Thoughts On Beige Food

Image c/o Etsy

Those who know me probably know this: I am completely nerdy about wellness, nutrition, and exercise. This is a strange thing for those who knew me about three years ago. I grew up as a vegetarian by choice. My family ate meat and I ate... about five things. Pasta, potatoes, cheese, bread, and milk. My dad recently reminded me that I used to pick out any specs of color from my food and ask how animals were killed to become meat. (Not exactly a meal time conversation you might expect from a child.) I wanted to eat things of a certain texture. I wanted to eat things that tasted good and made me full. I ate this way (picky and vegetarian) until around the time Luke and I got engaged. Why? I was in love and I wanted to live a long and healthy life with Luke. I also wanted my diet to be a way I worshiped God. Wasn't my body a temple? I surely didn't treat it like it was something fearfully and wonderfully made. 

I began watching documentaries and scouring the internet. I had to change the way I thought and felt about food. I had to go from ignorance, mindless eating, and desiring instant gratification to asking questions. Why should my food be colorful? Am I eating because I am hungry? Why shouldn't I eat fast food? Why don't I eat meat? Food is important. We should have opinions about why we eat certain things and why we avoid other things. There are reasons most people don't feel well. There are reasons Americans are dying from heart disease. There are reasons obesity is an epidemic.

I am newly into fitness. I spent so much of my life being lazy. Now I need to make up for lost time. I didn't realize how much happier I would be with an active lifestyle. I used to be a depressed person. Now I am not. I really believe that running and regular exercise changed this for me. (Not to mention Jesus... but that's another story.) Now I want to always have fitness goals. If I don't make this a priority now, I will spend the rest of my life making excuses about why I am sitting on my butt. 

My goal here is not to "preach". My goal is to say if I can do it, you can too. I used to only eat things that are beige. I used to maybe eat one fruit a week. I used to get tired from going on long walks. I used to... weigh fifteen pounds heavier than I am right now. (True story.) All of this to say, please get inspired about what you eat and the way you treat your body. You can feel better. You can be active. You can live a long and healthy life with your loved ones. It's worth it! You are worth it, my friend.