Hi! I’m Zhenya, a multi-passionate dietitian-to-be. Lemonsqueezy.life is a blog about healthy food and lifestyle where I share my experience, knowledge, and ideas on how to make “healthy” easy. Thanks for stopping by!
How did it all start?
My journey to a healthy lifestyle began when I moved to the United States. I came to a new country to continue my education without knowing exactly what direction to go. Sounds brave, right? No, it was crazy. I knew I needed a break. Striving to be a great student at a university in Russia, I was constantly neglecting my health, proper nutrition, and most importantly my dreams. Over the years, I had lost a connection with myself — my body and mind. I was feeling off balance and ready for change. Having a nice path laid out in the academic world, I felt that wasn’t the life I wanted to live. I knew that beyond my comfort zone — books, libraries, lectures, there was an amazing and unexplored world …
In the new country, I took some time off, immersing myself into work, learning English and trying to understand what I really wanted. At that point, my lifestyle and relationship with food were far from great. So I knew that for a happier life first I needed to learn how to respect my body. My personal goal was to completely abandon diets and create a new healthy lifestyle where good health, an abundance of energy, and joy were the essential elements. I wanted to feel light and balanced.
Well, it would be a wonderful fairytale if someone just gave me a book on that topic or could show me the perfect “healthy lifestyle” formula. It didn’t happen. Instead, while looking for a simple, scientifically-proven guide, I was stumbling upon mostly confusing and often conflicting nutritional dogmas.
Slowly but surely, I started experimenting with nutrition. In my personal experience, I’ve learned that food as a foundation of a healthy lifestyle has a huge impact on our lives — from basic cellular nourishment to an improved quality of life. Eventually (it took a few years!), I learned how to listen to my body, established a healthy relationship with food, and fell in love with physical activity. Later, I realized that a truly healthy lifestyle cannot be possible without connection with others, expressing love, being centered, and mastering stress management. Since then, meditation became one of my morning non-negotiables. These are my “essentials” for good health and long-term happiness.
Now, while being deeply immersed in studying nutrition and maintaining a healthy living, I believe that a lifestyle choice should not lead to extremes and become a source of anxiety. A balanced life for me is not limited to yoga, and large doses of greens, it consists of a variety of other equally-important elements such as cozy coffee dates with friends, and happy family occasions.
How did Lemonsqueezy.life start and what’s next?
After I began to experience significant improvements in my wellbeing, appearance and even in my thoughts, I created LemonSqueezy.life — an inspirational platform, where my friends could find simple healthy recipes and personal tips on an easy approach to a healthy lifestyle. Soon enough, I realized that I wanted to understand the impact of proper nutrition on health at a deeper level. This was my ah-ha moment when I decided to go back to school and study dietetics.
What is my personal nutritional philosophy?
Today it is all about choosing simple, mostly plant-based whole foods, having flexibility, and savoring every bit of it. I love living and enjoying a lifestyle rather than focusing on confusing nutritional dogmas. My mission is to show that healthy eating and living is rewarding, easy and fun!
Thanks for being here! ♡
xo
Zhenya
Photo by Ketrin Kopylova @ketrin_photh_life
Disclaimer
Lemonsqueezy.life is a personal blog, and as such, all images featured on this site belong to me unless otherwise stated. If you would like to feature my images on your site, please ask permission before using them or include a proper acknowledgment. Please do not take my images and/or text and state them as your own. Thank you!