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I’ve always found it difficult to give a single explanation for the decisions that I make. In reality, the motivations and desires which serve as the catalysts to those decisions are far too complex to define in a couple of paragraphs. Tracing the roots of these actions, the seeds which germinated into the present aspirations that drive my decisions is much easier. And this is where my story begins…

I was born into an athletic family of six, with two loving, committed parents both working full-time jobs. We all played competitive sports and swam year round. I never lacked a friend to play with, and the only time I was sedentary was if I was riding a carpool to practice. I lived the definition of an active lifestyle.

Nutritionally, however, it was a different picture. With 5 siblings you ate wherever and whenever you could to avoid going hungry. My parents were absolutely committed to providing for us and getting us to all our activities on time, but that left little time for planning and preparing a healthy diet. Meals had to be quick, easy, and appealing to six different children meaning that they tended to be high in calories and fat content and low in nutrient density. At the time it didn’t seem to affect us as our activity levels compensated for the poor dietary choices. As we have aged, however, and competing priorities have focused much of our time elsewhere we have all exhibited the effects of the unhealthy habits we had formed.

Personally, the habits formed during my childhood became most evident during my teenage years. I routinely stopped at Starbucks prior to swim practice where a grande java-chip frappuccino and black and white cookie became my typical pre-workout snack. I had magnified the behaviors which had been modeled for me during my childhood, but my activity level continued to hold the consequences at bay.

In college, however, reality hit and I began to battle my weight for the first time in my life. I knew something had to change, but I was unable to identify what. I continued to work out regularly, but not with the motivation or frequency that I had during high school, and I was eating what I thought was an acceptable diet. After all, there was no reason to believe than an afternoon candy bar and a grande Starbucks latte were the culprits, because I had been consuming those for years.

After graduation from college, I began working full time, and that is when I truly realized that my eating habits were dysfunctional. I began to have less and less time to work out, and began to focus more on how I could eat quickly rather than nutritiously. A cinnamon-chip scone and a vanilla latte from Starbucks was a quick and easy breakfast after I hopped off the METRO and walked the block and a half to my work. Lucky for me, my now husband was interested in nutritious eating, and introduced me to the idea of balance in ones’ diet. He never suggested that I forever give up my early morning Starbucks runs, but he did tell me I needed to consider my nutrition choices seriously since I had started to work out regularly again. That is when I was introduced to the magazine called Runner’s World. It had an abundance of information on how nutrition choices affect you before, during, and after working out. I was immediately hooked, and fascinated by all that I did not know about the importance of good nutrition. My curiosity had been piqued and the groundwork lain for the journey I find myself on today.

In retrospect, my parents had the best of intentions in raising their six children. They made sure we were active because they knew being active was important. Unfortunately, in the process of raising six children and working full time the preparation of healthy meals and modeling of healthy food choices fell by the wayside. The habits that we formed in childhood have followed us all and will ultimately affect our own six families if we do not consciously decide to stop the cycle. My hope is that entering into the field of dietetics will enable me to educate others and proactively prevent other families from going through the struggles my family has and is continuing to battle on a daily basis.

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