Hello and good evening, lovely people. Tomorrow marks the start of Halloween weekend! Woo hoo! I’ll give you a hint as to who I’m dressing up as:
Happy guessing!
Breakfast
This morning, my alarm didn’t go off. I set it for Friday at 7:00 a.m. instead of Thursday. Genius. Luckily, I’m an early riser and still managed to wake up at 7:30. Whew!
Breakfast was standard – an apple followed by a bowl of Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes and unsweetened almond milk. Also consumed was a large pumpkin spice coffee that I had picked up from the snack bar outside the gym yesterday. I’m seriously going to weep when FSU stops carrying pumpkin spice flavored coffee!
Recycled photo. You don't care right? Cool.
Working in Food Service
Today, three of my classmates and I went to meet with the food service director of Framingham public schools. We’re going to be working on-site for 4 weeks, partaking in food service duties at the high school and middle school. I’ve worked in food service before so I’m not too thrilled, but I’m going to take it with a grain of salt and appreciate the hard work these people do day in and day out!
The four of us were pleasantly surprised with the food selection. They serve whole wheat products, organic peanut butter, and even bake their own homemade crinkle potato chips. We each got to try one and they were delicious!
Lunch
By the time we got back from our meeting and tour, my tummy was begging for some food. I threw together a quick and simple salad with kale, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and carrots, topped with 1 Wholly Guacamole Snack Pack, a drizzle of Annie’s Papaya Poppyseed Viniagarette, and nutritional yeast.
I used a whole wheat pita to scoop up the remnants of guac and dressing. Amazing!
Oh, hey Audrey!
Fun fact: These Whole Foods whole wheat pitas are only $1.99 and have 10 grams of protein and fiber respectively! Talk about a bang for your buck!
Dinner
After spinning today, I replenished with broccoli dipped in hummus and the last of my falafel. It is undocumented because in all honesty, I was really hungry and ate it like an animal. You’re welcome. 
There are more important things to discuss anyways…
Love Yourself
Yesterday afternoon, on my way back from class, I saw my R.A., Jen (Hi Jen!), hanging up a poster. After giving it a double-take, a smile inched across my face.
It’s no secret that one of my passions is making people realize how beautiful they are inside and out. That is why I decided to become a nutrition major, teach Mind.Body.Barre, and start this little blog. Through my experiences and past history with an eating disorder, I want to show people that loving yourself is possible. And once you get there, it is the most amazing feeling in the world! You feel like you can conquer anything. Like Superman…minus the super powers.
One note in particular really caught my eye.
Read the the first sentence of the last paragraph. 40% of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade girls want to be thinner. I don’t know about you, but when I was in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, all I was thinking about was my next softball game or which boy had the most cooties (his name was Charlie, if you’re wondering). In all seriousness, this made my heart sink. Little girls are worried about being thin before they can even grasp a full understanding of what “healthy” means.
So, what can we do about it? We can echo this poster’s title. It’s fine to have a bad day here and there, and no matter what we say, the media will always try to seep its way into our brains and make us think our thighs are too big or our cheekbones aren’t prominent enough. But I encourage you to tell the media to kiss your gorgeous ass!
Look in the mirror and repeat the same mantra that I tell myself every day: “You are strong. You are intelligent. You are beautiful.” Tell your little sister, cousin, or young neighbor the same thing the next time you see her. Odds are she looks up to you and will appreciate those three small sentences more than you’ll ever know.
Stay lovely,
Heather
Question of the Day: How do you tell yourself that you love yourself?
IN LOVE WITH YOU!
I love you too, Angela!
Aww, I love you too!
that is so crazy about young girls these days, so scary. I know when I was that young I was thinking about when do I get to go to my friends house to play or go to our barn and play with the horses, not so much about being thin. but I know things and times have changed, hopefully more and more girls will stop that habit and start loving themselves. HUGS to you!
Agreed wholeheartedly! We just have to keep spreading love and positivism. I think you ladies definitely have that covered.
It’s so scary to think how those little girls wants to be thin. Time has changed. When I was that young, all I could think about is going outside to play.
I can not guess what you’ll be wearing to Halloween Heather!! haha! But I guess you’ll be dressing something from the 80s?! I’m so terrible at guessing. Haha.
BTW, You are beautiful Heather inside and out.
You’re right…it is SO scary. You’re very warm with your guess! And thank you…you are beautiful inside and out too Kim!
Hahahah love your halloween costume thus far!
Why, thank you, darling!
I say you are going to be a rock star for halloween!!!
Wow, that number percent is SCARY, and so sad. Love that beautiful poster, how awesome, things like that make me smile too : )
happy weekend love!! xoxo
You are the warmest of all the guesses, Katie! Woo hoo! Your blogs always make me feel how every one of those young girls should feel – beautiful from the inside out.
Awww Heather! I’m so glad you were inspired by / used a picture of my Ed board in your blog! It means so much to me, made my day! Keep up the good work, you’re awesome
Thank YOU, Jen. You have a beautiful heart.
It’s crazy…I feel like younger and younger girls are becoming obsessed with body image. I love myself because I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, I have lasting relationships, and I’m healthy!
Tracy, it is SO inspiring and lovely to hear a woman praise herself so confidently like you. You’re kicking butt, girl!