"Help! I'm Stuck" Pt. 3: You Are What You Eat

So far, the "Help, I’m Stuck" series has focused on emotional health by talking about living in community and finding joy. If you have missed out on the first two posts, I would highly recommend checking them out! This week, I am going to share my journey of how eating well became the next step in taking charge of my life and getting to a place where I no longer felt stuck! 

As a child, you probably heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” I know for me that was always a cliché thing that people said to convince me to eat more veggies or healthy foods. However, I have recently found an all new respect for that phrase because I have seen that it is actually true in my life! Like I said in previous posts, when I felt stuck in different areas of my life, I would just lay around and watch TV. You had better believe that when I would watch TV, I always had a smorgasbord of snacks ready and waiting! I would mindlessly eat and after a while, I would realize that I had gained a pound here and there until it all added up and become an outstanding amount for my body type. 

I don’t know if you are like me, but when I am overweight or my clothes stop fitting me as they should, I naturally don’t feel great about it. For me, it is never a great feeling going up a jeans size or shirt size and I realized that was exactly what was happening as I mindlessly ate food while simultaneously watching hours of shows on Netflix.

When I realized that I was not in a good place mentally, I decided to start eating healthy again to see if it would make a difference. Boy, did it make a difference! I quickly started noticing that I had way more energy when I would eat a clean balanced diet. I didn’t feel nearly as lethargic and I actually wanted to do things. As I found myself having energy to build community and find the things that brought me joy, I realized that I actually love living a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet. I love the challenge of finding good food that is nourishing and still tasty. After seeing the difference, I started making some small healthy goals here and there and I am proud to say that since doing that, I feel great and have almost lost 15 pounds! Besides feeling great about losing the weight, I feel like I have the energy to do things because I am fueling my body with nutritious and healthy food!

Now I am the one using the cliché of “you are what you eat,” because when I fuel my body with great things I feel great! I feel healthy and vibrant because my body is able to actually process the food that I am eating because it is clean, healthy and real! 

I am not claiming to be a healthcare provider or specialist, but I would challenge you to think about what you are putting in your body. Are you mindlessly eating junk or are you giving your body healthy things to process in order to give you energy? Take some time this week to evaluate your eating habits. Below are some apps and websites that have helped me on my health journey!

I hope that you are inspired to be healthy and love your body through giving it minimally processed, real food! Remember: You are what you eat!  

Danielle Helson