Spring cleaning: refreshing my eating habits

Alright, I'll admit it - I've been a bad girl...a very, very bad girl. Whether it's downing delivery Thai food at 1 am or shoveling loads of (delicious) vegan pizza in my mouth in the afternoon, my health and fitness smarts have been abused and somewhat forgotten. Last school session, I was pulling sixty-hour work weeks, interning, volunteering, and attending school full-time, all while retaining some semblance of a normal social life. And this meant a lot of racing around, a lot of late nights...and a lot of eating.

There's a secret, though! You can eat a whole bunch if you opt for healthy fare - you know, that stuff your mom always used to tell you would help you grow, things like dark, leafy greens (spinach, broccoli, and the ever-wonderous KALE), vivacious vegetables (think color in peppers, zucchini, squash), sweet fruit (as "normal" as strawberries and bananas and as outrageous as kumquat and starfruit), and, of course, lots of lean proteins like quinoa, tofu, lentils, and beans!

So why did I fall off my little health-conscious bandwagon? Simply put, I just got lazy. It happens, you become so caught up in dominating that final exam or making it through a nine-hour shift with the highest sales that you leave your health by the wayside...and often times, your sanity, too. Too often we forget that food might be our medicine, a sort of natural healing from the inside-out that helps us to feel as great as we look!

To help keep myself focused and on track, I've devised a little "clean" diet to match my recently-overhauled apartment. With spring cleaning becoming a predominant theme these few weeks and summer just around the corner (say YES to beach bod!), there's no better time to revamp your eating and fitness routine...kick out the old BLAH and say hello to the new BEAUTIFUL!

The Beautiful Life plan:
-Vegan, no animal by-products, including meat, seafood, dairy, or eggs
-Gluten-free, avoiding wheat, vegetarian meat replacements, and barley
-Limited corn and soy and exclusively organic
-No carbonated drinks or sodas; no artificial sweeteners, limited caffeine
-No potatoes or difficult-to-digest starches
-No alcohol...I'm in college, no need to explain this one!
-Lots of fresh veggies, fruit, and protein!

The most important of this aspect of "the beautiful life" is flexibility and moderation, an ability to modify, add/change or completely remove any of the elements, only striving to achieve a greater appreciation for my super fabulous bod and what it can do, especially when I treat it well and reward it for all its hard work with the fuel that will let it work harder! So hasta la vista to that blah bod and let's cheers to the BEAUTIFUL!

Portrait of a former self

It's no joke that the food in our public schools (or any school, for that matter) is JUNK. Considering that french fries serve as the staple "vegetable" accompanying our mozzarella sticks and gourmet greasy pizza, food service has provided little to the kids and the communities it serves. One of these effects can be seen in my own fabulous past as - you guessed it - the fat kid. Don't worry, we'll get into the logistics of the typical school lunch and proposed solutions soon (Farm to School, anyone?), but for now, a look into the eating habits that so shaped my awful former self.

1. Middle school Friday specials
Friday always means the fun food, a celebration of the weekend of sorts. My typical meal? A slice of cheese pizza, a slice of pepperoni pizza (you know, gotta have a balanced diet), a large fry with cheese sauce, a slice of cake, and two chocolate milks. Needless to say, one of the highlights of those Fridays involved me leaning out the window to say hello to a parking lot's pavement.

2. Saturday night deliveries
My sister and I were big for Domino's pizza. We also understood the importance of splitting bigger meals between two people, so we always shared the medium thick-crusted cheese pizza, full order of Buffalo Chicken Kickers with ranch, and hot order of Cinnastix and icing. Too bad there were never any leftovers.

3. Eighth grade exercise
My mom was one of the types that encouraged me to sign up for whatever activity I pleased, so naturally when an ice rink opened in the neighboring mall, I signed up for skate lessons. These got old after a while...but the large order of cheese fries I'd down while watching the lessons never did.

4. Dancing and donuts
Summer school came around and I joined a hip-hop dance class. Of course, the teacher brought breakfast food to celebrate near the close of the session, including orange juice, apple juice, and the ever-popular army of Krispy Kreme donuts. I was so excited, I cut in line, only to have one of my classmates yell, "Erin, I know you haven't eaten in the past half-hour, but you're going to have to wait in line like everyone else!" See, my healthy example was already being recognized for its excellence!

5. Bag it up
In seventh grade, I opted for bringing a healthy lunch from home. "Healthy" meaning a pepperoni pizza Lunchable and full-size bag of Skittles. Hey, at least I had a bottle of flavored water to wash it all down.

Any habits you blame for your childhood chunk?