Three Rules I Learned From Going To A Nutritionist
About five years ago I experienced a very stressful summer that caused me to lose a lot of weight. Wanting to get back on track as soon as possible, I went to a nutritionist. Not only was she great (a straightforward, no-bullshit kind of woman), but I learned things that I still carry with me to this day. She debunked a lot of misconceptions that a majority of us believe and truly paved the way for me living a healthier life.
Here are three most important rules I learned:
Don’t starve yourself — eat approximately every four hours
This one is pretty well known, but that doesn’t mean everyone adheres to it. We should all eat approximately every four hours, as anything much longer than that puts your body in starvation mode. While waiting six hours between meals may not
necessarily feel like starvation, your body is still changing course to accommodate for the lack of food. When you do eat after that prolonged period, your body will actually store more fat — combating against starvation. In contrast, when you eat regularly your body’s metabolism picks up speed and will keep chugging along at a much steadier pace, keeping everything flowing as it should. I’ve heard this concept related to that of a campfire — you must consistently add sticks to the fire otherwise it’ll go out. The same applies to your body;; keep feeding it and the fire will stay burning.
Additionally, the most common complaint I hear among my friends (myself included) is in regards to bloating and feelings of fullness. Bloating is also greatly affected by this rule. My nutritionist explained that when you don’t eat for a long period of time and then grub out, it only makes sense that your stomach will expand. Your stomach went from empty to full, and needs to accommodate for the sudden change.
I understand that with our busy lives it’s sometimes easy to forget to eat, but dedicating just a little more awareness will go a long way.
Strive for balance — think in threes
On my path to weight gain, I was told to think in threes when it came to my every four hour meals. This meant making sure that each meal contained at least three different
food groups. For example, for breakfast or a late morning snack I’d eat granola cereal with milk and a banana, which provided grains, dairy and fruit. This is pretty easy to do when it comes to larger meals such as dinner, but I’ve found this rule especially helpful when applied to snacking. She explained that you’re better off eating a balanced meal than only snacking on one thing. That doesn’t mean your snack has to triple in size, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Instead of eating almost a whole bag of pita chips with hummus (trust me I’ve been there), cut back a little on the chips and eat an apple too.
Overall this is a pretty easy one to understand and tackle, yet it still brought a lot of misconceptions to light. I was in college at the time and obviously eating a little more erratically than I had in the past and was quite hard on myself about it. My nutritionist helped ease my mind by explaining that a slice of late night pizza isn’t as terrible as I once thought. First of all, if I had gone out all night and hadn’t eaten in let’s say six hours, then as we know from #1 it’s okay to eat. Second, pizza can actually be a decently well-rounded snack. You have a carb, diary (cheese), and usually a meat or veggie. Let me make it clear that she was not saying pizza is the healthiest thing I could reach for, or that I should eat pizza as a totally sustainable meal, but she explained how it had its acceptable place in the whole equation.
Eat full fat dairy
Everywhere we look we see foods labelled as “low fat” or “fat free,” and it’s understandable why we’d reach for that over something that in contrast appears to be full of fat. Yet, fat is not always a bad thing, in fact it can be quite a good thing — especially in regards to dairy. First let’s clear something up: dairy products that are “whole” are not 100% fat, whole is just another way to mean 4%. Not only do whole dairy products provide more of the good stuff (protein, calcium, probiotics, ect) but they contain way less sugar. What most people don’t know is that usually when manufacturers alter products to be “low fat,” they actually need to add sugar. Refined sugar, as we know, is not the healthiest and will actually make maintaining a healthy diet a lot more difficult. Sugar deregulates blood sugar levels, leading you to crash and feel less satisfied, in turn prompting you to actually take in more calories than you would by just choosing a whole product. Next time you go to purchase your favorite yogurt, think more protein and less sugar — go for whole.
When I say these things lead me to a healthier life, I don’t just mean in regards to my diet. These rules cleared up those feelings of guilt that I know we all experience. Not only did they teach me that I was flat out wrong about some things, but they allowed me to give myself a break when it did come to indulging here and there. I really try to encourage all my friends to live by these guidelines, because I know how difficult it is to approach eating in this society. I’m not an expert, I’m only relaying what I learned and how it has worked for me. Maybe someone else would receive more specific guidance, but I do believe that these rules ring true for all shapes and sizes. We need to think outside the box of social pressures and deceiving labels, and honor our bodies by giving them more of what they need.
Originally posted: https://sydneyfogel.wordpress.com/2015/12/21/three-rules-i-learned-from-going-to-a-nutritionist/
