Starting Chiropractic School truly changed my life completely. Prior to moving away, I felt stuck. I was in an endless loop of terrible habits, I was lazy, I was socially drinking far more than I should, and I saw no change in sight. Moving to another state where I knew not a soul was something that was so far out of character for me. Initially, I was supposed to start the program in January of 2018. At the time, I decided to push my start date back one quarter to start in April. I felt as though I needed to continue to work and save more money before my big move. As I didn’t know what to expect how financial aid worked in grad school. Many people thought that was a sign that I might not actually leave and start school. I was doubted, and rightfully so. I haven’t always been the best with follow through, but I am trying to be far more focused on staying on course with the paths and projects that I choose. I started the process of creating this blog months ago. The Imperfectly Healthy Doc took a back seat and I didn’t prioritize it. I think there was also a sense of fear of being judged for putting myself out there. If I get the honor of being close to you in real life as you read this, you know I am an open, uncensored book. But to share yourself and your inward thoughts on the internet with strangers is a very vulnerable thing to do. But in all reality, if you don’t personally know me… does your opinion of me truly matter? Possibly to you, and I don’t mean that to sound rude. But when you think about it, does the opinion of someone you don’t know make a difference or an impact in your life? I suppose that saying “those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind” hold true if you actually let go.

Anyway.. the changes in my health habits didn’t all happen at once. They started slow and one built on the next, one at a time. In undergrad I played rugby and I was active in the sense of playing my sport. But I wasn’t prioritizing moving my body in ways outside of practice. My dietary habits were also a mess. The dining all was a tough place for me. I had no self control when it came to food. I would eat, and eat. And not much of it would be of good quality nutrition. I mean it was cafeteria food after all, highly processed food. Food that is created to make you crave it. That is part of the problem in our dietary system. In the U.S., our food is created in this way. Food is made cheaply and in a way that causes your body to crave and influence your decision in order to eat it again. This is how these food companies make money – keeping you coming back for more. I fell into the cycle and I felt it. I gained a ton of weight. I didn’t even see it until I moved. I was inflamed, I was physically uncomfortable, and I wasn’t happy with the way I was presenting to the world.

I won’t lie and say that my lifestyle changes didn’t start out primarily in vein. But we all start out somewhere, right? In my first year of Chiropractic school, I started making changes like eating “healthier”, reducing my caloric intake – which was in fact necessary because my caloric intake was so high, and moving my body more. I was fortunate to have made friends with some really great guys in orientation who were super focused on the gym. With my background in exercise physiology I knew my way around the gym, my motivation was the problem. But with my new friends I piggy backed on their motivation and went to the gym when they did. Once I get to the gym I am good to go and ready to put in the work. I worked so hard and I stayed on track. In my first year I lost about 20 pounds. I was so proud of myself. My first year was so great, life was so much fun and everything was so new. The stress of life and grad school hadn’t set in quite yet. I think that’s partly why this first weight loss seemed easier.

Sometimes I think ignorance is truly bliss. If I had known then what I know now. I would have realized I wasn’t as healthy as I thought I was. But at the same time even though knowledge can sometimes be a little heavy. Knowledge is freeing.