Thoughts on Nutrition

Hey everyone! I often get asked about nutrition and the best diets to follow. I wanted to give some thoughts that I have had throughout my experience as a fitness coach. These are based on my experiences studying nutrition and coaching clients.

Thought 1: Decide what you would like to accomplish with your nutrition.

The first thing everyone should consider when they are wanting to improve their nutrition is why they are doing it in the first place. Too many people beat themselves up over their nutrition without considering where they want to end up. This leads to disappointment with self and minimal results.

I once had a client who was relatively thin that wanted help with fat loss and muscle building. I think he wanted to see something different when he looked in the mirror. I took him on and helped him count his calories and track how much protein he consumed each day. This is a fairly standard practice in nutrition coaching and I felt fine coaching him.

I noticed that he started to beat himself up for the smallest "mess-up" in his diet and was seeming to develop poor self image. I hated seeing him like this and we eventually stopped meeting. In retrospect I wouldn't have just pushed with his original goal of just trying to get a better looking body. I would have asked him, "What do you really want to achieve by changing your diet?" Knowing this man I think he would have realized that he didn't care so much about what he looked like as much as he cared that he was healthy and able to take care of his family. 

Please don't make this same mistake! When considering your diet ask yourself, "What do I want to achieve with my diet?" If your answer is a healthy body and lifestyle then perhaps you will eat more fruits and vegetables. If your answer is to prepare for an upcoming strongman competition then maybe you would want to eat as much food as possible to put on size and strength. Weight loss is not always the end goal. Which leads to my next point.

Thought 2: Weight loss is not the end goal. Health is.

In dieting and nutrition weight loss is not the end goal. If weight loss was the end all be all in nutrition then wouldn't it make sense just to starve yourself? Obviously this is an extreme example but I want to make sure I emphasize the point. 

Let me suggest to you that weight loss is not the end goal but is rather a product of healthy living. I have clients that beat themselves up because their body doesn't look a certain way or their weight loss is slower than they had hoped. I get it! It's frustrating when results feel slow and unattainable. 

However, I wish we could stop for a second and realize that our goal with our diet is not to be the skinniest version of ourselves. While there is a healthy weight that we need to maintain please do not impose a standard of worth upon yourself if you are not as thin as you think you should be. And most of all please do not change your diet with the goal of only losing weight! Change your diet to focus on healthy eating and healthy living and a healthy weight will, in most cases, follow.

Thought 3: Be honest with yourself. 

I used to lie to myself about the food I was eating. I imagine you have probably been in this situation before. I would go to a family party over the weekend and justify eating four cookies. Because, after all, it was the weekend! And everyone knows that your body doesn't gain weight over the weekend.

I was able to become healthier and maintain a healthier bodyweight when I started being accountable for the food I ate. The next time I stared down at a plate of cookies I reminded myself that I was free to eat as many cookies as I wanted but I could not control the unwanted consequences of that choice. (i.e. gaining weight, poor health as a result, etc.) This realization has helped me to not beat myself up when I do eat unhealthy foods but also to not justify it either!

If you are trying to be healthier in your diet you need to be honest with yourself. I'm not saying that you should cut out all food that is bad for you. Life is short and you should enjoy some cake every once in a while. But don't tell yourself that you won't gain weight if you have cake frequently! If you are eating unhealthy then you will become unhealthy.

There are a few principles I follow as I strive for health in my diet:

-Get protein from healthy sources (Beef, chicken, turkey, etc. There are plenty of other sources but these are easiest for me.)

-Focus on produce. Fruits and veggies are your friends!

-Have plenty of whole grains. (Rice, bread, etc.)

At the end of the day nutrition isn't about you achieving the perfect body, it's about helping you become a healthier person! Don't beat yourself up and you'll do great.

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