You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat

                Nutrition has to be one of the most important things us humans have control over for our own wellbeing. In our recent years we have had an expanding knowledge of how nutrition works and choices of good and bad of what we put in our bodies. When I was in grade school, fast food or food from companies specializing in food made for mass consumption with processed aspects was a part of my daily life. My family seen fast food as a treat, “Oh you had a good day in school? We should go to McDonalds to celebrate.” would be the normal occasion but we did not know the repercussions of what we were eating. As I grew up into middle school and beyond, my father would work late and I would stay up because I knew he was going to bring food home and I would be able to spend time with him. I would call my Dad around two in the morning and ask “Would you stop by Taco Bell or pick up Robertos?” and he would always act like he didn’t want to but he always showed up with something. It was the norm and after a while we started noticing what it was doing to us. My family would have no energy, we all were always busy but when we did have time we would stay home, we would watch copious amounts of television and continue our contributions to fast food chains. I always considered myself healthy because I was an athlete who participated in all kinds of sports like baseball, swim, football, soccer and basketball but I paid no attention to nutrition and I would soon find out this was one of the most important things to an athlete and to everyone.

                In early parts of my high school journey my family went through tough times with health related deaths and this began my fascination with nutrition and knowledge about staying healthy. I took a nutrition class in school, made the gym a regular part of my schedule and started tackling my family’s habits with fast food. We traded the drive thru at McDonalds for the vegetable section at Whole Foods and we took the extra time to prepare our meals with nutrition as the main goal and taste as the secondary. I was driven by eating what would make me a better athlete and what would keep my family healthy, happy and energetic. I even started giving my family diet plans and personal training lessons on the side which is what paved the way for me studying kinesiology in college. I once wrote a paper about how the lack of nutritional knowledge and how we feed our children who trust us can almost be a form of child abuse because children rely on us to feed them what they need to succeed and grow to their full potential and by that they are the victims. I considered myself hardcore into nutrition and tried all the diets like paleo, vegan and an all fish and vegetable diet. After a while my intense attitude about eating the right foods calmed down a little bit and I considered fast food in moderation is okay for everyone but we still must take what we eat seriously. I currently log all the food I eat and count the carbs, fat and protein in what I am eating and yes I am that person who goes into a fast food restaurant and asks for the nutritional menu. I always say you are what you eat and if you have plan or have a destination in life where you want to be you must adjust every aspect of your walk.