You Are What You Eat
During my time at home over the past six months, one thing that I wanted to do was to learn to eat more healthily and more sustainably. I finally had the time to teach myself quality recipes and experiment with new, healthy foods that would benefit myself and not cause harm to the planet. At Bentley, I had never had a kitchen, so I was forced to rely on Bentley Dining or ordering out from restaurants, both of which aren’t something that I can either bring myself to eat much of or spend money on continuously.
Every time I would return home from college, my family would comment that I looked sick and that I had lost weight. Although it is likely that it had some to with them being tan from staying in Puerto Rico in contrast to the ghostly color that I was from being in New England and in the freezing cold for most of the season, the reality was that I didn’t know how to take care of myself at college. I ate unhealthily at school or didn’t eat and I barely exercised. It really showed and I lost so much of the energy that I used to have.
Thankfully, being at home for such a prolonged period of time helped me to see that I had a problem. I was able to truly learn how to take care of myself, including undergoing lifestyle, diet, and exercise changes. I had never realized how much a person’s diet affects their overall health, including weight, skin clarity, energy, and many more.
By no means am I a strict vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian. I also didn’t start a keto, paleo, or Mediterranean diet. I still eat meat, but I eat much less of it. I still eat cheese and carbs, but it makes up a small part of my daily intake. The most important thing that I learned that helped me to attain my health goals was that moderation is key. I had always heard that, but never took it to heart. When I tried to make healthy changes in my life, I thought I needed to completely change what I ate by cutting out all of the things that were considered “bad”. When I did that, I failed again and again; until I realized that the only way I would make progress was if I made incremental changes. I still allowed myself to eat things that were bad, but very little of it. I substituted the things in my diet that were artificial for wholesome, fresh foods with substance. Doing too much too quickly will never work in the long term. Making small, incremental changes that I knew I could accomplish helped me to become the healthier and energetic version of myself that I lost when I first came to college.
