How do you eat to “fuel” your hardworking body and “nourish” yourself?
Living with a mindset of nourishing and fueling your body instead of labeling foods as “good” or “bad” will pave the way for a less stressful and more successful health journey. Let’s dive into three different categories of nourishment.
WHAT you eat:
Those who have worked with me know that I do not instruct my clients to eat a certain way, try a certain diet, completely eliminate certain foods from their diet, or attempt an all-or-nothing approach. I firmly believe that we can live a healthy life while still enjoying life’s simple pleasures...which for some (including myself) might mean an occasional glass of red wine or a piece of chocolate cake. Your health journey is all about consistency...it is what you do consistently that defines your progress, maintenance, or regression.
“Everything in moderation” is a concept that I discuss with my clients quite often. Consuming too much of anything, even something considered healthy, is not going to be the most nourishing for your body.
For example: We all realize that having a slice of chocolate cake and a glass of red wine every night is too much...but what about the flip side? Having brussel sprouts and carrots every night for dinner without switching it up and trying a new vegetable is not good either! Eat the rainbow my friends!!
In order to nourish and fuel your body, you should be eating a balanced and varied diet. Ask yourself:
Am I getting a balance of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat)?
Does my diet have variety and include all of the major food groups (fruits vegetables, whole grains, protein foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs etc., and dairy foods)?
Back to my earlier point: Even though each food group has nutritional value, they don’t all contain the SAME nutrients. Consistently consuming the same nutritious food will leave you lacking certain essential nutrients that you would get from a different source.
HOW you eat:
Do you eat on the run? Maybe even on your drive into work?
Do you eat at your desk while answering 1 million emails from the day before...inherently stressed?
Are you distracted while you eat your dinner, perhaps sitting in front of the TV, scrolling through social media, or answering emails?
All of these can translate into mindless eating...leading you down a foggy path where feelings of hunger and fullness are hard to discern. Additionally, if you are rushed when you’re eating, you may never be truly satisfied by your food. Regardless of whether or not your meal was nutritious and well balanced, the fact that you missed out on the sensory pleasures of eating can unfortunately leave you wanting something more (and reaching for that late morning pastry or early afternoon bag of chips).
How you FEEL about what you eat:
Do you work crazy hours, sometimes forget to eat, and then you’re so famished by the end of the day that you’re reaching for anything even remotely edible?
Are you a perfectionist who overanalyzes everything...including all food choices?
Anyone feel like they’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of depriving yourself for so long and desperately wanting something but feeling guilty after you finally eat it...it can be hard to find a way off of that dark merry-go-round.
Do you make your food choices from a mental state of self-care or self-control? To some these might seem synonymous...but they aren't. When your food choices are based on self-care you:
Feel confident that how you eat supports your health and fuels your body and mind while also leaving plenty of room for pleasure
Make a point to honor your body’s natural hunger cues, respecting signs that you’re getting full and truly acknowledging what satisfies and nourishes you
When we are tuned into our internal cues rather than external cues, we begin to focus on choosing foods that fuel our bodies while ALSO making room for some maybe less-nutritious but very delicious foods without any guilt.
Long story short: Live your life! Enjoy your life! Don’t feel guilty about that glass of red wine and slice of chocolate cake that you had at your friend’s birthday celebration. If you consistently make choices that fuel and nourish your body, you’re headed in the right direction.
Questions? Contact us!
Email: courtney@plusforte.co
Phone: 978-590-6951
