My name is Heather, and I'm a recent gradate of Portland State University. I studied Applied Linguistics and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), and now, I'm living abroad teaching English!
I started this blog because, after a bit of searching, I couldn't find any resources on maintaining healthy eating habits and exercise while living abroad (super shoutout to my boyfriend, Andrew, who suggested I start writing!). I hope I can help like-minded individuals who find themselves in a similar pickle.
Now, for a little about me and my health journey!
I grew up as a chubby kid. I ate my fruits and vegetables, but I also ate plenty of ice cream and Pop Tarts. I also wasn't the most athletic kid in class. I was more of a "read books and occasionally ride my bike through the neighborhood" type. Once I got into high school, my weight got out of control. At 15 years old and a height of 5'7"(170 cm for my metric system using friends) I weighed 190 lbs (86 kg). I was in complete shock. I always knew I was chubby, but now it was getting serious. In tears, I began researching ways to lose weight.
Me in 8th grade (pink shirt), yikes.
At first I started with reducing portion sizes. I began reading nutrition labels, measuring portion sizes, and keeping a food journal. I also exercised about 30 minutes everyday. My mom had a stair step machine that I would use while watching TV. Before I knew it, I had lost 10 lbs! I started talking to friends who had lost weight, and one of them had lost 30 lbs by becoming a vegetarian. I thought about it, talked to my parents about it, and read up on meat substitutes. On August 7th, 2007, I became a vegetarian myself.
At first, it was pretty rough. I was the only one in the family who changed their diet, so I had to do a lot of cooking for myself. Going out to restaurants turned into a "find food for Heather" menu scavenger hunt. My family often forgot to make a meatless dish during holiday gatherings, so I'd be stuck with a random assortment of side dishes for dinner. The worst part was my dad's constant teasing: "There's meat in that." Oh, in this fruit salad? Thanks, dad. *720 degree eye-roll*
By the time school started at the end of September, I had lost almost 30 lbs. All of my teachers from the year before noticed and complimented me on my changes. Boys started noticing me too, which was certainly a first! I relished in this newly received attention and kept pushing myself to lose even more. I began to cut calories even more, reducing portion sizes and buying sugar-free everything. By January, I lost a total of 60 lbs, putting me at 130 lbs (58 kg).
At this point, however, my obsession with calorie counting and measuring food was becoming a problem. I wouldn't eat something if it didn't have a nutrition label, and if I did, I would feel guilty about it for days. At my lowest, I was eating about 1200 calories a day. I had chronic headaches and fatigue, mood swings, and depression. My attempt at being healthy had turned into an eating disorder.
~ 130 lbs. Spring Formal 2008 Where are my quads and calves :(
After high school, my weight yo-yoed. I gained and lost the Freshman 15, gained the "Move to the Beer and Street Cart Capital of the World" 10, and then gained what I will call the "Senior Summer Shenanigans" 7. My relationship with food and my body has also yo-yoed. Sometimes I'd be the supreme goddess of salads and smoothies. Other times I'd eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At my best, I was going to the gym 4 days a week. I lifted heavy, but I also ate heavy. I like to hope that muscle played some part in my Senior Summer Shenanigans weight gain.
~ 130 lbs in Cambodia 2013. Getting a bit bony in the chest area in this photo.
I also reluctantly started running when my boyfriend signed up for a half marathon. I told him he was crazy, but I'd at least go with him on his training runs. In an unexpected twist of events, I signed up for the race, completed the race, and went on to run a 10k the next month. I haven't run a race since then, but I still run about 3 days a week.
~ 145 lbs at the Helvetia Half Marathon 2015. The quads and calves are back!
Right now I'm at around 145 lbs (65 kg). I keep going back and forth between wanting to lose weight and wanting to simply try to maintain 140-145 lbs. I'll certainly touch on this subject more in future posts!
Now, how about some travel!
Before moving abroad, I had traveled for fun in college. I spend 3 months traveling through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and I spent 3 weeks in Costa Rica.
I currently live in Malatya, Turkey. Malatya is a mid-sized city (~ 600,000 people) in southeastern Turkey.
Don't worry, I didn't know where it was either!
During my time here, I've traveled all over the country. Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Antalya, Trabzon, Gaziantep, etc. etc. I also got to visit Egypt, Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary during my winter break. I'll be in Turkey until mid-June. Then, I'll head back to the States for the summer to see my parents, and then off to the next location. Right now, I'm considering Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, or Saudi Arabia.
Thank you again for sticking with me through this long post. Stay tuned for my first real post!
xoxo,
Heather
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