Nutrition : One word, three syllables that haunt the majority of us.
Nutrition can be a tricky thing. For most of us it is governed my two primary rules, convenience and finances. We choose to eat what is available to us that won’t impede our lifestyle or our budget. If we work long hours our down time may not be spent meal prepping for the week. We choose foods that minimize the amount of time they take to prepare or that are ready to eat. However, some of these choices may not be as nutritious as we think. They contain low nutrients and over time these may lead to deficiencies and less than optimal physical and mentality capacities. First lets take a look at what nutrients are.
Nutrients are a measure how mow much “value” a certain food contains. Let’s use money as an example. Let’s say you you lend some one a 100 dollars. When you make this decision you acknowledge that you have the potential value of receiving your 100 dollars back. What happens when the time comes for payment, this friend only gives you 30 dollars? How would you feel about that? Would you want to lend them more money? Most of us would agree this is a shitty investment. This is how food works too. Every time you pay for food you are making an investment. Just like the example you want to receive the maximal return on your money. Now let’s go back to food.
When we purchase a meal prepared outside our home , whether its in a restaurant or at the grocery store the “return” from our investment may not be exactly what you are expecting for several reasons.
1. They may be high in calories but low nutrition.
Think of your sugar filled and processed foods. Some protein bars, fast food sandwiches, foods ready to eat in a box and others may satisfy the hunger that you feel at the moment. Yet leave you feeling gross and more importantly do not provide the building material that you body needs to sustain itself. Just like building a house, your body need adequate materials in the correct proportion to sustain and build. When these nutrients are unbalanced or missing they can create deficiencies. This can manifest itself in cravings, low energy periods throughout the day or even mental and physical fatigue. These foods provide a fountain of calories but the micro and macro nutrients may be sub par. Just like investments, we want every meal to have maximum nutrients.
Want to learn more about micro and macro nutrients click here.
2. We eat unbalanced food in inappropriate quantities.
When you are on the go we choose meals that are convenient and fast. Typically what happens is that some meals have inadequate amounts of macro and micro nutrients. We might be eating 3 times a day, yet not come near to the quantity of ideal nutrients. Lets use this real life example :
Lauren a 28 year old female that works as a marketing consultant. She is 5’4’’ and weighs 136 pounds. She eats three meals a day usually outside her home with coworkers and business associates. Most of the times she comes home, she is too tired to cook and orders out.
Meal 1.
- Coffee – cream and brown sugar
- Bagel with Cream Cheese
- Fruit Cup with yogurt
- Orange Juice
Meal 2.
- Grilled Chicken Breast Salad , croutons, lite- Ranch dressing
- Noodle soup
- Diet Coke
Meal 3.
- Few slices of pizza
- Couple of bread sticks with marinara sauce
- Glass of wine
How many of you can resonate with this? At a quick glance this can look normal to most people and not bring up any alarms. Some might say she is trying to be healthy by having a salad and soup for lunch. However, this screams of an unbalanced diet. Overall sugars and carbs are predominate and protein and fat intake are at par with that of a small child. This is only a one day example, but this reoccurs for days to months to years on end.
Want more examples of bad foods click here.
3. Food intolerances
By now most of us have heard of gluten sensitivities, so I wont touch on it more. Yet if you want information it can be found in this article here. Other intolerances exist and may interfere with how our body absorbs food. Remember, its not only what you eat, but what you absorb that counts. We have all seen those individuals that eat a plethora of food yet never gain any weight. While a variety of factors may be influencing them, one of them could be absorption. When food intolerances are the culprit the easiest way to remedy the situation is eliminating them from the diet all together. However, the hard part is recognizing that a problem exists. One of the most heard about after gluten is lactose intolerance. Here consuming dairy leads to flatulence, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Data on this particular intolerance seems to not impede absorptive properties, yet they do cause discomfort, bloating and diarrhea. Other food intolerance include headaches and changes in appetite.
Learn to track these here.
4. Finances
Taking a trip to your nearest whole foods supermarket can lead to a mild depression at check out . Where a $100 can lead to a week or more worth of foods at your conventional grocery store, here you might make it out with a couple of days worth. Unfortunately a lot of companies out there also stamp their products with Organic or Natural and hike up the prices. Personally, the bottom line for me is, if I can’t afford it, it doesn’t matter what they are trying to sell me, I wont budge. This is where you have to try to maximize your choices and find alternatives. Finding local fruits and vegetables may be cheaper than those in the supermarket. What I have noticed is that eliminating or substituting meals at restaurants for home cooked quality meals is not only cheaper but healthier.
There are many more reason why you might not be receiving the best return on your investment. Here I have outlined a few and if you have identified with any of these now you at least have a starting point to start your change. The key is balance and small changes that will yield big results down the road. We all forget that we have to crawl before we run. Don’t go emptying the pantry and refrigerator and starting from scratch. ( Im sure you have done this in the past. Ask yourself how long did this last? ).
Best places to start:
- Home cooked over Food prepared outside your home
- Prepare meals in advance in bulk
- Each meal should have a protein, carb and fat.
- Try to eat before hunger strikes. Especially in a low stress environment. that means not in the car while driving!
- Try to make these choices easier on yourself. Omit certain foods from your grocery list to reduce temptation. Keep a supply of fresh and healthy choices at home. Substitute instead of eliminate certain foods, i.e. gluten free bread.
- Seek help! You don have to go through this alone. Speak to your peers! You increase your success rate when you have others supporting you on your journey. If you belong to a fitness gym talk to one of the coaches. See how they can help you and if your personalities coincide. Research online during your spare time.
- Contact me!
I would love to speak with you and take you on as a client. Please feel free to contact me through email, phone or schedule a free 15 min consultation with me here.
Free Download : What to expect from Individualized Nutrition Planning. (right click and save to comp, or just click to open in new window)
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Watch Nutrition 101 Video given to members of Yellow Falcon.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY2uMYkYBfk[/embedyt]Nutrition
Vegetarian 101 Video
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