Nourishing Flourishing

About

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Please forgive the number of pictures of me…I promise I’m not trying to make this a weird blog that just explores vanity or something. I’m actually really uncomfortable with having so many photos of me on here! But, seeing as this is an About page with my personal story, it seems you’d want to know who I am.

Health is my greatest passion, because it involves the harmony of the parts of ourselves  – not just our bodies, but also our minds, hearts, relationships, attitudes – everything that makes us who we are. These all need to be nurtured and balanced in order to help us thrive. Hence…this blog that explores nourishing flourishing in all these (and many more) ways.

At this point, this blog is a creative outlet and a place to reflect on and share my experiences (and recipes, of course!). After getting encouragement from friends and family, I finally took the plunge. I don’t have everything figured out; rather, I think the best to help myself and others is to be real and include the highlights and the tumbles.

What you’ll find here: Recipes, techniques, tips, ideas, and reflections on healthy living, including food, fitness, and lifestyle.

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Below is a little sketch of my journey to Nourishing Flourishing. So many details are left out that will get incorporated into my posts over time, but feel free to ask about anything you want to know – I love reading your questions.

The Past (Or, Ridiculous Lies I Believed):

A Wrong Assessment: After years of dysfunctional eating patterns, diets, weight-loss, weight-gain, and ignorance, I have learned that I do not have to choose between the extremes of:

(A) malnourishing myself physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually in order to be “healthy,” or
(B) throwing up my hands in despair and surrendering that I must resign myself to some destiny of a total lack of fitness, knowledge, and strength of mind, heart, body, and soul.

Real Health: These are destructive habits, and I think we would all agree that they do not cultivate a joyful, peaceful, strong and beautiful life. I didn’t need a new diet plan, nor did I need to cancel my gym membership in protest of the world’s demands on my figure. What I needed was BALANCE…EMPOWERMENT…Real HEALTH. I needed to stop falling into this victim role – choosing between the two equally terrible “options” above.  Where is the balance? Where does one begin to live the life, become the person, she or he knows is inside?

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Trying on an Answer – Just To Test It:
So, one day, after vacillating between these awful extremes, I took my life by the horns. If I was disappointed with my options (and, um, I definitely should have been), why not just try one more possibility? And guess what? Setting one small goal – one step – for myself that day, led to a triumph, a victory, a moment of rejoicing and pride! I was not a victim of the universe! Hurrah! There was indeed a balance between challenge and celebration. That day turned into a week, and that week into a habit, and that habit into a lifestyle.

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The Present (Or, How I Decided to Nourish my Flourishing):
These little decisions nourished flourishing in my life, and I have never been healthier (in all the parts of myself AND myself as a whole), or more fulfilled. Were there, and will there be, hiccups? Yep. That’s when I remind myself that “If there is no struggle, there can be no progress.” Anything worth wanting will require some discomfort, whether it be overcoming disordered eating, thinking, anything. There are always reasons to de-motivate, and sell oneself short. But, there will be more victories in the face of those challenges than surrenders once you commit. Don’t forget that it’s a journey.

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The Future:
I have finally learned that wanting something (happiness, peace, health) is not enough; I have to take a step. Start with one “yes” today: “I will take a walk around the block.” Bam, you win for the day! Start small, because small things are what add up to a lifetime. It has been a crazy road for me, but I cannot believe how much I have changed these past few years. Our lives are made up of millions of little decisions that eventually define us. I love that I am still changing and growing (and believe me, there is a lot that needs to change still)!  This blog is a place to explore where I’ve been and where I am headed.

The Basics: I live in Boulder, Colorado and am a graduate student at the University of Colorado. I am partial to salt, hiking, laughing, simplicity, and my BFF Manfriend. <3

 

*PLEASE NOTE: I am not a medical doctor, nutritionist, dietician, etc. Any advice or reflections I offer are based solely on my own experiences and research.*

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