Four Nutrition Tips That Will Change How You View Food
You guys, as a nutrition coach, I know. Nutrition, or….how one eats….seems crazy overwhelming. Like, CRAZY overwhelming. If Dr. Oz says that carbs are bad but now Oprah is eating them, like who do we even listen to?
I like to think about nutrition in a way that isn’t scary. Nor full of rules or lots of counting. And best of all, I think viewing nutrition this way promotes a healthy relationship with food and eating. I thought I would share that with you today. Mostly because I know how it feels to have a shady relationship with food. It’s no fun to feel like you are on a cycle of “on” or “off” your nutrition game. Life is too short, and there are better places to put our energy than in crazy feelings towards food.
So here goes. A few tips that might help you out.
Tip #1 — Eat 3 or 4 meals a day, with no snacks in between.
Whaaaaatttt? I thought I was supposed to eat 5–6 mini meals a day? Well, to be honest, you can still do that. But listen to my reasoning for 3–4 meals each day. First off, if you only eat 3–4 times each day, your meals become more substantial….a little larger. I don’t know about you, but larger meals help me feel satisfied for longer. Physically AND mentally. I’m a person who lives to eat. Eating a larger meal is FUN for me. And satisfying. And then it lets me feel a little full or satisfied for a few hours so I can go on my merry way and NOT stress about when my next meal is coming in. I literally have more energy to direct towards the rest of my life because I’m thinking about food less. All from eating larger meals less frequently throughout the day. What matters in the weight management world is that we eat enough energy from food each day to support the energy that we expend. If we eat that energy in almonds, or broccoli, or Twinkies, or over 5–6 meals, or 3–4 meals doesn’t really matter for weight management (although some of these do directly impact our health). It matters that we eat the energy we expend each day OVER THE LONG HAUL….day in and day out. However, for many, eating 3–4 larger meals tends to be a great strategy because they feel satisfied and don’t have to invest energy in two short hours about where their next mini meal is coming from….because they can last about four hours until their next meal. It’s sort of a time saver, and a mental energy saver.
Tip #2 — Let hunger be your signal that it’s time to eat again.
It’s okay to feel hungry. We won’t die from feeling hunger. Actually, feeling hunger is a really great way to enjoy your next meal. Think about it…if you go through your day eating 5–6 mini meals and never feeling hunger….how do those meals taste? Awesome? Do you even notice? I like to feel hunger for about 30–60 minutes before eating (and to be honest, I coach many of my clients this way too). Feeling hunger, not RAVENOUS hunger, but just that hunger feeling is a sign that your body is needing to take in some energy. It’s okay to feel that for a bit before eating. The thing I notice the most when practicing this habit is that my meals TASTE AMAZING when I come in a little hungry. Like, they are SO GOOD. And then I convince myself that I am a master chef because they are so amazing. This feeds directly into Tip #1, because I’m ready to enjoy a nice, substantial meal, and my brain is ready to enjoy it too. If you try this one out, expect to have to trial and error your way through for awhile. If you’ve been ignoring hunger signals for awhile and trying to distract yourself by chewing gum instead, or been on a diet for most of your life, hunger might be disguised for you. Be patient with this one. Hunger comes back around eventually. Better yet, come pick up a weight and squat and lift with me…..you will find hunger QUICK that way. Ha!
Tip #3 — Eat protein and produce often.
Try to include a lean protein such as chicken, eggs, lean beef, pork, Greek yogurt, fish, or beans at most (hopefully all) meals. Not a few lame strips of chicken found in those supermarket pre-packaged salads. Like, it’s CHICKEN for the love of all that’s holy, eat it, and don’t skimp! Protein is your big time building block for staying satisfied AND helps you keep that lean body because it feeds your musclez, yo! And while you’re at it, include produce at your meals. I’d love to say eat veggies at every meal here, but most people freak out and take that as an ultimatum. So shoot for veggies at MOST meals, and the ones you miss, either double up next time, or at the very least include some fresh fruit at your meal. We want that produce for all those little cool vitamins and minerals that not only help us FEEL better, they help us digest better, too. Eat produce! I don’t think anyone can come up with a reason why they shouldn’t. Disclaimer: don’t eat things that you are allergic to or make you feel yucky, because there is always another choice that will agree with you that you CAN eat.
Tip #4 — Ditch the “good” and “bad” foods list.
Ditch the judgement about food choices. Because life is too short to judge yourself based on the fact that you ate 7 (or 77) Cheetos last week. Let’s put it into context. Did you eat Cheetos? Yes. Did you rob a bank? No. You aren’t a bad person because you ate Cheetos. You aren’t a good person if you kept to your perfectly planned meal plan. There just isn’t room in life (or maybe in my life) for stressing over “good” and “bad” foods. Because I find that stressing over “good” and “bad” foods makes me more apt to make food choices that I don’t feel good about making. When I settle down and let go of “good” and “bad,” I have room to trust myself to build my plates based on food that makes me feel good and also a treat here and there. And then that’s it. There’s not the icky stress or guilt factor after. Again, this one takes some time and compassion. Be patient with yourself on this one.
So there you have it, four tips that will get you some mileage on changing the way you view food. Please, please, pretty please….if you try any or all of these, let me know! I love to hear how people incorporate things! And a tip, don’t try ALL OF THEM at one time. Try just one of them, for like two weeks, and see how it goes. You are more likely to see and feel the “trickle down” effect of changing one thing at a time….if you change just ONE thing at a time. Then you are free to try another. Capisce?
I want to chat with you about something. I spend a lot of time geeking out over nutrition. Like LOTS. It’s interesting to me. Which is why I’m a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Nutrition Coach. I value what eating well does for our bodies. But mostly, I value the fact that having a good relationship, based on trust and NOT fear, with food is crucial to one’s wellness.
What I find most with my nutrition clients is actually that most people know WHAT to do. They just really struggle with implementing a few changes, or helping them overcome barriers that currently prevent them from doing those things. That’s it! They KNOW what to do, they just struggle sometimes with DOING what they know. If this sounds like you — knowing what to do, but struggling with doing it, give me a shout on my Facebook page! I always get back to people!
Amanda Fisher writes, blogs, and coaches online at ToughMuddette.com. She is a Mom Boss, a Wife Boss, and a Strong Boss. Amanda helps women get the eff off the chronic cardio and diet wagon and into their strong life.
