How I found Clean Eating.

I. Love. Food.


Most people do. But I really do. My mom swears my first word was "fwies?" I grew up in Upstate NY in the 70s where Carrols was THE place for french fries. Every time we would drive past a Carrols it was the same. "Fwies? Fwies mommy?"


But, if you asked my grandmother what my favorite food was growing up, her answer might surprise you.


Vegetables.


Yep, vegetables. Green Beans, especially. I couldn't get enough green beans! Or Broccoli. Or corn. Or....wait for it....brussels sprouts!


How can a girl whose first word was the same as one of the most nutrient-void foods in existence like brussels sprouts? I told you. I love food.


So....where did that girl go? Well, I assure you, she still loves a good fry! But she's learning that anything in moderation is okay. It's ok! But it should not be the everyday. Enter...clean eating.


What got me into eating clean, you ask?


In March of this year, I did my second-ever triathlon. It was a sprint, so it was considered fairly "easy" (ok, I thought I might die halfway through.) But I had done a mini-sprint a few months before and got hooked on the sport. I love it. (Almost as much as I love brussels sprouts.) I'm the type of person who - if I'm going to exercise - I've got to have something to work for. A goal (and a training buddy) gets me motivated to get my butt off the couch and move my body. If I don't have someone waiting for me to swim, bike, or run with them, I just won't get out and do it. So I tried it and now I'm hooked.


Well, just one week after that triathlon, and the same day I reached a major milestone on the treadmill, I injured my ankle hiking in Nevada. It really put a damper on my spring (and summer!) I couldn't swim (my favorite form of exercise.) I couldn't bike (my second favorite.) And I definitely couldn't run (the thing I despise the most so I was actually ok with that.)


I couldn't even walk for two weeks. All I could do was sit. Sit and watch my waistline expand. In a matter of four months, I weighed more than I did post-pregnancy with either of my children. Time for a change!


Since I couldn't exercise, I knew I had to watch what I ate very closely. That's when I discovered Clean Eating, and the amazing truth that 80% of our body shape is nutrition. Nope. Not exercise. Nutrition! As soon as I could, I went out and got Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet, Recharged! and started my journey of eating clean.


This blog is just part of that journey. And I hope you'll join me.