Have trouble falling asleep? Wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep?

This defined me.  Family and friends knew meals and snacks were a necessity if you didn’t want the bitch to come out.  Missing a meal was never an option.

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I Heart Fat

I eat saturated fats and cholesterol, with no regrets!  Over the last few months since starting the NTP program, I’ve had a few people ask me regarding my fat intake.  Our media has demonized cholesterol over the decades and now we are terrified of saturated fats and cholesterol.  I do not understand how our government and media allowed this – literally making us unhealthy and sick.  But on the positive side,  there is a shift occurring, people are starting to take their health in their hands and eat fat and less processed foods.

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2017 Triathlon Season

Today was a wrap on the 2017 triathlon season!  Since my first one last year, I have fallen in love with this race.  I completed 3 Tris this year – one was suppose to be an ocean swim, but due to rough waters it was cancelled (Islandman Triathlon in Avalon); another in a pool which I’m not a fan of the serpentine style race (Lititz RecCenter Triathlon); and a lake which was awesome, even if my shoulder was acting up and I had to breast stroke the entire distance (Marshman Triathlon in Marsh Creek State Park).

Like all my half marathons, I really do need to start properly training for these events.  I do believe going to CrossFit a few times a week does help build strength and endurance, but CrossFit does not prepare you for sitting on a bike for extended period…Luckily you can swim however you want so there is always breast stroke. I would actually like to do better so I really need to start freestyling and conserving my energy for the other 2 legs.  Maybe next year I’ll properly plan and train for any Tris I decide to compete in….I do always say this for whatever race I sign up for…one day tho!

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Nutritional Challenge – Changes

Day 7 of no sugar, gluten, dairy, or alcohol.  Eating healthy doesn’t mean you can’t have delicious and tasty food!

Only 1 day of slip ups which for the most part were out of our hands…look I know we could’ve CHOSEN to not have alcohol or dessert, no one was MAKING us consume these things. But stressing out about our food choices will not benefit our bodies either. So yes, we had beer (Zach) and champagne (me) and ate desserts (shared mini desserts and didn’t Repeat the same one). The food at the wedding was amazing and I’m sure there was sugar and hydrogenated fats in there, but I didn’t stress about it. We did make the conscious effort to not eat bread at dinner and didn’t stuff ourselves. So I’ll take that as a win while dining out.

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Nutritional Challenge – WHY?

Starting today, for the rest of the month – NO GLUTEN, SUGAR or DAIRY!  My snacking has gotten out of control the last few weeks, the worst part is that I’m not even hungry! I’m just eating because I need a mental break and do something else.

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