Nourishing the Soul

It has been well over a year since my last blog post, for no reason in particular, but also very little drive to write and be creative. So much has changed, and while I will go over all of those changes and moments (big and small), I am very excited to share my plan for blogging in the near future. But, let's not get ahead of the recap!

Since our last time checking in, I have started a master's program in Clinical Nutrition, completed my first triathlon, gotten another tattoo, unfortunately lost my dog, continued training pretty consistently, turned 32, and swapped up my dietary patterns. On top of all of that I struggled feelings of depression and self-worth, needing to discover the best way to heal and cope for myself. While there have been rough days, there have also been amazing days along the way.

So throughout this journey, I am finding ways to nourish not only my body, but my soul. Ultimately, these two go together perfectly, and the better I treat my body, the better my heart and soul feel. Here are some ways I discovered helped throughout my journey!

Positive Self-Affirmations

Although I am at my core a woman of words, I had doubts about the strength of self-talk. However, when I got to a point where each day I would look in the mirror and tell myself a simple list of three hurtful things that I felt to be true, I knew I needed to make a change. So, why not flip the script and tell myself three positive things each day? I know this is not a cure all, but after about a month of using a self-affirmation app with positive self-talk statements that would never have come into my own brain, I realized I hadn't said that hateful mantra in the mirror in weeks. Something so simple could be so healing.

Focusing on my Future

Prioritizing my future and my needs hasn't really been a focus of mine in the past. I tend to not romanticize or dream about the future because there are so many unknowns. However, within the last few years I came to the conclusion that my future is no longer in writing and proofreading and copywriting, but actually in nutrition. Swapping from creative language to science-based learning is no easy feat, but it is so inspirational and incredibly interesting to broaden my horizons and knowledge base.

While I learned that positive self-talk could heal me, I am learning all the ways in which nutrients can heal as well.

Running to Solve my problems

Completing my first triathlon was such an amazing experience! The thrill of the environment, the satisfaction of achievement, the joy of exhaustion; every part of this event left me feeling proud and overwhelmed with emotion. However, two days later I was back to normal, everyday life with nothing to train for and an extremely busy work schedule that didn't leave much room for exercise. Squeezing in a run during lunch, getting a quick 45 minute swim before work, heading to the gym right after work, all of these options proved to be successful for a time, until that job was no longer my place of employment and my schedule was all of a sudden wide open. This is when overtraining happened. I had gone through a breakup and unemployment in just over a month of each other and I was choosing to run as therapy: running from my problems.

As someone who enjoys distance and endurance activities, I found myself running long runs on an every other day basis. If done correctly, that is an achievable feat, however I found that I wanted to set new goals for myself and I wanted to crush them. So, one day, I decided to just go out and run a half marathon for fun... Which was great until I kept pushing and I kept running and my knees decided I needed to take a month off.

I have rejoined my training group though and I am training in a safe and injury-resistant way. I am still looking to climb new mountains, and I am setting new goals, but I am doing it with the support and balance of others in my circle who help me from pushing too hard.

Crafting an Outlet

Finding a creative expression is the perfect way for me to feel like myself. I have discovered that making my own clothing (following a pattern or creating my own) has been incredibly rewarding. From adorable to shirts and dresses, to Halloween costumes, I love to craft and create wearable items and explain to others how approachable and easy making your own clothes can be. Creative outlets can be the most healing journey.

Nourish the Gut, Heal the Soul

Finally, the excitement of my future blogging journey! As I go through my Master's program in Clinical Nutrition, I am working on new and exciting recipes and ways in which I can fuel myself and those I serve food! I am so excited to share these recipes as well as the nutritional information attached to them. At the moment, a majority of these recipes are plant-based, but over time I will branch out to different focuses and many more experimental and fun varieties of food!

Food is the best way to share in experience and friendship and love. And cooking for people is a great way to show how much you care. I hope to make nutritious and delicious food more approachable and enjoyable for anyone curious about helping their bodies from the gut out!

Staying accountable!

One of my goals for this year is to get back on track with my blog posts. I will be sharing recipes on a regular basis (hopefully) as well as general life updates and hopefully some travel and crafting. However, if I fall off track, please hold me accountable and call me out! We all need people and support and reminders of why we do the things we do!