About Me and My Health Journey
My name is Maris. I’m a 30-something product designer and health enthusiast living in Austin, Texas with my dog and 2 cats. I’m a huge believer in food as medicine. In my free time, I enjoy reading medical studies and learning new ways to biohack. I like to think of myself as an early adopter because I tend to sign up to beta test everything.
It’s a hobby. 🤷♀️
My professional background
I never would have imagined myself in the role I am in today. I was always a fan of print design, but here I am 10 years into a career in product design. And I can’t imagine doing anything else. Actually, maybe I can. (more on that later)
I started in the print industry and decided that I needed to branch out. I was obsessed with all things tech and I wanted to learn everything — web design, video editing, photo manipulation, 3D, motion graphics, sound design, etc. If you could make it on a computer, I wanted to know how to do it. 21 months, a bachelor’s degree from Full Sail University, and a whole lot of student loan debt later, I was a graduate.
I’ve been in the tech industry nearly my whole career. I started in marketing design and sort of fell into product design as lots of designers do. I fell in love with putting myself in a user’s shoes, solving their problems, and just trying to make their lives a little bit easier. Because I’m extremely empathetic by nature, this seemed like a natural route for my career to take.
Currently, I’m working in the fitness tech industry. This is appropriate because I do really love fitness (again, more on that below). I’ve developed a deep love for data and try to base all my design decisions on some form of data. I tend to get a bit frustrated when data is lacking.
My personal background
I was born 3 months premature to very thin and relatively unhealthy parents who were about as health-informed as any adults trying to raise a family in the late 80s — not very. I was always very thin in childhood. My family and extended family used to joke that I didn’t eat enough and would give me fun nicknames related to my lean appearance, while they themselves were overweight and dealing with chronic diseases.
I didn’t grow up eating a healthy diet. My parents were divorced, and my mom was busy working to make sure I had the necessities. My childhood was filled with Hamburger Helper, giant bowls of ice cream for dessert, and birthdays at McDonalds and Mr. Gatti’s. I was on all the sports teams in junior high and high school, so at least I got some exercise. I started cooking when I got into high school. My diet didn’t improve.
Once in childhood, my mom took me to see my doctor because she was worried I was too thin (or I was. I can’t remember) His literal words to me were: “Your blood work looks fine. Most people would die to have this problem. I would suggest eating a whole bucket of ice cream. That should work.” I still can’t believe an actual doctor said this to a child. Thanks, doc. 🙄
In college I cooked a lot — microwaved hot dogs in bread, frozen pizzas, and all the baked things. I also seem to remember having a whole lot of energy drinks and being extremely sleep deprived.
In 2011, after living in Austin, Tx for about a year, a friend invited me to an outdoor bootcamp. Thanks, Ginny! In case you don’t know, Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the US. Lots of people here run or go to the gym regularly. Nutrition is also really big here. Outside of sports in high school and college, I had never willingly worked out a day in my life. One friend in college had suggested weight lifting to help me gain weight, but I shrugged it off. People would say things like: “You’re so lucky!” “I wish I had that problem!” “You should be thankful.” “Just wait until you get older” I’m pretty sure I had (and maybe still have) borderline body dysmorphia.
That first bootcamp in 2011 changed me. It was hard, but I felt great and inspired. I wanted to keep it up, and I wanted to be better, faster, and stronger.
This led me to start researching food/diet and how it affected health. I never knew that diet had such an impact. I devoured so many books. One of my favorites was In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. It literally changed my life. I had no idea that the “food” I’d been eating my whole life wasn’t really food. (I’m refraining from getting on my soapbox and giving a speech about our food system. You’re welcome.) Thus the obsession began.
In 2013, my (then) boss (and now close friend) was re-diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma, a brain cancer. He was given 12–16 months to live; it devastated me. I reached out to his wife to share the research I had been doing on food and health, because aside from praying, it was the only thing I could do. I wanted to see if there was some way nutrition could help keep him with her and his two young kids. She was doing a lot of research herself and long story short, 8 years later they’re all still together. He even wrote a book about his journey. His journey is part of why I feel so strongly about nutrition and food as medicine.
I was vegan for a year. That was really cool, except that this was before eating vegan was called “plant-based,” and no one thought it was cool except for me. I will refrain from telling you all the stories about getting made fun of for being a vegan in the meat-lover state. However, I wasn’t sick for that entire year. Previously, I’d get sick 2–3x a year. My weight was really low, though, and that was concerning. I decided to re-introduce animal products but only lean meats and the occasional cheese and yogurt.
Over the years, I transitioned from bootcamp to the gym, where I learned even more about nutrition — some true things and some less-sciency things. There is a diet for everything. I learned about macros. I also started eating primarily carbs and gained 10 lbs almost overnight. WHO KNEW?! I was so excited to finally be gaining weight. I thought this was healthy. I only saw the number on the scale and assumed it was a healthy weight. Though I did put on some muscle, I put on a whole heck of a lot of fat with it. But it was a start. I changed my diet, and I saw my body change.
I’ve learned a lot about diet and nutrition since then and have, thankfully, learned a better way to eat. My health journey has only intensified since then. I’ve become voraciously curious about food and its effects on health. I’ve seen my parents’ health and my friends’ health deteriorate. I’ve spent many late nights reading studies and many commutes listening to books from experts. I’m not an expert, but I do believe that the best thing you can do is advocate for your own health. You know your body best.
These days I’m still reading and also listening to some really great podcasts (Peter Attia and WHOOP are 2 of my favs). I’m also trying out some really cool new health tech! I wrote an in-depth article about all the continuous glucose monitor apps I tried this year!
Conclusion
I’m a product designer by day and a biohacking data nerd by night. I’ve been interested in the role nutrition plays in health for a long time. I’m so thankful for the knowledge I’ve learned and the people who’ve encouraged me along my health journey. I’m also thankful to have access to such amazing new technologies to assist me in my journey.
I always tell people that my 2nd career choice would be in nutrition. I hope to one day combine my design skills with my passion for health and technology.
