True Healthy Me

About True Healthy Me

From the moment we’re born, we are weighed, measured and compared with the ideal numbers a baby should possess. And that is just the beginning of an endless ocean of comparisons we swim through, wallow in, risk drowning in as part of living in today’s society. And our job is to create our own flotation devices to battle the crashing waves, to find an island of oasis from the stress of competition. Or… we can give in to the raging ocean, succumb to peer pressure and fall into the trap of constantly comparing ourselves. From the earliest days of my existence, I pretty much did the latter.

When I was in elementary school, I remember sitting next to my friend and trying to measure our thighs with our hands, comparing the sizes, arguing about whose were bigger. I said mine were bigger because I wanted her to argue that, in fact, hers were bigger, and she did so just so I would have to deny it. And when we were weighed in P.E., she asked me how much I weighed and I told her, tears running down my face because I was embarrassed about how much I weighed, sure it was more than any other child in the class. All too swiftly came middle school, where I sat with a new group of friends. All stick thin, except for me. I was bothered by this fact, and wanted to be thin, so I began dieting. I would bring fat-free yogurts to school and at lunch, my skinny friends would scrutinize the nutritional labels and tell me, “your yogurt is 20 more calories than my yogurt.”

The summer between middle and high school, I remember looking at a billboard about weight-loss surgery that advertised, “Get High School Skinny!” I told my parents I was afraid I would be “high school fat” instead. I became very serious about exercising and dieting, so much so that it consumed pretty much every moment of my life – and all so I could be skinnier than the people around me. Therefore “better.” If I had continued on that road much longer I would have ended up at the hospital. I also could have developed bone diseases such as osteoporosis or osteopenia. Luckily, however, my caring parents helped start me on the path to recovery. As the journey began, I was pretty surprised to learn that I could both eat fun foods and stay in shape. As it turns out, most people really do need about 2,000 calories a day! How crazy is that?

I will admit my flaws: like many people, I still struggle with this whole comparing game that everyone in the world seems to be playing. It can be hard to walk through the hallway or down a neighborhood street and not wonder just how I stack up amongst all the girls. But my mission is not to drown in the comparison ocean, to rise above the immaturity that many citizens of the world, of all ages, find so hard to leave behind. And this blog acts as the map of my own island oasis, a record of the recipes I make NOT to lose weight but to get the best nutrition possible out of my meals. I will also post occasional articles on the health knowledge I acquire on my journey. I invite passing sailors to take a vacation from the rough comparison sea, and stop on my blog to rest and enjoy some delicious smoothies, balanced foods, and an expository article here and there.