An Introduction

From time to time you will see a meme or a quote that calls on us to reflect how much our lives would be different if we took a different course. For example, you might see someone ask, "if you could go back and change one thing in your life, what would it be?" And someone might respond, "nothing, because then I wouldn't be the person I am now."

I spend an awful lot of time reflecting on these kinds of questions and answers. Possibly too much time. I've always been a theoretical and hypothetical thinker. I would probably have done very well as a philosopher, if philosophy didn't drive me so crazy. I can envision any number of scenarios spinning out from what's known as "the butterfly effect." (If you are not familiar with this concept, it's basically the idea that a butterfly cannot flap its wings on this side of the world without affecting the weather on the other side of the world.) Small, seemingly minor changes can have a snowball effect on other things. If I hadn't taken this walk, I might not have met this person who ended up changing my life and therefore the lives of others around us. What things in our lives that seemed minor at the time ended up being major? Or conversely, what things did we decide not to do led to missed opportunities? Oh I can waste a whole lot of time going down this rabbit hole.

Sometimes I think my life would have been better served if I hadn't done this or that thing. I can't help but ache a little bit for the person I might have been if I hadn't had the emotionally traumatizing three months in Germany when I was 21. I think I would be a much more optimistic person, ready to embrace new challenges with far more excitement and enthusiasm. But that's not what happened. And if I hadn't had that awful experience, I'm not sure I would have had the emotional strength to get through a bad marriage and consequent divorce. (Of course, I can also see the chain of events being that had I never went to Germany I probably wouldn't have run away to California where I got involved in an online community that led me to meet my ex, either, but there again I have found another rabbit hole.)

"What on earth does any of this have to do with nutrition?" you might be wondering. Well, as much fun as I have speculating on the life I never had, there's not much value in going down that road. I DID go to Germany. I DID meet and marry my ex. Nothing is going to change that. But if I hadn't met my ex, I also wouldn't have met my then health coach, lost 150 pounds with her help, become interested in getting my Master of Science in Applied Clinical Nutrition, gotten divorced, regained the weight, and landed where I am now, back on my journey to lose the weight again.

Phew. That's a little exhausting to think about. But I want to put it out there for my first entry into the online world of blogging, because it is my story. All the little bits of where we've been make us who we become. It is impossible to untangle any one part without unraveling the whole. I am a woman, a nutritionist, an avid reader, a writer, an auntie, a daughter, a friend, a crafter, a soon-to-be podcaster, a geocacher... the list goes on. It's easy enough to try to pigeonhole someone as just one thing, but the truth of the matter is that we are not just one thing. We are all of us many things, all at once.

The same goes for nutrition. I am an obese nutritionist. I have been up and down with my weight like so many other women before me, like so many other women after me. I have very all-or-nothing thinking, where everything is black and white, good or bad. I tend to do much better with this all-or-nothing thinking when I'm focussing on weight loss. But weight loss isn't the only aspect of good health. Yes, I need to lose weight. But I have found that when I am most successful in losing weight, my focus isn't on weight loss. It's on what I can GAIN from losing the weight. My focus becomes things like wanting to be more physically active, more financially independent, more energetic. I want to be able to live in a clutter-free home and spend more time outside where I'm happiest. I want better sleep at night. When I am most successful at losing weight, my focus is on wanting to be the best version, the happiest version, of myself that I can be. But the happiest, best version of myself isn't obsessed with counting calories or avoiding all sugar (my arch nemesis!). She sees the big picture. She sees how all the different goals, dreams, and realities come together into one complete picture. I cannot separate any one goal or dream from any of the others or anything that I am because they're all entangled in this beautiful messy thing we call life.

I am on the brink of something big. I can feel the seas changing. There are things going on inside of me that tell me that my whole life is going to change. It's exciting. It's invigorating. It's allowing me to bloom in ways I had only fantasized about for the past many years. And I want that for YOU. Yes, you, dear reader.

Take a moment here to reflect briefly on what led you to this moment, to who you are right now. What is it you want from life? What is it that you want from your health? What goals do you have? What dreams do you secretly dream and tell no one? Can you see it? Can you grasp it? What would your life look like if you could attain those goals? Is weight loss part of that journey? Is better health and nutrition a part of that story? What's preventing you from claiming those things?

I want to invite you along in my journey. This is fundamentally going to be a blog about nutrition. But it's not only about nutrition, because nutrition is just one component of a much broader story. Yes, nutrition is important to weight loss. Understanding what's going on inside our bodies when we fuel it one way or another is so helpful. But better health isn't just about getting the right formula of nutrients and calories. It's about mindset. More important than anything else is your mindset. If you THINK you can achieve, you CAN achieve. If you see only the failures, you're going to fail. So I will be focusing on mindset just as much as I will be nutrition. I will talk about goals and what it is that we want from our lives. I will talk about how the different aspects of life play a part in your overall health. I call this Whole Life Nutrition because your health isn't just about what you put in your body, but how you sleep, what your stress levels are, what your frame of mind is, how your environment affects you, what you put ON your body, what you put in your home, what you clean with, what you breathe in, what your physical activities are, who you surround yourself with, and so on. There is so much more to explore than just calories and nutrition.

I am a nutritionist with a focus on weight loss. I want to help other people lose weight, gain life, and move forward with their dreams. I have a heart for women in particular, so I may write with to an audience of women, but men, if you're reading this, there's no reason you can't also apply these principles and ideas in your own life. I am here for you. Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey.

Much love,

Anne