Let's Talk Healthy Living: A Health and Nutrition Blog

​The idea of writing a blog is, I admit, a daunting one. The first hurdle, in my opinion, is getting over the narcissistic nature of it all. “I think this” and “I believe that,” and “here’s what I ate today,” and “aren’t these workout leggings cute? And they don’t even fall down when I squat!” Who am I to say that my opinion matters or that anyone cares to hear it? The second hurdle: embracing authenticity and accepting vulnerability. Before even sourcing a web host for this blog of mine, I made a promise to myself: I would only acknowledge the desire to begin this project if I remained genuine throughout and vowed to be myself from beginning to end. With that, of course, comes the very real fear that you will be putting yourself out there for the world to see (and judge). Well, that is, if anyone gives a crap about what you have to say. However, after weighing the pros and cons of these worries, ultimately, the opportunity to embrace my passion that writing a blog presented was too enticing to pass up. So here I am, world: a self-proclaimed fitness and nutrition nut, ready to share my love of healthy living with the general public. Judge away.

My name is Lindsay. I live in downtown Toronto with my amazing fiancé (whom I’m sure you will hear more about later). I am an elementary school teacher by day, but fill much of my free time in the gym and by educating myself on health and nutrition. I often treat myself as my own guinea pig (Tim Ferriss styles, minus 1000). I enjoy testing various nutritional theories on myself, and watching my body respond (sometimes positively, sometimes not so much... and sometimes not at all). I am a Precision Nutrition Certified Nutrition Coach, and am looking forward to sharing my experiences of that journey throughout.

I have been active my entire life. I spent the majority of my childhood and adolescence in various arenas across the province as a competitive figure skater. The level of commitment required to be successful at such a sport, along with an inherent competitiveness (surely passed on by my dad), helped me to become the person I am today. After graduating university, I was thrust into an unknown world where skates were not required. My figure skating career had come to an end, and I was ok with that, but… now what? With so much free time, I needed a new hobby. I began to think very hard about what I enjoyed so much about the skating world and where my interests lay. Ultimately, it was the desire to be better. I always wanted to improve, no matter where I stood in the sport. That quality, I realized, was easily transferred into anything I decided to do in life. Although I had been working out in the gym for years, I didn’t truly understand what I was doing, or how to improve my performance (minus the odd tip I took from reading a Women’s Health magazine). I knew that staying active was important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and that I valued healthy living and the benefits it provided, but beyond that, I kept it quite simple.

Fast-forward six years, and I am on a personal health and fitness journey that I tackle with intension. I am hungry for knowledge, and always strive to be better than I was yesterday. Do I always succeed in this mission? Hell no. There are days when I go to bed thinking, “Well, I didn’t make it to the gym today,” or, “I told myself I would go for a run…” or, the ever-so-familiar, “I probably shouldn’t have eaten that.” But if I have learned anything over the past few years, it’s this: every day is a new day. If we let ourselves dwell on the things we have done or left undone, we will never find the ability to move forward. Make goals, create an action plan, and set out each day to achieve those goals. We will never be perfect, but we can always be better.

Now, I would like to preface this blog by stating that I am, by no means, an expert on anything. How’s that for a selling feature? My passion is, and will always be, to be a student of my craft. I love to learn and to apply these lessons to my own life. My friends and family know about this hobby of mine, and thus, often come to me for advice or with questions. I love to share what I have learned along the way. If I can help others adopt a healthy lifestyle, then I will. That is the primary goal of Eat. Move. Live. Sometimes I don’t have the answer, but I will always look for it from someone who does. This often sends me to one of the many health and fitness professionals that I follow and look to for knowledge and growth on a regular basis. I know that, throughout this project, I will be referring to many of them. There are some seriously skilled people out there in the world of healthy living, and I am excited to expose you to a handful of them. It is this community of talented professionals that help drive my desire to be the best me. They inspire me daily.

When I was completing my Master’s degree in Education, my very first professor provided me with feedback on an assignment that stuck: she told me that I needed to control my writing. Point taken. Therefore, I am going to wrap it up for today. I am excited to be on this creative journey and to share what I know/think I know/want to know about nutrition, fitness, and healthy living. Come along for the ride.

Lindsay