Blog Takeover: Meet Berit.

Hello all! My name is Berit, and up until this very moment, I must say that I have never considered how to introduce myself on a nutrition blog. Let’s just say… I don’t think “nutrition” is exactly top of mind when my friends and family think of me. When it comes to food, I’m probably better known for my willingness to eat just about anything or my eagerness for a feast.

Growing up sports were a huge part of my life, and I was lucky to enjoy daily homemade meals courtesy of my parents. They did the meal planning and cooking… I simply showed up to eat it. I continued my athletic aspirations at the collegiate level, but never really stopped to consider how I would handle being at the helm of my own nutrition decisions. Looking back, it’s no shocker that my state of perpetual rushing from activity to activity paired with my complete lack of meal planning didn’t exactly yield a well-balanced diet... Let’s call it “carb-forward” consisting mostly of quesadillas, sandwiches, frozen meals, and more quesadillas.

When it came to thoughtful nutrition, my younger self associated the concept with self-obsessing, macro counting, powder drinking, and kale blending. None of these things were for me, so I wrote off nutrition as a concept for those more regimented than I.

It wasn’t until after college that I spent a little more effort reflecting on the way my food impacts the rest of my life. It took some time for me to understand that nutrition doesn’t mean I have to be meticulously calculating macros. For me, it simply means being cognizant of what I’m eating and how I’m feeling.

As it turns out, planning and cooking fresh meals is something I really enjoy – a far cry from my college-self who viewed meal prep as something to be done as fast as possible in between activities. As I have embraced the time spent preparing healthy meals, I have also broadened my definition of nutrition, recognizing the role it plays in all our lives. Our food is our fuel; eating well makes me feel good – both mentally and physically. For me these days thoughtful fuel means scaling back on meat, focusing on fresh produce, and getting creative with new recipes.

The concept of nutrition is no longer monopolized in my mind by the ultra-fit; rather, I’ve embraced its place in my own life, on my grocery list, and in my refrigerator. Because the way we fuel our bodies impacts us all… whether we are blissfully unaware of it or not.

-Berit