My Purpose

Hello, readers! Welcome to the Nutrition Effect. My name is Megan Jensen, and I am a collegiate dietetics student hoping to specialize in disordered eating counseling. Many ask me why I chose this specific specialty, as it is emotionally and mentally draining, and my answer to this always comes back to my past experience with food. In my life, my relationship with food has been all over the spectrum. At a young age, I found myself obese and uncomfortable in my own body. As I entered my teenage years, I exhibited symptoms of anorexia and once again found myself uncomfortable in my own body. I thought that once I hit a certain goal weight that I would be happy, but all it did was make me strive to be smaller. My physical hunger, though gnawing, was nothing compared to the psychological hunger for physical perfection. Though it took a long time to recover from, four years later, I am happy with myself, how I look, and my relationship with food. As I recently reflected on my experiences with food, I came to the conclusion that I used to have a misunderstanding of what food does and what food is. I am in no way claiming that I am now an expert after only a few semesters of college, but I do have a passion and an understanding of the effects of nutrition and why my previous eating habits did not work.

Similarly, while studying my coursework, I find that nutrition is something that intimidates people. Often, eating healthy becomes synonymous with dieting; personally, I hate that word. The word ‘diet’ implies sacrifice and self-hatred. The word ‘diet’ often causes people to pity those who are ‘dieting’. And the word ‘diet’ implies that something is wrong with the person who chooses to follow one. Food is a necessary part of life, but it should not control us—we should control it.

This is the central reason as to why I started this blog. Not to make people feel bad about what they are eating, but to explain why food is important, what healthy eating can look like, and the effects of eating well and eating not so well. However, every person is unique, and there is a wide spectrum of health; there is no one body type, no one food group, and no one calorie count that every person should follow and maintain. Healthy for me can look vastly different from my next door neighbor or anyone in my immediate family or friend group. Therefore, what I write is merely informative and not suggestive of change unless one feels otherwise to do so.

My excitement for this subject is very real, and I hope that I can properly describe the effects of nutrition in a simple and accessible way. In my mind, the nutritional habits of the world need to be changed, and I believe the way to do this is through the basics. For without a grasp of the basics, it is impossible to be successful.