You Finally Did What?
Now that we've got the bulk of my past history out of the way, I'm going to hop to all the stuff I've learned as I've been in all-around recovery.
You may have noticed that I casually mentioned that I've been seeing a dietician for a year and a half. How did this come about? Glad you asked!
Well, I had to cut my running mileage back because knee pain started back up shortly after the marathon. I also had some hip flexor and shin pain. I attribute these injuries to several things: I hadn't done strength training outside of a bit of pt, jumped into marathon training without much mileage prior, I still wasn't eating properly, and oh yeah, I didn't take more than a 3 day break from running after the marathon. Anyway, with the various pains getting worse, my pt told me I needed to cut back on running A LOT. So, I did, but was like what can I do now? Then I stumbled across triathlons.
I had started going to the gym regularly and doing some strength training, but was looking for something to train for outside of marathons. A triathlon seemed like the perfect solution because so many people had told me cross-training was super important and I already biked regularly; so I just had to pick up swimming. It seemed simple enough in my brain because I took swim lessons when I was like 10, so surely it will come right back? And plus, this was minimal impact on my body and everyone who I talked to about swimming reiterated how good it is for overall fitness. An added bonus was that it meant I was following a training plan again and the gym I was already going to had a pool!
Unfortunately, as good as it sounds on screen, the reality was much worse. It didn't take long after I started swimming that I began to experience rotator cuff pain in my left shoulder. I was feeling really discouraged because I just could not seem to keep the injuries away no matter what I did in gym for strengthening. I mulled this over for weeks and at some point a God-thought entered my mind: maybe I should see a dietician. After all, I hadn't trained for a triathlon before and there was a lack of information when I looked online for nutrition tips during training.
Everything came together really well. I saw an advertisement on a Safeway cart for Nourish, an online dietician service where "94% of Nourish patients pay $0 out of pocket". You had me at $0, Nourish.
Finding an actual dietician was hard. Because of my past history with the dietician at the eating disorder center, I was super anal about finding someone with the most experience possible and who didn't look judgemental. How did I know who was judgy? Not a clue. I just looked at their pictures, read their profiles, and made a determination. My main concern was the experience factor. I knew that if they didn't have what I had pre-determined was 'sufficient', my mind would find a way to discredit what they said. So, I went through the multitude of dieticians on the app looking for one that had experience working with patients with eating disorders, had a bachelor's and a master's- both specializing in nutrition, and also was a registered dietician. It took multiple hour-long searches before I found the winner and thank God I haven't once questioned my choice.
My first session was April 24, 2025. I knew we would be discussing my nutrition goals and I had already filled out a bunch of documents detailing my medical history, so she would already have an overview of the eating disorder battle. First session went well. I told her more about my past struggles with food and explained that I am training for a triathlon and want to make sure I'm fueling properly. What I could not have expected? Session 2, where she said to me, "I think you have more eating disorder struggles than you let on". Boy did that sting. Whoever said the truth hurts is on to something.
What it did do, though, was shine a light on the problematic eating habits that I had convinced myself were fine and normalized. I could no longer play the clueless card; someone with all the education and experience I could need was telling me that the 'truths' I had followed for years were actually myths. Let me break down some of the most common ones...
Myth: Carbs (including bread, pizza, pasta, rice, dessert) make you fat and are unhealthy
Fact: All carbs break down into glucose that our bodies use for energy. In fact, the brain is fueled by carbs and needs them to function
Myth: Fats are bad for you because they are high calorie
Fact: Fats are necessary for hormone regulation and sustained energy. Without them, it is very difficult to ever feel satiated
Myth: When trying to build muscle, all I need to be concerned about is sufficient protein intake
Fact: Someone can get enough protein in and still not build muscle because their body is not receiving the amount of calories, carbs, and fats necessary for muscle growth
Myth: As long as what I'm eating is low-calorie, I'm eating healthy
Fact: The term 'healthy' is incredibly subjective and the definition varies depending on who is defining it. Low-calorie does not equal healthy. A product can be nonfat, low/no calorie and be terrible for you.
These myth busters have been game changing for me. I have experienced much more freedom and comfortability with my eating, and I hope they can be helpful for you too!
~Another day, another slay~
Lydia
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