What made me chose nutrition as my major? To be honest, studying in nutrition was never my first choice. In fact, I have always wanted to go to culinary school instead! “No”, said my mom and dad. “We know that you love baking ALOT and all but isn’t it kind of a hobby thing?”. Right then, I knew that they would probably not support my true passion 100% so I told myself, “Nutrition it is! At least it is food related!”
http://arthlete.tumblr.com/post/33782609194
When and how did my culinary passion start? As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have previously experienced a mild eating disorder after losing some of my baby weight back in middle school. Receiving compliments from friends and family members had definitely boosted my confidence. Before I knew it, I have became obsessed. Like really obsessed. I would just eat one cracker for breakfast, veggies only for lunch and probably veggies again with just a small portion of a protein source like fish. It might not sound that bad but my exercise routines were out of control. I would run on the treadmill, be it 10 pm, 12 am. I would NEVER miss a workout.
Long story short, I had a complete 180 when I started helping out my mother in the kitchen. I had so much fun cooking and learning to love food again was hard. Slowly but surely, I have learned to make food as my friend and not the enemy. If it was not for my love for cooking (eating), I would probably be still in the love-hate relationship with food. After recovering from that dark phase, I now eat better and approach eating in a healthy but not in a obsessive way.
Till today, people would ask ” How do I stay this way?” Not many people would think that I had a past struggle with my weight and that I do watch what I eat. However, I do approach food in a flexible way which puts and makes me a flexible eater. It is so common for girls to blurt out “I am on a diet” when all they do is just restricting themselves from certain food groups. Based on an article from a journal , ‘Appetite’, a study is shown that when tested on rigid dieting versus flexible dieting on non obese women, it is found that the rigid dieters have shown eating disorder symptoms and have a higher BMI. On the other hand, the flexible dieters shown no signs of eating disorders and their BMI were not associated at all.
This study does not only reflect on people who are calorie counting obsessed which could just backfire in achieving weight loss or weight maintenance but it also reflects on the importance of moderation and to not basically be so hard on one’s self. My belief in moderation when it comes to food is one of the main reasons why I chose to study nutrition. I want to share and educate people on moderation and that yes, it is THAT simple.
If you ever ask me “Are you sure you want to eat that?”. With a grin, my reply would be a simple “It all comes down to moderation”.
Citation
1. Steward TM, Williamson DA, White MA. Rigid vs. flexible dieting: association with eating disorder symptoms in nonobese women. Appetite. 2002;38(1):39-44
