My journey with food started long before graduate school. I went on my first diet at the tender age of six. It wasn't my idea and it didn't work. A chubby toddler quickly turned into an obese child and teenager. I began eating when no one was looking, and binge eating became a roller coaster ride I stayed on too long. By 16 years old I weighed 225 pounds at 5'3". I had tried and failed every diet by the time I was 22.
Then something happened: by 26 I had lost 75 pounds! How did I do it? It wasn't a specific diet or meal plan. I had to get to the root of my issues.
I thought about the confused little girl who was put on a diet. Who didn't understand why she couldn't eat the same as her sister. Why she wasn't allowed to pour her own plate of food and who didn't dare ask for seconds. I couldn't be trusted with food, plain and simple.
I had a glimmer of the little girl before the diets. The one who loved everything about food. I remembered the joy I felt while eating my grandmother's freshly baked bread, sneaking a touch of the soft bouncy dough as the little loaves proofed in the pantry. Memory after memory poured over me. I loved food and there was nothing wrong with that!
A little girl slightly too chubby for society's standards had the simple joy of food taken from her. Food, once my friend, became my enemy. And now it was time to reclaim my friendship with food.
I started by getting rid of the garbage: no more fast food and no more packaged foods. I ate fresh, real, whole foods. I cooked and ate leisurely meals with good friends. I grew my own vegetables and bought from farmers at the market. I began teaching children about nutrition and gardening, hoping I could help a generation build a solid relationship with food.
I learned a lot about nutrition through my own self-education, but my calling to become a licensed nutritionist came through leading parent programs at schools. Parents would ask me how to manage their diabetes and high cholesterol. While I had an idea of what they should do, I knew that they needed the guidance of a trained professional.
So off to graduate school I went. I searched high and low for a graduate school that aligned with my whole foods approach to nutrition and found the Maryland University of Integrative Health in 2011. Three long years later, I earned my master's degree, sat for an exam to be a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), completed a 1,000-hour internship, and became a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN) in the state of Maryland.
"Don't let this nice story fool you, I still struggle."
My weight will always be a challenge for me, and it's something I've accepted but not something that will defeat me. I go back to my tools, get back to the basics, and know with time and good habits I'll find my center. I remember the spark in that six-year-old's eyes and know I can find my way.