The Olympian's Diet

The toxic relationship with food that many of us struggle with

Note: This post was wayyyyy out of my comfort zone to write, but I hope it can encourage at least one of you.

What we intake and surround ourselves with impacts how we think, feel, look, and act.

Before the Olympics, I ate light, clean, and healthy food. I felt strong, fit, confident, and energized. I ate mostly foods from the earth, such as meat, vegetables, and fruits. I was also watching my refined sugar intake and stuck to eating two small meals and one large meal a day. That dietary structure worked for me and allowed me to feel light and strong. It also helped me maintain a positive mood, positive thoughts, and a good energy level.

Then, it all took a turn

After I finished competing, I didn’t care what I ate. I was free to do whatever I wanted. In a way, I was also eating my feelings. Over the next three weeks, I began eating three large meals a day in Paris and in Spain. I happily enjoyed a significant amount of sugar from a wide variety of dessert options pretty much every day. Also, my body was struggling because of the stress I had been under from competition and all of the travel and environmental changes.

I remember landing back in the United States, looking in the mirror, and feeling really bad about myself. It all came to a head when someone I was hanging out with called me a “fatty” when I was snacking while watching a movie. I told myself that I was going to go on a full-restriction diet of no sugar and significantly reduced calories. I thought, “I’ll just eat a lot less and then I’ll feel better.” Big shocker, that did not work. I didn’t feel better at all, which made me feel defeated. And I wasn’t able to stick to the super restrictive, unrealistic diet, which also made me feel defeated. I found myself exhausted, frustrated, disheartened, and my confidence sunk. Also, during my last few weeks in Paris and Spain and my first week back in Austin, I stopped working out because I didn’t have the energy or desire to get up and go to the gym.

I had spent three weeks putting excessive amounts of unhealthy food into my body and not working out. I was feeling the side effects. I so badly wanted an easy fix. I so badly wanted to snap my fingers and make myself magically feel good again. But that’s not how life works.

I realized that these feelings of exhaustion, lack of confidence, frustration, and complacency weren’t just going to go away on their own or overnight.

I realized that it was going to take intentional work and dedication to get back to where I wanted to be. So, I made a decision to get up four days a week and get back into the gym. I made a decision to allow myself to enjoy sweets in moderation once or twice a week. I made a decision to go back to eating healthier foods and less bread and processed foods.

Let me tell you. It was hard!! Getting out of bed for that first week back in the gym was so hard, but the second I finished my workout, I was thankful I did it.

I recognized that it would take time to get back to where I wanted to be. I realized that I had to be consistent. One small step a day. But, I figured it was better to take consistent small steps rather than no steps at all or one massive, unattainable leap. So, I built an attainable plan and decided to commit to it. Each day, I’m starting to feel a little better.

It is ok to let go for a second!!

This post is not about being perfect all of the time! It is okay to take a break and enjoy food and life and all the sweets sometimes. However, it is also important to recognize that it is not healthy to let loose forever. What you put into your body has an impact on how you feel, think, act, look, and treat the people around you. It’s not fun to feel bad or have low energy. Sometimes, you have to have a hard conversation with yourself, set a goal, make a plan, and commit to executing that plan. You just have to take one small, intentional step at a time consistently over a long period of time, and you will get to where you want to go.

I hope this encourages you.

This is not something that I talk about much at all, but I think it is so important to approach diet and health in a healthy way. I am sharing my recent struggle with you in hopes you will see that we all struggle with diet and body image. There are so many unhealthy thoughts and expectations, but I hope this post encourages you to approach your diet in a healthy and kind way. Your body is a temple. Consider what you are intaking. If you aren’t fully content about where you are, map out a healthy, achievable plan for yourself and maybe even get an accountability partner.

And most importantly, be kind to yourself. Oftentimes times, we are our own biggest critics.

Whether it is your diet or another part of your life, start taking those small steps towards your goals. We are in this together.