I’m Sami, a Sydney-based Clinical Nutritionist, Holistic Coach and Yoga Instructor. Having completed my degree in Law and Communications, I worked in law firms and advertising agencies in Sydney and New York before taking a leap of faith and following my true passion, nutrition. This came after years of soul-searching and piecing together my own health puzzle…
When I was four I became vegetarian. No one in my family was, but something within me rejected meat. Some health professionals suggest that perhaps I didn’t have the enzymes to break down meat properly, and as an intuitive toddler I avoided it. I think perhaps on some level I knew something was wrong about eating animals – I didn’t like the idea of it nor the taste. Whatever the reason, it certainly kick-started my love for vegetables and grew my interest in nutrition.
The next phase of my health journey began as a young teenager. Social pressures weighed in and I became obsessed with working out and restrictive eating. I had always been active, but mainly through school sports. I joined a gym and began exercising excessively. I started packing my own lunches. My weight plummeted and people took notice. I lost my period. I thought I felt fantastic but realistically, any self-esteem I had was largely dependent on the validation of others. At this point and for most of my early twenties, my lifestyle was fast-paced on all fronts; I was yo-yo dieting, binge drinking, over-exercising, over-analysing and just generally over-doing it! Of course, I was exhausted. I had all kinds of hormonal imbalances, stress and disordered eating issues.
IT BECAME VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT MY DISSATISFACTION WITH MY BODY WAS A MANIFESTATION OF MY DISSATISFACTION WITH THAT LIFESTYLE.
I don’t like to say I had an “aha” moment, because I think it oversimplifies the very complicated process of finding your way. There were moments of clarity, moments of weakness, steps forward and steps backwards. I will say that there was an important turning point for me, when I opened my heart and mind to the practice of yoga.
Yoga tested my patience and was a real challenge for my over-analytical, self-critical mind. Most importantly, it taught me to honour and respect my body. The days I did yoga I didn’t feel like being unkind to myself through negative thoughts, restrictive eating or over-exercising. Instead, I found myself wanting to nurture it.
I began making choices with health in mind. I ate out of nourishment and with pleasure, not in fear.
Find out more about Sami Bloom here - www.samibloom.com
When I was four I became vegetarian. No one in my family was, but something within me rejected meat. Some health professionals suggest that perhaps I didn’t have the enzymes to break down meat properly, and as an intuitive toddler I avoided it. I think perhaps on some level I knew something was wrong about eating animals – I didn’t like the idea of it nor the taste. Whatever the reason, it certainly kick-started my love for vegetables and grew my interest in nutrition.
The next phase of my health journey began as a young teenager. Social pressures weighed in and I became obsessed with working out and restrictive eating. I had always been active, but mainly through school sports. I joined a gym and began exercising excessively. I started packing my own lunches. My weight plummeted and people took notice. I lost my period. I thought I felt fantastic but realistically, any self-esteem I had was largely dependent on the validation of others. At this point and for most of my early twenties, my lifestyle was fast-paced on all fronts; I was yo-yo dieting, binge drinking, over-exercising, over-analysing and just generally over-doing it! Of course, I was exhausted. I had all kinds of hormonal imbalances, stress and disordered eating issues.
IT BECAME VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT MY DISSATISFACTION WITH MY BODY WAS A MANIFESTATION OF MY DISSATISFACTION WITH THAT LIFESTYLE.
I don’t like to say I had an “aha” moment, because I think it oversimplifies the very complicated process of finding your way. There were moments of clarity, moments of weakness, steps forward and steps backwards. I will say that there was an important turning point for me, when I opened my heart and mind to the practice of yoga.
Yoga tested my patience and was a real challenge for my over-analytical, self-critical mind. Most importantly, it taught me to honour and respect my body. The days I did yoga I didn’t feel like being unkind to myself through negative thoughts, restrictive eating or over-exercising. Instead, I found myself wanting to nurture it.
I began making choices with health in mind. I ate out of nourishment and with pleasure, not in fear.
Find out more about Sami Bloom here - www.samibloom.com