the {life, dog, work, nutrition, running} updates

the other day I was thinking that, hmm, I wish I had an outlet to write about what’s currently happening in my life, my nutrition philosophy and how they have both changed and evolved a lot in recent months. And then I was like oh right, I have a blog space! It’s terrible how I’ve gotten away from regular blogging because I used to love it so much, but life happens. The blogosphere and social media has changed a ton lately too, with Instagram and podcasts and whatnot, it’s kind of hard to figure out which one to focus or say what on. I don’t even read a ton of blogs anymore, but the ones I do read are awesome, and I so appreciate people still putting out great content! I’m going to try to be one of those people again.

life updates
I guess the biggest update on the life front is my new-found dog mom status. In February, I adopted a ~3 year old Dorkie rescue from a shelter here in New York and she immediately became the light of my life.

peanut butter hogan. 5 lbs of ridiculous cuteness (i mean, that face…)

peanut was rescued from a puppy mill after being used as a breeding dog for most of her life. Before getting her, I had no idea that even occurred, but it does and it’s awful. The animals are kept in cages with little to no human interaction or medical care, and bred over and over again to make puppies to sell at pet stores. The Amish are HUGE offenders here – something else I didn’t know – and the way they treat their animals is appalling. Here is more information if you’d like it.

as a result, Peanut is a VERY fearful dog. It took her weeks just to walk around my apartment, and a few more weeks before she even wagged her tail. She is more afraid of people than other dogs, and any loud sound or big object (etc.). It breaks my heart in a way I never thought possible to think about what she went through. But! The good news is that she is making progress every day, and is the sweetest little girl who will be spoiled for the rest of her life. So here is my PSA – adopt don’t shop! Rescue dogs are the best.

work updates
since I’m a single dog mom, it has been an adjustment juggling work and dog momming, and if I’m being honest, I’m still trying to figure it out. I live within walking distance of my job, which is awesome, so I can come home during lunch and take her out. This is also exhausting, however, and a bit time consuming. I try to schedule my patients accordingly and for the most part it works, but I’ve been feeling lately like something has to give so I can spend more time at work and so Peanut can hang out with other dogs a bit more. We’re trying out a daycare next week, so fingers crossed on that one! I worry about her so much because she is really tiny compared to other dogs (are helicopter dog moms a thing?).

anyways, in January I was promoted to “clinical nutrition and wellness manager” at the breast cancer center where I work. I love this title – it really encompasses what I’ve tried to build into my position since I started about 1.5 years ago, and that’s looking at the patients wellness as a whole in addition to nutrition. Sleep, exercise, stress management, etc. These play such a pivotal role in overall health and in the case of my ladies, the prevention of breast cancer recurrence. There is so much great research coming out about it as well!. Which brings me to…

nutrition updates
gosh, where do I start! I think I’ve mentioned on here my interest in intuitive eating, and that has only continued to grow after reading the book, continuing to practice yoga and meditation and following like-minded dietitians on social media, blogs and podcasts. My favorites are Robyn of the real life RD, Kylie of immaeatthat, Heather of the RD real talk podcast, Anne of fannetastic food, Alexis of hummusapien, Kara of the foodie dietitian, and Christy Harrison’s food psych podcast. I want to be friends and have such a brain-picking session with them – intuitive eating, body positivity and a non-diet mentality is hard to come by in the clinical setting, and I’m working really hard to make this a part of my practice.

cornmeal blueberry pancakes are never a bad idea!

my passion for this philosophy stems from my own personal struggles, as well as seeing so many of my patients come from years of yo-yo dieting, food restriction and poor body image that has left them totally miserable and lost. I’m also fascinated by the hormonal affects these behaviors have on the body and how we can heal them. This for sure is a whole new post(s), which is my goal for next time.

she comes to work after hours sometimes to help me with my groups 🙂 

I just told Peanut to hold me accountable for posting here, and she’s pretty hard to say no to, so…

(in proofreading, I realized I forgot to mention running. that’s for sure an indication of how my running has been going lately, for the most part. to be continued on that one…)