My Biggest Health Mistake: Ignoring Proper Nutrition

I was born to Hungarian immigrant parents who over-fed us in order to compensate for the fact that they themselves grew up poor. Though the food I ate was very nutritious because I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I cleaned my plate (which was always brimming over with food) I lost the ability to know when I was full. My parents tried to give us what they didn't have growing up; more than enough food to eat at all times. I was always encouraged to eat more and never really discouraged from being sedentary. I read a lot, did my schoolwork, painted, embroidered and engaged in other productive seated activities. I also wasn't particularly athletically inclined. I was the last kid picked to be on any team sports, etc so a vicious cycle began.

In my early adolescence this led to poor self-image and desperation to be skinny at all costs. I spent the next 10+ years yo-yo dieting, binging and purging, suffered bouts with anorexia and over-exercising followed by decadent treats because "I just did a tough workout in addition to starving all day." I would manage to get skinny for short periods but it never lasted. The weight would always come back, and then some. I had no clue what fitness was about even though I convinced myself that fitness was what I was seeking. And then it happened, a genetic pre-disposition to severe gastro-intestinal issues that had plagued me since childhood had begun to take a serious toll on my ability to function. Being that I was now a young mother chasing skinny could no longer be my focus. My health and ability to be able to properly take care of myself and children became my primary directive. I realized if I didn't pursue fitness properly by combining proper nutrition with appropriate work-out regimens, instead of merely focusing on getting skinny, I would become more and more ill, eventually rendering myself unable to care for my family.

Interestingly enough it was because I was experiencing the worst physical symptoms from my GI problems that I was being driven to get stronger. I wanted to be able to take care of myself and my children, especially once I divorced and became a single parent. I was left with no choice but to learn all that I could about proper nutrition as it was abundantly clear to me that the only way that I could achieve my goal of taking care of myself and my family was to attain true fitness. The only way that I could fully achieve this goal was through proper nutrition.

Now well over a decade has passed since those days and because I made it my business to learn the difference between what was truly proper nutrition as opposed to the ridiculous diets and crazy extremes promoted by sales-driven media hype I am still achieving fitness regardless of what obstacles life has placed in my path.