Why I Chose a Holistic Lifestyle

I’ve been postponing this moment for a very (very!) long time. I wasn’t sure how to start. I wasn’t sure what to say to make this attractive, charming and fascinating. After a lot (probably too much) of thinking and analyzing, I realized that I should start from the beginning, and be as open as I possible can. As vulnerable as I possible can. And hopefully, this will resonate with some of you, and maybe even inspire you (which will be a dream come true for me). So let’s start.

I developed a love-hate relationship with food back when I was a teenager. I just started high-school (grade 10 I think), and all I wanted was to belong. None of my actions were intentional, but subconsciously, it seemed that the best way to fit-in would be to lose weight. Initially I just started eating healthier, which came pretty naturally to me. Less sweets, less fried foods, less bread.. you know, the uzh. From there it transitioned to less frequent meals, smaller portions, absolutely no fat, no meat, so pretty much only fruits and vegetables. At first I was losing weight pretty consistently, and not drastically. I was simply ecstatic! I felt that I was in control, that I am the queen of the world. I was receiving compliments from my friends about how great I looked, and these all made me feel so extremely happy… or so I thought. Completely oblivious to what was going on, I developed an eating disorder. Anorexia to be precise. After a while I started having cravings, because a person can live on minimal amount of raw fruits and vegetable for only so long. So I started binge eating. Since I had to stay in control, I’d binge eat, and then discharge of everything I eat (i.e. vomit). The irony was that I had absolutely no control. The food and this mental state were consuming me, and had full control over me. That lasted on and off for many years, and with time I started thinking that this simply cannot be right. It was so unnatural, and I felt so extremely guilty. I just wanted to be a normal girl, who enjoys a nice meal, without constantly being hypnotized by food.

About eight years ago it stopped. I am fortunate enough to say that I was able to get out of it on my own. Don’t get me wrong – I still have body image issues that I am working on on a daily basis, but that terrible self-harming, self-destruction, halted completely. I am unable to pin point exactly the driver that made it stop. I am not sure if it was simply me maturing, the tremendous support I had from my mother, or simply getting too busy with school, where I had to maintain my A+ average and could no longer have this eating disorder as a distraction. I am aware that this isn’t always how these stories end, and I am beyond grateful that this is how mine did.

This experience made me reevaluate my relationship with food, and resulted in a whole new perspective of the concept of a “healthy” lifestyle. It made me realize that there isn’t one diet that fits all. The magic answer isn’t the “paleo” diet, or the “Mediterranean” diet, or the vegan diet, or you name it. The diet is simply called the “listen to your own body” diet (unless it’s telling you to eat M&M’s on a daily basis, in which case you should probably get a second opinion).  This lifestyle is much more than the food we eat. It is the air we breath, the water we drink, the amount of exercise we get (not necessarily at the gym). It is our community, our surrounding, the love and affection that we give and receive. It is a purely holistic view of life, where we listen to our body. Where we learn what kind of food makes us feel light yet energized, and what kind of physical activity we enjoy doing that contributes to our well-being without causing unnecessary stress or anxiety.

I am here to share everything that I know, and everything that I am still learning, which will contribute to your health and well-being. I am a true advocate of eating whole foods, eliminating processed foods, eating more fruits and vegetables (yes – fruits too! – we’ll get to that in a different post :)), and incorporating more live foods and fermented foods in our diet. I LOVE food and will be sharing tons of healthy, easy and delicious recipes, that are mainly dairy free, gluten free and plant based (some high quality animal products will be incorporated occasionally).  I am also a true advocate of SELF LOVE and SELF CARE. Yes, folks. It doesn’t matter what food you eat, or how fast you run. If you don’t take a good care of yourself, and don’t truly love yourself, you probably won’t get too far. Luckily, I am here to share with you everything I know about self love and self care. Everything from meditation, to oil pulling and tongue scraping! Occasionally, I will also be sharing my workouts, cool places I visited, and other random items that may contribute to this purely holistic lifestyle that we are adopting together. Together, we can create a truly holistic lifestyle, in which we achieve our body’s and mind’s fullest potential.

Thank you for joining me in this journey. Until next time, my friends. In the interim, I invite you to my Instagram page, where you can get a head start and find various recipes (you’ll learn that I am a huge smoothie fan!), and other adventures I’ve been up to thus far!

Yours purely,

Lena