Hello all! I hope you’re having a productive start to the week. As of today I’m gearing up to head back to school tomorrow (or technically Wednesday since I don’t have classes Tuesday). Come May I’ll officially be done with my DPD coursework (party time!) – and after spending six years in school at that point I’m so ready for the internship and a transition to online learning. It definitely won’t be easier, but being in a classroom has become tiring after all this time.
I hate this time of year
Well, not completely. I guess what I really mean is I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I’m sure everybody can relate in some capacity (or I could just be crazy – it wouldn’t be unusual).
Happy Birthday ForksandNature!
Guess what everyone? Forksandnature is officially 1 year old [insert sound-maker noises and confetti which I won’t have to clean up here]! I just wanted to celebrate this milestone a little bit, and tell you that despite my hiccup over the last two months, the blog has garnered some attention over the past year. While it still remains small, I’m forever grateful for all of you who have read posts, commented, liked, and enjoyed forksandnature over the past year 🙂 So thank you!
Over the course of 2016 I’d like to make the blog even better, and I can’t do it without your help! This blog, aside from being enjoyable to me, is something for you too. If there are any topics you’d like covered in the new year, or anything you’d like me to branch out and try, feel free to make suggestions. I’m beginning to plan 2016, and one of my goals is to ensure that I post regularly throughout my next semester even as things get a little crazy.
In other exciting news, I’d like to share with you all that I was officially accepted into a dietetic internship program! My school offers early admission to students currently in their program who have a high GPA and display excellence in many other categories, and I’m so happy and relieved to say that I will definitely be a dietetic intern next year. And, bonus, it also means I don’t have to go through DICAS and Match Day (but don’t worry everyone, I’ll be cheering you all on come April)!
Once again, thank you all for your support this year, I can’t tell you how much it means to me. Now, just to clarify, I’m not going to be able to post daily, but expect them weekly again. I’m looking forward to another year with you all 🙂
❤
New Year’s Confessions
Hello all! I know it’s been months since I last posted, and I know I’ve been very absent on Instagram and Twitter. Embarrassingly so, for someone who wants to incorporate social media and blogging into her future career.
When I first drafted this post I had a lengthy piece written out, but I thought I’d rather turn it into a confessional letter to all of you readers out there.
Living a healthy lifestyle was not on my list of priorities for the past two months. Working out was a chore. Eating garbage was way more exciting when I was bent over my laptop chugging out paper after assignment after study guide. And I felt like crap. Literally.
So what does someone who’s studying nutrition do once they’ve reached that moment? Plan for 2016 to better starting today. Commit to eating well again (80% of the time like usual), commit to working out 4-5 days each week (while I still can), and commit to bring some mental clarity to my life.
What things can I pinpoint which made me forget all of the healthy lifestyle principles I’ve been learning? Stress. Holiday indulgence. Boredom with what I was doing. And knowing these triggers are the beginning steps into making a New Year’s resolution sustainable.
This is what I’m going to do to make 2016 a better year. What are you going to do to make 2016 even better than last year?
Happy New Year to each and every one of you, let’s make 2016 amazing!
❤
Life Update #1
It’s time to check in and take a little breather.
Hello everyone! I hope you had a splendid weekend full of the magnificent throes of autumn. Halloween’s coming up and it couldn’t be more exciting. Is it weird of me to say Halloween is one of my favorite holidays?
Anyways, all of this autumn excitement aside, I wanted to talk a little bit about what’s going on in my life and explain why I haven’t been showing up as much on social media sites (though I’m happy to say I’ve been fairly regular with my posts despite being super busy). But that’s just the thing, life has been super busy lately. Between taking four classes which are quite heavy in their workload, being the secretary of Nutrition Club, working as a nutrition graduate assistant in the wellness center, and balancing a social life, my life has been a hectic jumble.
With all of this going on I do feel like I haven’t been as much of a presence online, and for now it’s something that might remain simply because of my current schedule (though when I have an available minute I do make every effort to get on Instagram and like all the things). But don’t worry – I’m still here! I haven’t given up on this blog, I’ve simply been swamped with all my nutrition-related things and trying to set myself up on the best possible career path of my choosing (I think I’ve found what I want to do by the way).
So don’t you worry forksofnature readers, I’m still here I just may be a little bit quiet for awhile.
❤
Fall Favorites
So I’ve seen this done so many times on YouTube and I thought why can’t I show some of my favorite foods, workouts, and lifestyle bits a little love this season? After all, fall is my favorite!
On a side note, my dietetic internship application has officially been handed in and is now in the hands of the internship director and the nutrition faculty at my school. Eek! Keep your fingers crossed for me – I should find out in November whether or not I’ve made it into the program. If I do, my internship will be secured and I won’t actually have to worry about going through DICAS (um, score?). Couldn’t ask for a better deal.
Anyways, now we can move into the stuff you’ve been waiting for. My Fall Faves. Continue reading
How to: Refuel After Your Workout!
So you’ve sweated it out, your muscles have screamed, and your lungs are on fire – what do you do next?
Hello everybody! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, I know I had lots of fun going up to Boston spending some time with some of my best friends and going to Harpoon Brewery’s Octoberfest (you should definitely go if you can!). Every now and then it’s just nice to ditch the Albany area for awhile and go elsewhere. And Boston is one of my favorite cities, so that’s a double bonus. It’s really neat that I’ve been there so much and I can bypass a lot of the touristy stuff (not that it’s bad of course) to do random things the locals do. Funny thing is, I remember one of the first times I visited the city back when I was 16 and I really just fell in love with the vibe of everything. Normally I wouldn’t consider myself a city dweller, but Boston would be one I would consider.
Anyways, let’s actually get into what this post is all about. By now you’ve seen my past blog posts about why exercise is good for you and what you should eat before you workout. Let’s get to what you should be noshing on after your killer workout session.
How to: Fuel Up for Your Workout!
Otherwise how can you expect your body to function optimally and kill that workout?
Hello everyone! I hope you’re all wrapping September up with a bang! It’s so hard to even think that a month has flown by so quickly – I’ll admit between classes, work, and nutrition club things have been a little crazy for me. Looks like that rest from summer I thought I was going to get isn’t quite happening 😛
Anyways, last week I mentioned I wanted to do a little bit of a workout-centric theme over the next few posts, and here we’ve got another installment!
Why You Should Include Exercise in Your Week
In addition to good nutrition of course!
Hello everybody! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I was able to visit with my mom this weekend for her birthday, so I really enjoyed my time and took a bit of a mental break from all things school and work. It was really lovely to be honest. I know I’ve taken up a lot more this semester with my role as the graduate assistant in the wellness center and as secretary of the nutrition club on campus, but whew have things been hectic.
Anyways, despite things being crazy I’ve been determined to keep a workout schedule. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t workout regularly I begin to feel like crap. I get moody and angsty and I begin to feel body image issues creeping back into my life. It can be awful really. Luckily, I’ve discovered a YouTube channel that does awesome, short workouts that are still really intense and make you break a sweat. If you haven’t heard of FitnessBlender you need to go check them out. Now. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Sugar is a Sneaky Son of a B*@&$
And it’s the largest contributor to the obesity epidemic.
Hello everybody! I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with the last days of summer. I can’t believe we’re already in back-to-school mode, and that fall is quickly approaching. Not that I mind too much – fall is my favorite season after all. I can’t wait to begin sharing fall-themed things with you!
In the meantime, I thought it was important to shed some light on a topic that has been getting a lot of press in general. And to be honest, I’m glad this topic’s getting as much press as it is because it’s something that many weren’t paying attention to before.
Added sugar. Yes, today we’re talking about added sugar specifically, ie: the stuff that food manufacturers add to their products. Natural sugars are something very different. They occur naturally in foods and are not added for flavor or to give body to soft drinks. Fruit is a great example. Fructose, or fruit sugar, is found naturally in an apple or a peach, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid fruit because it contains fructose.
Today’s discussion is mostly going to be focused on added sugars and how food manufacturers sneak them into processed foods. It’s important for you to be able to recognize these added sugars so you can avoid them. As it stands, I would back the theory that added sugar is this country’s leading cause of obesity, and as a result it is something you should strive to avoid.
forksandnature 