The first part of my weight loss journey was lose weight and not so much I didn't eat healthy, I never thought about healthy eating. I was concerned with portion size and eating often so I wasn't ever really hungry. I didn't read package labels, look at ingredients, buy organic or anything. I looked at portion size, fats and fiber. I did introduce fruits, veggies & water to my diet so looking back, wasn't that healthy eating?! That was a start, a good start. In working more with Dan on the eating side of things, I began to not only want to lose weight, I wanted to eat healthy, good stuff. This led to me taking a nutrition course at Georgia State University and that was the beginning. A whole new world opened up .............I'm crazy this way!
While training, I know I drove (and still do) Dan crazy with so many questions about carbs, protein, nutrients, omega 3s, antioxidants and more. Remember for a minute, when I started this journey, I had to google to find out what foods where carbs and which were protein. I was that bad. I still have some trouble with it but I'm learning.
So my GSU basic education combined with my incredible curiosity and desire to learn more drove me to reading as much as I could stay awake to read and ultimately to enroll in a program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). This is a six month program held one Sat/Sun per month in the greatest city of them all, NYC! At the conclusion of the program and knowing I'll graduate, I'll be a certified nutrition/health counselor/coach. How great is this? ! I can go back to my questions now and comfortably answer....YES. There are hundreds of nutrition theories/models and each believe their's is THE way to loosing weight, eating healthy, living the good life. You can follow some, all or none.
I believe in baby steps and we each have to find our way. This is a lifestyle not a diet or temporary fix. Right? I watch my fats, fiber, portion sizes, time of day I eat and all that still. Now I layer on my desire for a more nutritious diet. I'm reading labels - OMG, high fructose corn syrup - throwing all that stuff out. I'm amazed at how much sugar (appears over and over in some form or another) in the ingredients. My favorite, favorite choco treat while I was in the throw's of loosing is out the door. Just last night, I sat down and read the ingredients and began to cry. How could something that tastes so good, be so bad for me?!So weight loss and healthy eating can go hand in hand. In posts to come, I'll share some of the great things I'm learning @ IIN and one thing that shows why I value this program so much .............@ IIN we are exposed to over 100 different nutrition theories. We are encouraged to be open minded, one size does not fit all, one theory can be good for one person and not so good for another. "Bio individuality" is the term coined by the founder. Find what's right for you!
This is so true. Carbs are bad for me, and although most think it's wacky, I have to eat a higher protein, lower fiber diet to maintain or lose. Every body metabolizes differently. It's good to know that they're teaching about so many methods!
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