We are so back

Hi :)

I haven’t written here since last March. Perhaps the apartment that gave me horrific mold poisoning for a year took away all my creativity — a story for another time.

I’m writing this from a coffee shop in Paris (perhaps my most favorite city besides New York and Venice). I came here on a whim, as it “makes sense” to stop here before I head back home after a really special trip to Puglia with my sister visiting family. While a true New Yorker… my roots will forever be elsewhere.

I have no clothing besides bikinis, linen, lace, and beach sandals. I’m going to have to get creative with outfits, but I did just buy jeans at Zara. I wish I wasn’t as type A as I am, but perhaps it helps me get it all done. This trip, while dreamy, makes me deeply uncomfortable for this reason. Lean in, I say.

About once a year — and hopefully more in the future — I take 10 days to unravel, recharge, and think. Usually it’s a Sky Ting retreat. But this year, I switched it up: I flew to Puglia with no definitive return flight planned—ended up in Paris.

While I’m attached to my laptop for GG, this relocation makes me feel creatively whole again. Fun fact: this trip coincided with our protein launch that was a month delayed. Blissful chaos is the best description.

Every time I come to Europe, I’m reminded of why I started Get Golden. At the heart of it is my grandmother — my greatest inspiration.

She taught me to approach life in the fullest way: with strength, curiosity, and forward motion. She was the one who first opened the curtains to the world for me — literally — when she took me to see the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker at age four.

For my high school graduation, she brought me to Paris and encouraged me to wander and discover on my own for two weeks. In every season of my life — career, relationships, personal growth — she has been the quiet, steady force urging me forward.

Always make moves.

Her mantra was simple, but it became my compass.

Here, strawberries taste like strawberries. The bread has the perfect chew, the olive oil is fragrant, and everything leaves you feeling good. It should be a simple concept — yet in the US, we have a lot of work to do with our food system. After sharing this on Instagram, so many of you commented that I had to elaborate :)

Thinking back to the early days when I was dealing with so many injuries and inflammation… it wasn’t until I really looked at the body as a whole system and learned more about how different our regulations are compared to other countries that I truly healed.

I would never consider myself a biohacker per se, but one thing I am is skeptical and curious for answers — gold standards if you will. Knowledge is power, as I’m always going to live my life in a way that makes me feel full and my best.

With that said, traveling to other countries and gaining perspective leaves you feeling amazed at how awful you can feel in the US.

In Europe, I can eat pretty much everything and feel completely fine. It digests normally without the dreaded pocket of unexplained bloat that comes back with food in the US. And no, it’s definitely not fully stress or sleep — I’ve been working EST hours here with 4 hrs of sleep. The investigation continues!

I’ve done some tests and will continue to do more (I sometimes enjoy making myself a science experiment in the name of getting to the truth).

I stumbled upon a big bar company at the market here in Paris and wanted to try it after Pilates. My word: terrible stomach ache.

After nearly 1.5 weeks of perfect energy and digestion, I was left with the same feeling I feel in the US. What was it?

Sometimes my fear of speaking out about these things is a female founder's fear of being cancelled or having my words taken the wrong way. But I suppose the reality is that if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. Our food system in the US is a mess.

The Ingredients:

Vegetable proteins from SOY (SOY protein, tapioca starch, salt) and peas, sugar-free sweetened dark chocolate 20% (cocoa mass, sweetener: maltitol, cocoa butter, SOY lecithin, natural vanilla flavoring) (EU), fiber (fructo-oligosaccharides, polydextrose), agave syrup, rapeseed oil, caramel flavor preparation (polydextrose, sweetener: matitol, sunflower and shea oils, apple and hibiscus concentrates, natural flavorings, SOY lecithin, salt), natural flavorings and aroma, stabilizer: glycerin, sweeteners: maltitol and sucralose, vitamins and minerals*, konjac glucomannan** 1.45%, acidity regulator: citric acid, preservative: potassium sorbate, antioxidants: rosemary extract and Soy tocopherols.

Thoughts! Ok, if bread, pasta, pastries are all fine here… looking at this list, it must be the lengthy list of unrecognizable ingredients. Packed with sugar alcohols (like maltitol and sucralose), added fibers, emulsifiers, and preservatives — a complex mix that can overwhelm digestion and trigger bloating. In contrast to simple, whole-food recipes, it’s more of a lab formula than real food.

What’s the answer? I wish I really knew, besides — “I’m moving to Paris!” (ha)

Real Takeaways

Stay aware and always focus on small changes you can make to feel your best. Chances are, if you’ve found my page, you’re of the same mindset.

• Focus on ingredients and read labels. Anything that looks more like a science experiment than food is probably unrecognizable and indigestible, leaving you with that heaviness you can’t explain.

• Follow people and studies that challenge the status quo. There’s a funny debate I have with a loved one about their need for “credentials” for anything to be reliable. I wish it were that easy. Think about 10 years ago when talk of the microbiome was quackery — now probiotics are everywhere.

• Keep a log. Track what makes you feel good and energized, and what makes you feel bad. The body is always sending alarms; it’s working to make us feel well (we just have to support it).

Now that I’ve touched back down in NYC as New York City Ballet started rehearsing for our fall season, I can’t help but think about how excited I am to be back.

For those of you who have subscribed recently without me writing here for a year — I see you! Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.

What’s Coming Up

• More science: I’m obsessed with getting to the bottom of things — health, nutrition, inflammation, hormones, DNA testing for methylation pathways. I’ll share experts I’m learning from to bring awareness to topics that are still considered “niche.”

• More beauty & skincare: I LOVE products, formulas, and the science behind them. And also just love being a girl playing with skincare and makeup.

• Fun recipes: I miss the days before Get Golden that I had time to cook. We hosted our first #GGMOVES event and feedback on my protein balls — “they were the best they ever had”… needless to say, I’m back in the kitchen.

See you soon :)
Xxx Jenelle