Why Insatiable?
I read Eat Pray Love the year I had started my journey to a new life. 2011 was a big year for many reasons besides my health; I studied abroad in Wales, I signed an internship offer with a Big 4 accounting firm, and I met the love of my life. Eat Pray Love seemed to fit everything I was looking for. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the main character talks about the concept of everyone having a word that captures all that they are, and I couldn't quite think of what my word was. When my then boyfriend (but now husband) came to visit me in Wales we discussed this concept and he immediately knew my word: insatiable.
I thought about if I was actually insatiable and realized that word encompasses every part of my personality. I am always looking to learn more, be more, experience more, give more, achieve more and you get the point. I wouldn't say the greed drives these desires but simply the fact that ever since I was little I have kinda been a ridiculous person and I think that's because I am always looking to take things to the next level. I wouldn't say that means I am not satisfied in the moment, I love and appreciate every moment in my life, but I never settle for what I am doing now- I always want to be better.
Side note - after my boyfriend visisted me in Wales we both knew we wanted to be together long term, and he proposed the day I came home.
My Story
I was always the skinny girl growing up and I never really thought too much about my health. I wasn't raised eating fruits and vegetables and I unfortunately never got to be involved in any sport. So when I got to college I kept up my bad eating habits and thought exercise was a waste of time if you were already skinny. 2011 was a wake up call for me; my grandmother had a massive heart attack and suddenly I was sick all the time and put on about 40 lbs in a span of 2 months.
I started to realize that the food we put into our bodies affects our bodies on the inside even if it doesn't show on the outside. For years I had been stuffing my face with breads and pastas, but in 2011 I figured out I had a gluten intolerance even though the blood tests didn't show I was celiac. Everytime I ate anything breaded I got sick immediately and went to the hospital one night from abdomibal pain.
It seems that I had actually had sensativity to gluten my whole life but didn't listen to my body so I didn't notice unil it got too severe. Now I can't have any exposure to it and if I do I get severe inflammation all over my body. The heart attack and gluten attack (as I would call it) opened my eyes to learning about eating healthy. I started to appreciate the idea of putting good things into my body to have a better quality of life and also prolonging my life.
I want to share my journey to a healthy life, a gluten-free life, an active life with others to help them get the most out of life and never settle for where they are at but to always be pushing to find a healthy and insatiable life.
I want to note that eating healthy and gluten-free does NOT mean giving up all you enjoy, I think this is a common misconception. I think it's learning how to balance what you enjoy with things that you need to eat to sustian yourself so that those things also become what you enjoy.