About Miranda

Hello! My name is Miranda. This is my blog, please make yourself at home

I am 25 years old and live in Edmonton. For those of you who have never been to Alberta, you should know that we have the best of both worlds, beautiful prairies + gorgeous mountains! Edmonton is in the midst of the former, but I like to go to Jasper or Banff National Park every so often!

I am married to a wonderful man named Bartek. His polish accent and cute bum-chin make me smile every day!

I have recently completed my Bachelor of Arts at the University of Alberta, with a history major. While history is my first passion, I have recently expanded into librarianship and healthy living!

My journey to health is one seeking both a healthy body and a healthy frame of mind. When I was younger, I was a very positive and happy person, and although I was never extremely athletic, I was blessed with youth and a love of dancing, which enabled me to maintain a relatively slender figure for many years. However, in 2007 my mother passed away from cancer, an event which caused my life to spiral out of control. She was my absolute best friend, the person I would sometimes skip school to have breakfast with, and she was gone after only 10 weeks.

Needless to say, things would never be the same again. I spent the first few months after her death in bed. Afterwards, things became strained with my family and I felt very disconnected from the people closest to me. I lost the positivity and happiness that had come so naturally to me before. In addition, I cared very little about what I put into my body.

After a year of this struggle, I began to slowly feel better. It’s such a surprise to write this, as I remember feeling like I’d never be happy again. The first thing that improved was my mood. I was in a relationship with Bartek, and he being the philosopher he is, was more than willing to spend hours talking me through my issues. The first baby steps I took were incredible and I knew that I could one day be back to my old self. Or at least, a modified version of my old self.

However, a few years of focusing on mental reparations and ignoring physical (while indulging in comfort food), took its toll. I had gained 40 lbs in this period and began to experience a series of icky health issues. Nothing too serious, but they definitely encouraged me to take a hard look at my eating and fitness and pinpoint some changes I wanted to make.

So in order to begin the next phase of my healing, I began to research and learn about health. I tried cutting calories, diet fads, and even weight loss programs, but none seemed to give me the results I wanted. Plus, I was still experiencing stomach aches everyday (which the doctor diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome… a useless diagnosis).

That’s when I began to read about the benefits of healthy living which I try to follow today. I encountered this amazing healthy living community who boasted of incredible changes in their lives just by modifying their diet and adhering to regular fitness (check out Munchie Mates for my blog roll). A little closer to home, my sister (who also experienced similar stomach issues) went gluten-free and all of sudden the majority of her stomach problems disappeared. This has really encouraged me to change my attitude towards food and fitness.

Basically I try to adhere to a healthy diet of whole foods. My body doesn’t like lactose, so I don’t cook with dairy very often. In addition, I also try to avoid glutinous grains! But let’s be honest here, the title of this blog is Miranda’s Munchies, so you can be sure that there are plenty of things that I like to munch on. I plan to share them here.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m not athletic. But that’s not going to stop me from incorporating activity into my life. I hope to also post my fitness activities to share and as a means of motivation for myself (and others!)… everybody has those lazy days!

These past 4 1/2 years have been incredibly hard. I’m only 25, but for a long time I felt 40. I’ve had so many failures and taken so many steps back that at times I felt hopeless. However, now, things are on the uptake I’ve taken control of my life and it feels wonderful. I’m not laboring under any illusions: I know losing the 40 lbs and being able to run 20 k will not be the point at which my life suddenly becomes complete. However, the journey and knowledge I gain along the way will be quite invaluable. Plus, with each baby step, I realize that I’ve come closer to achieving my ultimate goal: to wake up each morning happy and healthy.

I hope this blog can help any of you who have ever felt the way I felt during these past 4 1/2 yrs. Life is about so much more than healthy eating and fitness, but those two factors can make the biggest difference in our lives.

I should note that I have no formal training in nutrition or fitness, and (as you will see) photography. However, I hope that you will enjoy what you find here regardless!

xoxo Miranda

Please contact me at: mirandasmunchies@gmail.com

[EDIT: I've recently moved to London, Ontario! You can read more about that here]