As I grew up, all I received was a little bit of guidance around the appropriate amount of food to eat. My mom was quick to tell me what was “too much” but that was really it.

I was left to my own devices to find my food way, and I did take a bold step while still living at home, deciding to become a vegetarian as a pre-teen.

However, I had no guidance whatsoever and growing up in Oklahoma in the 70s and 80s there wasn’t a lot of food variety, at all. No one had ever heard of a bagel and falafel was a foreign language.

So I got stuck and basically ate the same vegetarian meals for decades that were selected for their adherence to my limited likes and dislikes. (Cheese was a strong like… there was lots of cheese in those days, I loved cheese.)

It took a health crisis for me to screech the brakes on the cheese, take personal responsibility to get smart on food and turn my ship around.

I enrolled in a plant-based nutrition program with the intent of getting myself healthy and learned really quickly that I was going to have to re-frame my entire diet around foods I thought I didn’t like.

This was my first life lesson in limiting beliefs. My likes and dislikes (which were all completely invented by me) were holding me back from health and I was going to have to rise above all of that ridiculousness, immediately.

I was given lists of food I’d rarely considered eating (especially in combination with one another) and I had to figure out how to make meals with them: Farro, bulgar, freekeh, amaranth, adzuki beans, split peas, soy beans, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, kale, bok choi, broccoli raab, chard… tons of vegetables… throw in some fruits… and my spice cabinet went from about 3 jars to over 20 jars.

Likes and dislikes, who cares? I was on a mission.

And that food? I loved it all!

Who knew lunch could be so vibrant, fun, delicious, fresh and make me feel full and amazing instead of wishing for a nap.

Throwing out everything I thought I knew about food (which it turns out was all shaped by the media and popular culture) and getting serious about change was the best thing I ever did for my health.

I have no doubt my life expectancy is longer – and definitely more active – because I found the courage to change 14 years ago.

And, side benefit: I lost 20 pounds.

But best of all and way better than the 20 pounds: I learned about limiting beliefs.

Once I knew about those, it set the foundation to overhaul a lot more around my health.