I FEEL LIKE COLLEGE FORCES YOU TO DISCOVER WHATS SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR INDIVIDUAL CULTURE IN RESPECT TO THOSE AROUND YOU. 
YOU SEE SO MANY PEOPLE EXPRESSING THEIR "DIFFERENCES" AND "UNIQUE ABILITIES" EVERYDAY THROUGH CLUBS, SPORTS AND STYLE IT'S HARD NOT TO STEP BACK AND WONDER WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOURSELF.
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. SOME THINGS WE GREW UP DOING THAT WERE A PART OF OUR HOMETOWN OR FAMILY ARE NOW SPECIFIC ONLY TO YOU HERE AT SCHOOL. AN OUTSIDER COULD LOOK IN AT PSU AND SAY "OH THEY'RE ALL THE SAME" - SMART, WE LIKE TO PARTY AND PARTICIPATE AND ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT WHAT'S AROUND US, BUT WHAT MAKES US ALL SO SPECIAL IS OUR PASSION FOR OUR OWN INTERESTS. 
DEPENDING ON ONE'S MAJOR AND CAREER PLANS, THEY'LL TAYLOR THEIR SCHEDULE AND LIFE AROUND CERTAIN GOALS AND DREAMS THEY HAVE FOR THE FUTURE. BUT FOR ME, WHAT'S SO SPECIAL NOW ARE THE LITTLE THINGS THAT WERE ALWAYS A SIMPLE PART OF MY LIFE.
COOKING, CERTAIN SHOWS WATCHED AND AROMAS THAT FILLED MY HOUSE BRING BACK INCREDIBLE MEMORIES; SNOWBOARDING, ALWAYS A FAMILY ACTIVITY THAT I CAN NOW TAKE PRIDE IN WHEN TELLING FRIENDS ABOUT IT; CERTAIN MUSIC, STYLE FITNESS, ALL THESE COMPONENTS OF MY LIFE THAT WERE ALWAYS JUST "THERE"; THEY NOW HELP ME STAND OUT AS A PERSON AND MAKE ME WHO I AM. 
PERHAPS THEY ALWAYS HAVE. YOU MAY NOT NOTICE THEM BUT THESE CERTAIN TRAITS WILL KEEP YOU FROM GETTING SWALLOWED BY A SCHOOL LIKE STATE. 
SO FIND WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT YOU, WHAT MAKES YOU WELL ROUNDED AND GREAT. 

WITH FALL BREAK FAST APPROACHING IT'S CRUNCH TIME.

NUMEROUS EXAMS, EVENTS, AND "SOCIAL SHINDIGS" ARE CIRCULATING MY AND NEARLY EVERYONE ELSE'S LIVES. I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT MY FUTURE AND PRESENT HAPPINESS, AND HAVE REACHED A REASONABLY STABLE MINDSET WHERE THE IMAGE OF MY FUTURE SEEMS QUITE DESIRABLE.

I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. THIS CAN BE DONE IN MANY WAYS, BUT PERSONALLY I FIND THE FIELD OF HEALTH AND FITNESS THE MOST APPEALING. I WORK, READ ABOUT AND ENJOY THE AREA OF FITNESS SO MUCH I'M TIRED OF HOLDING MYSELF BACK FROM WHAT I FEEL I'M MEANT TO DO. 

AGRICULTURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN INCREDIBLY APPEALING. IT'S IMPORTANT, PROGRESSIVE AND HAS A VERY ENTHUSIASTIC FOLLOWING.  I LOVEE THE COLLEGE AND PEOPLE IN IT, BUT THE MORE WORK I DO IN THE GYM THE MORE I WANT TO FOCUS MY CAREER IN THAT AREA. IT'S WHAT I LOVE AND HAVE BEEN MOST CONSISTENTLY PASSIONATE ABOUT OUT OF EVERYTHING I'VE EVER TRIED IN MY LIFE.

I THINK I WANT TO SWITCH TO BIO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION. THE SCIENCE BEHIND MENTAL AS WELL AS PHYSICAL HEALTH IS INTERESTING AND, NOT TO CONFORM, BUT MY BOSS SHARES THE SAME MAJOR AND ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT.

SO, I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE; MAYBE I'LL COME BACK TO AG, MAYBE I'LL BE A 30 YEAR OLD RUNNING A GYM WITH A REALLY NICE GARDEN OUTSIDE ;) WHO KNOWS. 

MY POINT IS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO STUDY WHAT THEY WANT. JUST BECAUSE MY PARENTS ARE SUCH SUPPORTERS OF AG DOESN'T MEAN I NEED TO STICK WITH IT. I WANT TO PUT MY ENERGY TOWARDS SOMETHING I ENJOY   AND EXCEL AT.

DON'T DENY YOURSELF HAPPINESS, THOSE WHO ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ARE THOSE WHO LOVE WHAT THEY DO

LETS GET ORGANIZED...

SO IT'S APPROACHING TIME TO HEAD BACK HOME FROM PSU AND IN THESE LAST THREE WEEKS I'D LIKE TO FINISH STRONG. I'VE FIGURED OUT MY MAJOR, MINOR, COURSES FOR NEXT SEMESTER AND HOPEFULLY SOON MY APARTMENT. EVERYTHING'S BEEN HUNKY DORY ASIDE FROM A MINOR DETAIL I'VE ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF ON...MY DAILY SCHEDULE...

COMMENCING LIFE ORGANIZATION NOW!!!

ANYWAY I WAS THINKING BACK TO MY FORMER HIGH SCHOOL SELF AND REALIZED I WAS A WHOLE HECK OF A LOT MORE ON TOP OF THINGS BACK IN THE DAY. NOW, I HAVE A LOT MORE DISTRACTIONS HERE AT COLLEGE BUT IT DOESNT'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I JUST DON'T THINGS DONE LIKE I USED TO. 

I THINK IT'S GREAT AND ALL HAVING FREE TIME AND PARTYING AND HAVING LIKE 1 ADULT PER EVERY 400 KIDS ON CAMPUS BUT JEEZ WITHOUT PARENTS HERE ITS EASY TO GET OFF TRACK.

THIS MAY OR MAY NOT WORK, BUT I'M BREAKING MY LIFE INTO THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES: WORKOUT/EATING, SCHOOL/WORK, AND SOCIAL. LET'S BREAK IT DOWN...

WORKOUT/EATING

I PLAN MY MEALS AND EAT HEALTHY BUT SOMETIMES I LOSE TRACK OF PORTIONS OR FIND MYSELF IN 

A RUT WITH THE SAME OLD EATS, SO I'D LIKE TO CHANGE IT UP. 

1. GO CHEAP, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DINING DOLLARS
2. LISTEN TO BODY (EAT WHEN HUNGRY, NO OVER OR UNDER EATING)
3. PLAN A FEW SPECIAL TREATS TO PREVENT BOREDOM 

SCHOOL/WORK

MAKE THESE A PRIORITY. SLEEPING, WORKING OUT AND EATING CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL/PHYSICAL HEALTH BUT A LITTLE MORE STRESS OVER SCHOOL WILL BE BENEFICIAL.

1.  USE MY DANG PLANNER EVERY DAY
2. GET AS MUCH WORK DONE DAILY AS POSSIBLE, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE
3. STUDY EARLY FOR TESTS/ DO FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS AHEAD OF TIME

SOCIAL

INTEGRATED PART OF DAY-TO-DAY LIFE AS OPPOSED TO FOCUS. LESS TIME TEXTING AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND MORE TIME FOCUSED ON TE ABOVE TO AREAS.

I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THE LESS TIME I SPEND FOCUSING ON THESE THINGS THE MORE ENJOYABLE THEY'LL BECOME, AS A SOCIAL LIFE SHOULD BE.

SO BASICALLY I'M FLIPPING THE PRIORITIES, REWORKING MY SCHEDULE AND GETTING THINGS DONE. 

COMMENCING NOW!

THE WHITE BLAZER

TODAY I WENT TO THE CAREER FAIR. I WALKED IN WITH CONFIDENCE, THANKS TO MY WHITE BLAZER AND OH SO BUSINESS-LIKE BUN, CASUALLY STROLLED UP TO THE CHECK IN CLIP BOARD AND RESUME IN HAND. AFTER SLAPPING ON MY INCREDIBLY STYLISH NAME TAG, I MADE MY WAY DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE BJC, WALKING INTO A BLUR OF STANDS AND MORE ADULTS THAN I'VE SEEN IN A MONTH.

WELL, I'VE HAD JOBS, I'LL OF COURSE HAVE NO TROUBLE TALKING TO THESE FRIENDLY LOOKING FARM FOLK. YEAH, I WALKED UP AND DOWN EACH ROW, GLANCING LEFT AND RIGHT JUST LONG ENOUGH TO ABSORB THE STANDS PRESENT; MAKING THE CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO KEEP MY HEAD HIGH AND MY STRIDE RELAXED. I FINALLY GOT TO THE LAST ROW, SLIPPED IN LINE AT SOME ZOO STAND, AND STARED AT THE GIRLS HEAD IN FRONT OF ME.

WHILE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THINKING OF MY FIRST WORDS TO MY FIRST POSSIBLE FUTURE EMPLOYER, THE HEAD FINISHED HER SPEECH, WALKED AWAY, AND REVEALED MY FRESHMAN SELF TO THE KIND MUSTACHED EMPLOYER IN FRONT OF ME. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO SAY. 

WHAT CAME OUT WAS SOMETHING OF A MIXED INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONING OF WHAT EXACTLY THE COMPANY WAS. "WELL WE'RE A ZOO" THE MUSTACHED MAN SAID. RIGHT. GREAT START.

SO HE COULD OBVIOUSLY TELL I WAS NERVOUS AND BEGAN SPEAKING ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR IN AN EMPLOYEE AND THE DIFFERENT POSITIONS HE HAD TO OFFER. I THANKED HIM FOR HIS TIME, WALKED AWAY FEELING INCREDIBLY AWKWARD, AND HUMBLED.

MUSTACHE MAN GOT MY HEAD STRAIGHT, AND AFTER HIM I FELT FAR MORE RELAXED, CRACKING WHAT I THOUGHT WERE FUNNY JOKES AND GETTING A LOT OF SMILES OUT OF A LOT OF EMPLOYERS. 

I WALKED AWAY AN HOUR LATER FEELING CONFIDENT; I'D MET NEW FACES, COMMUNICATED WHO I WAS CLEARLY AND IN A RELAXED MANNER, ASKED QUESTIONS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HAD GENUINELY MEMORABLE CONVERSATIONS.   

I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF EMPLOYERS AS ANOTHER SPECIES IN A WAY. GIVE THEM YOUR STATS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS TOPPED OFF WITH AN EAGER SMILE AND THE JOB'S YOURS. BUT THESE EMPLOYERS DIDN'T JUST WANT ANOTHER TALKING RESUME. THEY WANTED CONVERSATION, SOMEONE TO CAPTURE THEIR INTEREST IN A UNIQUE WAY. 

IN A WAY I FELT A LOT LIKE MY WHITE BLAZER. TAILORED, PROFESSIONAL AND PERFECTLY PAIRED WITH A PAIR OF KHAKIS THAT SCREAMED PROFESSIONALISM. ON THE OUTSIDE YES, THE BLAZER WAS PERFECT FOR THE FAIR, BUT ONE'S APPEARANCE ALONE WON'T PORTRAY  WHO THEY ARE AS A PERSON. 

I WENT INTO THE FAIR THINKING I HAD IT ALL FIGURED OUT, SIMPLY BY THE LOOK I HAD AND THE MOTIONS I KNEW I'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH. BUT I LEFT KNOWING THAT PEOPLE COME TO PENN STATE FOR A REASON; BECAUSE EVERY STUDENT HAS SO MUCH MORE TO OFFER, AS AN EMPLOYEE AND A PERSON, THAN JUST THEIR DEGREE.  

Course load...

The two month mark is fast approaching here at psu, and through many fine weekends and even weekdays, I've had some of the craziest times of my life. There is one outstanding frustration that's been with me since the first week of classes, and it's not a bad professor or too many exams. It's a lack of work.

I'm used to being busy. In high school I played  3 sports, took AP classes, multiple science courses and was in charge of many clubs. From 5 am to 9 pm I was occupied every second, and now here at college I feel completely under-scheduled. 

My courses are not challenging at all. Two exams have been difficult, but it is only because the course has absolutely no relation to my major which gives me no drive to push myself in the course. 

After meeting with my adviser and narrowing the focus of my major I feel much better, but for the time being it's incredibly difficult to get through the day because I have so much down time. I'd much rather be studying and having a consistent work schedule than sitting around during the day. Sure I study and do all the homework assigned, but I don't feel like I'm being pushed at all. 

I think college is all about self motivation. You pick your courses, how much time you spend on your assignments, and there's no one telling you when to work and forcing you to go to class. This makes it harder than high school despite the lack of work. 

I'm looking forward to a fuller schedule with more interesting courses. I believe having material that interests you and that is truly important to you makes it easier to self motivate. For now, I'll keep grinding...

Focus

Last week was incredible. Workouts were hit hard, time management was on point and the weekend was a blast. I finally feel as though I'm getting on track as far as routine, and my future plans are finally aligning with my current goals. 

A short meeting with my adviser last week really helped me straighten out where I want to go as far as academics next semester. I plan on doing a bit more research on potential majors but the mindset of "helping others" seems to reside in my general study interest.

It's carried over into the work place and social life as well; I've been more generous helping friends and even strangers (enter crying girl in a bathroom Saturday night) but have also begun devoting more time to my own studies/ personal time.

Personal time of course= gym. I had a nice session this morning sans headphones because I wanted to focus on each movement and have all senses, including hearing, about me. It made it easier to focus and also saved me time, and this "concentration" thing really has me a lot more sore lately. 

I'm learning how much quality matters lately. With workouts, friendships, relationships and work. Schoolwork and even working as a Pass Checker in the fitness center are so much more beneficial and fulfilling when I put my max effort in. I feel I sacrificed my first two exams because the quality of my work and studying was poor. The gym exemplifies this practice perfectly. I use the same weight for say, squats. I concentrate on the movement and contract each muscle as tightly as I can. I'm ten times more sore than I'd be if I sped through the workout. The quality of the workout, as well as everything in life, is everything.

So this weeks life hack: quality! Focusing on grades, health, and the quality of my relationships with people has already begun to make my life more enjoyable. bye :)

Goals of the Week

This week marks the start of a shift in my personal mindset. Less slacking, more effort, less over thinking and more prioritizing. 

I took a few days off this weekend because I wanted to up the intensity this week in the gym and in life. Two days in, feeling more sore and mentally strong than ever and have the hunger back for the challenge.

I skipped canning this weekend (going next month don't you worry) so instead of raising money for the kids I stayed here and partied with my friends. That sounds terrible...

The weekend began on Thursday as usual; released from my lab at 8pm I scarfed down dinner and got set to meet with my friends. After a long but fun night I'd intended to use Friday as one last "productive" day. I felt foggy in my career class and brain dead in math, but managed to use the rest of the day to do some apartment searching and socializing. Upon going out I was faced with getting 10 people into a party, stopping a fight (girls can't just hit guys in the face, especially my guy friends. Taken care of) and eating a brownie. Saturday was spent in (first time all year) because it seems canning took every potential party out of campus that night. No complaints. 

So why this sudden change in attitude? Shift in mindset? Well I practiced the art of perspective this weekend. I stood back and took a look at my current life and assessed it. Social, academic, personal and physical. I'm not unhappy with my life, but in order to be truly happy and satisfied one must always look to improve...

Social: Relax around my friends. By this I mean new friends, which I've had no trouble making and maintaining but I do take time to truly be myself around people. Realizing that these girls/guys love me and are incredible people to be around made it easy to relax and be myself once acknowledged.

Academic: Work harder. Every opportunity to learn will be taken and every second available to study will be utilized. Meeting with my adviser this week to determine a minor is getting me excited for the future and bringing new motivation. 

Personal: Stop being so hard on my relationship. Though many of you may not care, I'm dating a guy who, for the first time in my life, I'm not getting tired of. We've been through a lot and he makes me very happy, but since coming to college I find myself comparing us to others rather than focusing on what we've created with each other  Everyone is different and, although we have our imperfections, I love what we have together, I just need to relax and enjoy what comes naturally. 

Physical: Push myself through my dang workouts. If I'm going to hit the gym 5 days in a row, research movements, eat right and sleep well than I better be seeing some results. I've plateaued due to a lack of effort, so Sunday I went all out, added extra work and was mindful through the workout. Same with today, max effort every rep, every set. I feel incredible and it's been two days. That says something.

So you could say this week I got my hunger back. Hunger for success, pride, and happiness in all aspects in my life. I refuse to be anything less than the best I can be, and I'm working now to become that person everyday. that's what State is all about right?

Toodles

Birthday Post!

Welp, it's my birthday!

I know, exciting... I'm finally 19 and feeling really good about it. Lets see how today began...

Wokeup, about 6 Happy Birthday texts on the phone so it was automatically a good day, munched on some eggs and almonds then obnoxiously wokeup my roommate for my birthday workout! Shoulders and back at the gym, killed it and was 20 minutes late to film class but hey, it's a 3 hours class, I got the gist of it. So came home and spent the day getting calls and monitoring Facebook for updates and posts, making sure I liked and/or commented on all. Also had a lovely Mesopotamian exam which was miraculously easy, got some dinner with the girls and went to the mans rugby game. Now I'm sitting here enjoying a nice date night doing homework/ watching movies and feeling incredibly thankful for everything I have. 

Family, friends, acquaintances all took the time to use some form of communication to wish me a happy day. I'm with the ones I love and those I can't see always take the time to send a nice message, and I'm just feeling so blessed to have survived another year :)

My friends threw me a toga party this weekend. My freshman friends. At a house, and they paid for it al. Do you have any idea how insane that is?! 

Long story short, I'm a happy girl today. Killin workouts and eating healthy even on my special day, but I'm so happy to be with everyone and am thankful for all the wishes! Until next time... 

Quick post!
Head over to Marks Daily Apple and join me on the 21 day challenge! In addition to committing hard to eating clean here in college I thought why not challenge myself to a timed commitment as well. Marks blog is probably #1 in the Paleosphere (my word) and it was here I not only discovered the diet, but really began to understand the lifestyle and overall health benefits. There's an incredible amount of info on his site, everyone should check it out!
Click the link below for details!
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-21-day-challenge-infographic/#axzz2f5szMmwu

Homesick? Maybe. Thinking? Definitely.

Late Sunday nights= my roomy being out at church and me being done homework early, chillin on some fitness websites. No going out for once, not being surrounded by my usual group gives me a lot of mental solitude. And time to think. 

I have a lot of good things in my life; great friends a loving boyfriend and a healthy body. I'm blessed with a family who loves me back home and who I haven't realized I missed until tonight. Dream school, great opportunities, and endless nights of fun with new friends and old. These things all make me so happy, yet I still find myself critiquing my life and looking to improve, get more or get better. Tonight and quite frequently I find it helpful to take a step back and look at the good, all of it, and think of the fact that in so many ways my life could be worse. 

I've never been one to be easily satisfied. Whether it be physically, with sports, diet, schoolwork or social life I critique myself constantly and look to improve. This isn't bad and has made me who I am today; driven, hardworking, but I find sometimes I lack satisfaction in areas that should be so satisfying. 

My biggest problem is probably with relationships. Boys or girls, I have a hard time letting people in fully and trusting them. Surface wise I'm always happy to meet new people and tell jokes but the deeper level of bonding takes me a while to expose. I've taken care and focused on myself and my health for so long I sometimes forget the importance of a connection with other people. Despite this wall I have I've still managed to make so many loving friends. I have a select few I can truly let my feelings out too, and am making so many more each day who are incredibly fun to be around. 

Physically, I usually like my desire to improve and get better as it has always helped me break out of plateaus. I try to look at myself at least once a day and find satisfaction in a certain area I've been working on. To me, having a healthy relationship with your body where you not only challenge it and improve it, but take care of it and appreciate it. This gives you such a good level of confidence no matter what you look like. Fitness isn't just about lifting, running or being skinny. It's about being fit. All over, and that includes your mind and mental health. 

So tonight, and this week I'm going to work on appreciation. Appreciation of my school, family, friends, body and every relationship I have. 

I'm also reflecting on past memories which is something new. I try to live in the moment and plan for the future but looking back today I've had so many people and experiences in the last 18 years I can't believe it. From childhood until now there's been an insane amount of laughs and smiles I've genuinely enjoyed and never will forget. 

So this blog is basically about fitness/ health, but along with eating well in college I'm striving to be happy over everything else. Fitness, food, relationships and fun are all components to my life and my happiness, and each one deserves equal attention in order to create a fulfilling life. 

So as you can see, I think a lot, deeply, but I'm definitely not perfect and everyone's life won't be the same. But if you strive to create a balanced, well rounded life where each "component" is appreciated and taken care of, you're on a path to success.  Success could be whatever you want, in a small sense, but in a large sense the most successful look back on life with a smile on their face whether they have regrets or not. Happiness first, stress less, and take care of yourself, all over :)

Guru Christy signing off!

Sickness and Sucky Sleep Schedules

Well it happened. I was casually walking with a few friends around campus last night when upon swallowing I realized it had happened; I had a sore throat. See I'm one of those people who rarely if EVER gets any kind of sickness, 1-2 times a year if any. I used to catch something whenever the flu, throwup or allergy season rolled around, but since going Paleo I've managed to come away from every germ filled environment unscathed. So why the change?

I have a hypothesis. I formed it today, really proud of myself actually because I never even use words like hypothesis outside of Chem... anyway, when I woke up with my alarm at 8 and hit snooze. I've never hit snooze in my life... I've annoyingly woken up at 7:30-8 my entire life regardless of when I went to bed or what I did the night before, and I think the last time I took a nap I was about four. But lately around 4 pm I'll stop what I'm doing, go brain dead and just want to pass out into a coma for an hour. interestingly enough, I usually eat dinner around 6/7 and feel fine for the rest of the night. My eating has been consistent, I've felt a lot less stressed this last week than I did the first, and I'm finally beginning to feel settled here on campus. But for some odd reason, for the first time in my life, I'm freaking tired. I'm not saying I'm superwoman but I have never been your typical napping, sleeping until 12:30 kind of teen. 

So now that I've eaten my hard boiled eggs and almonds and as I sit here sipping my coffee, I'm coming up with a few things to do differently to health up my life. 

1. Wash. Everything. Hands, bowls, knives, Tupperware have all been sitting in my room with whatever chicken juice/ day old coffee in them without always being cleaned before the next use. Gross I know, but I've never been a hygiene freak and have never had a problem with sickness; I've always believed it has helped my immune system to not be super sanitary but some of my stuff just looks disgusting.
2. Lemon water and tea. Two of my favorite drinks and home that I'd guzzle religiously, but since coming to PSU I think I've had one glass of lemon water and two cups of tea in two weeks. Lots of nutrients and vitamin C I'm missing there...
3. Sun. I'm used to SITTING, not just walking through the sun for at least an hour a day. Aside from my daily hikes/ outdoor work I'd sit in my backyard and soak up some rays around lunch time every day. It kept my skin clear, made me feel energized, and I mean I had a decent tan that I'm now losing which really boosted my self esteem ;)

There's plenty more I could do I'm sure to stay healthy, but these have been the three biggest changes in my life so far. And by changes I mean controllable changes. Walking everywhere has been a huge change, but aside from tight calves and sore feet I'm loving to frequent movement and fresh air. It really keeps me sane and relaxed and has also helped me trim down a bit since arriving. This sore throat is 10x better this morning (yay strengthened immune system) so hopefully I'll continue to heal throughout the week. For now, off to the gym for chest/ arms day!

College. A time of gaining friends, experiences, knowledge, memories, and also a noticeable amount of weight. I personally have had experience with the ups and downs of weight; the scale goes up, mood goes down, tears fly and things break, and the diet begins. Years of experimenting, stuffing various things into my mouth and doing an equivalent amount of research on food and exercise to that of a Harvard scholar have given me a broad insight to the world of food.
After about 4 years of diet and exercise experimentation I've basically tried it all. Not eating, eating a lot, eating often and eating once a day, exercising into a coma and not exercising at all, high school was probably the most perfect time for me to experiment, mess up and come to a physical and mental place of relative balance. Now I say relative because my life like any other, is always changing. Being a college freshman is prime time to try and stay healthy and consistent with exercise. Right? No? Well while it may be difficult to grasp I find this to be as close to the perfect time to hone my knowledge of a healthy active life while balancing school and partying. It's a challenge of course but we're at PSU; aren't we supposed to love competition??
So for my first post I'll briefly explain my current diet/ give some "Paleo" history. Most times these things are explained in a robotic, wordy, or scientific way so I'll break it down and simply as possible. I follow the pale diet. Like Paleolithic. Like dinosaurs, well cavemen really but you get the point. Think of this lifestyle as that of a "hunter-gatherer", so no I don't hunt the squirrels on campus or steal herbs from the Greenhouse, I simply aim to replicate the diet of a hunter gatherer as closely as possible.
What do I eat... Protein and veggies mainly; think meat, fish, poultry, eggs alongside virtually any kind of raw/ steamed/ roasted veggie. I snack on fruit and nuts, and eat baked sweet potatoes after a workout which I'll explain later.
What don't I eat... Grains, bread, dairy, processed foods, any beverage but water (I drink black coffee and tea as well).
So thats it, pretty simple but there a wholeeeeee range of questions I can hear you saying about my personal diet. Most prominent, WHYY?!! Why would you every give up pizza, bread, cereal, sandwiches, granola bars, oatmeal, MILK (I swear I won't die of a lack of calcium. My bones are actually pretty strong...). These questions will be answered as the blog progresses, you may not even agree with them, but thats fine because I'm eating this way and am currently in the best health, shape, and mental state I've ever been in my life. No I'm not trying to sound like a Men's Health product it just comes off that way...
So to keep you reading I'll stop here. Maybe I'll post later this week or maybe you'll have to wait a week, but this will basically be a documentation of my life, food, fitness, work and yes parties, here at PSU while following the Paleo (or Primal) diet. And no I'm not trying to lose weight, just live healthy! Stay classy