Matthew's Journey to Healthy Eating

When I was young, I was like any other kid. I loved eating candy, pastries, cake and other sugary foods. I also enjoyed drinking coke, sprite, and other sodas. However, this got me sick many times as a kid and I always felt tired, which affected my school grades and my physical abilities. Luckily, my grandma was a pediatrician and taught me how to eat healthy to feel better, improve my mood, increase my school grades, and to exercise without feeling exhausted.

To start out, I had to reduce the frequency of eating sugary foods and beverages. I went from eating them three times a week to only once a month. I replaced these foods with wholesome, nutritious food. I ate more protein, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and fruit to fill me up so I would not crave for a sweet snack. However, this process of replacing junk food with nutritious foods was not easy. At first, I did not like eating vegetables. In order to enjoy eating vegetables, I started by consuming the vegetables that I hated the least and ate these vegetables five days a week and I would cheat on weekends. In order to tolerate the vegetables that I didn't enjoy, I had to eat it with fruits or other seasonings. For example, I ate lettuce by wrapping it around a strawberry and I ate cucumbers by dipping into some soy sauce. Gradually, I tried combining vegetables that I hated the most with other fruits, vegetables, and seasonings that I liked and eventually, became a salad. By combining them, I was able to tolerate and enjoy some of the more bitter greens. The more I stuck with this routine, the healthier I became.

I found myself having more energy, clearer skin, and performing better at school and much more. Right now, I eat at least one salad a day to get my daily intake of greens and vegetables. Although, I may cheat now and then, I feel great about my healthy and look forward to continue to improve my health and elevate my mood and my energy levels.

Through my story, one can learn a couple things about eating their way to a better health:

- Start small => By taking baby steps, one is more likely to stick to their goal of eating more vegetables. Make sure you challenge yourself to eat a little more greens each day.

-Have cheat days => I know this may contradict my previous point, but having cheat days can be a little reward for one's weekly improvement. More so, it keeps one motivated. Gradually, when one continues to eat more greens and have a cheat day, one realizes that they feel bloated and tired when eating junk food during cheat days. This response may help one to continue to eat healthy with less cheat days.

-Lastly, the little things you do each day to become healthier will eventually all add up and give you massive benefits for your long term health and lifestyle.