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Rachel

šŸ‘šĀ Dealing with body image (and other cool things)

May 31, 2024




Okay, Iā€™ll admit it. Iā€™m part of the šŸŠĀ OrangeTheory cult!


Exercise never came easily to me. šŸ˜“Ā I donā€™t know whether that is because of the way that P.E. was structured #hatethat12minutemile, or that I hate (emphasis on the hate) sweating (why so smelly?), or that I just really like sedentary hobbies. šŸ§¶Ā šŸ“–Ā šŸ“ŗ


šŸŖ‘Ā About two years ago, though, I sat myself down for a serious talk. You know that you live alone when you have to have interventions with yourself, lol!


ā€œSelf,ā€ I said, ā€œscience will NEVER say that exercise is not good for you. So you have to figure out a way to do it and enjoy it.ā€


It took me 2 years after signing up for OrangeTheory before I stopped having to reallyĀ talk myself into going Every. Single. Time. šŸ˜©Ā And then without no big to-do, it just became a normal part of my week. šŸ‹šŸ½

How does this relate to food?


Well, the other day I was shopping for new clothes with my Mom and I went up a size. Again. And thatā€™s after the several sizes I went up during the COVID-19 pandemic. šŸ˜¬


Now, I know that paying attention to šŸ‘—Ā womenā€™s clothing sizes is essentially like asking a šŸŽ±Ā Magic 8 ball what you should have for dinner, but I would be lying if I said it didnā€™t still get to me.


What was happening?! Iā€™d been doing everything šŸ’ÆĀ ā€œrightā€.


Of course, Iā€™ve heard all sorts of theories about how to eat better to šŸ§ˆ lose fat and/or šŸ’ŖšŸ½Ā gain muscle from reputable and (oh so many) questionable sources. You should:


Eat more protein.

Eat less carbs.

Track your everything.

Donā€™t drink your calories.

Only eat healthy fats.

Avoid all fats.

Do more cardio.

Lift more weights.

Protein powder!!!


Since the clothing industry/society made me feel shitty about my body, šŸŒ€ IĀ spiraled a bit and leaned into the whole exercise-nutrition science side of the world.


Generally, I try to balance eating for šŸƒšŸ½ā€ā™€ļøĀ physical and šŸ˜„Ā mental/emotional health. But the past few weeks, I have been paying closer attention to everything that I eat. āž•Ā šŸ”¢


And how did that make me feel?


šŸ’©Ā More shitty.


The thing is yes, there are ways to maximize your weight lose/muscle gain. And that science is constantly evolving.


But I think Michael Pollan summed up what I actually want my nutrition goals to be >>>


The foods we eat all have a different function, whether it is to get our šŸŠĀ Vitamin C, celebrate a birthday with šŸŽ‚Ā cake, weā€™re trying a šŸ›Ā new dish while traveling, or weā€™re just craving some šŸŸ fries. The important thing is paying attention to what we eat and why weā€™re eating it.


Also, hereā€™s a random little thought šŸ§ Ā from somewhere on the internet that helps me:


So many corporations want you to hate your body because then they can keep selling you stuff šŸ¤‘, so it is a radical act to love yourself at whatever size.


Plus, being healthy should really be about doing the things that you enjoyĀ šŸ¤© for as long as possible!




After days of holding my breath, the video came outĀ and it was less messy and (letā€™s be real) bad than I remember it. # negativitybias


Hereā€™s the video where I talk all about šŸ„– sourdough and mindfulness:





šŸŒ¶ļøĀ Whatā€™s with the Gochujang trend?


This week I saw an ad for gochujang-flavored potato chips šŸ˜‹Ā and of course that led me down a rabbit hole of learning about this delicious fermented food.


Iā€™m curious though, have you tried the gochujang potato chips yet???






This week, we launched our brand āœØĀ NEWĀ School Newsletter exploring all things šŸæĀ Flavor & Taste. Developed by Sarah, one of our rock star board members, this newsletter is designed to serve as a curated resource for šŸ«Ā schools leaders, šŸŽĀ educators, and šŸ”Ā parents to use food as a tool to teach about the world.



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