Once upon a time, not too long ago- my passion was about helping women lose weight. It is what I knew. I had personally lost 100lbs naturally after the birth of my 5th child and kept it off, it's what I had studied and become obsessed with over two years, everything was about weight loss. Out of that, Healthful Pursuits was born.
In early 2017, I came face to face with realities that made me completely change the way I was thinking about weight in my own life and also how I was practicing it within my little business. I began to train for a marathon. Excessive cardio, I was going to do it. I was able to lose a pesky 10 more pounds and my running pace was amazing. I was also not sleeping well, I was obsessed with running and obsessed with food. I began suffering from amenorrhea (the loss of your menstrual cycle, common in athletes who over-train and under eat). I was the smallest I had ever been, and internally the unhealthiest. Despite me finally losing that pesky 10 pounds- I was still not happy with my body or my weight.
273 pounds : 225 pounds : 180 pounds
After I ran my first ultra-marathon in April of that year, I came down with "runners depression" they call it. I call it burn out. I could not get motivated to run again. I could not get motivated to watch what I ate. I wanted to eat everything and not move. I ended up gaining that beloved 10 pounds back because I did eat all the food and not move. However, my interest in dietetics and nutrition never went away, I enrolled in a pre-dietetic program and began my undergraduate degree. I had to figure this out- the science and the reasoning behind the last 15 years of my life and many others. This is when I stumbled on the book "Health At Every Size", and from there it all changed.
After I ran my first ultra-marathon in April of that year, I came down with "runners depression" they call it. I call it burn out. I could not get motivated to run again. I could not get motivated to watch what I ate. I wanted to eat everything and not move. I ended up gaining that beloved 10 pounds back because I did eat all the food and not move. However, my interest in dietetics and nutrition never went away, I enrolled in a pre-dietetic program and began my undergraduate degree. I had to figure this out- the science and the reasoning behind the last 15 years of my life and many others. This is when I stumbled on the book "Health At Every Size", and from there it all changed.
169 pounds
I discovered for one, dieting and weight is not life. Not only is it not life but it's extremely unhealthy and damaging to your body. I learned that thin does not equal healthy, there are many "obese" people who are perfectly healthy and fit. I began to listen to my body about my food choices, and not to my diet plan. I discovered that if I listen to my body, and move my body in a way that I love that is not stressful, my body will settle into its natural healthy weight. I knew from then on, I could never "diet" again and I that I truly wanted to help these ladies who so badly want to find the diet that works- realize that the last thing they need is a diet. That is when Healthful Pursuits changed from "diet help and accountability" to supporting "anti-diet and intuitive eating".
Now? I am a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and a dietetic student. I help women on their path to ditching diets, ridding their lives of food obsession, and settling into their natural healthy weights. I still run, but much less. I have zero full marathons planned anytime in my future. I do still enjoy exercise, no longer for changing the way my body looks, but for what moving your body does for your health.
165
273:163 (current)
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