Where do you even start to navigate nutrition… food… diets.. ughhh. Dare I say, “too many cooks in the kitchen” on this one!!
While diet mentality has been under a microscope lately, there has been a new movement focusing on body positivity, mindfulness and ‘self care’. From this, (at last!!), intuitive eating is getting a lot of attention. This approach is, finally, breaking the cycle of diet-hopping by reconnecting with the body’s natural signals of hunger, fullness and satisfaction.
KNOW YOURSELF
While there are a million +1 fad diets, nutritional supplements and advice, if you don’t know your own body, your own intolerances/ allergies, or even your own pleasures, how could you possibly select the diet, supplement or advice that will work for YOU??
If you knew what it took for you to feel amazing, wouldn’t you do it?
By knowing your own system, you can make informed decisions that will have a lasting, *positive* impact on your personal health AND quality of life. Doing the work to find which specific nutrients your unique body needs (to run like the well-oiled machine you deserve!), is crucial to feeling fully energized and ready to take on your own kingdom.
A lot of trending diets cut out food groups completely. And while, you may see results short term, the moment you re-introduce those food groups, your health, weight or figure slides right back where you started.
Intuitive eating does NOT eliminate the things you enjoy eating!
It smartly reshapes the proportion and timing based on how you truly feel and what your body truly needs. Brilliant, no??
Before adapting to this organized approach of intuitive eating, my diet patterns felt like ‘a shot in the dark’ or a massive guessing game. I tried and trialed it all! I felt like I was riding a pendulum of health— swinging from under-nourishment to over-nourishment. With the added pressure of performing in front of thousands of people, every day, in a sparkling pink bikini— I decided the guessing game was over. I needed to find a safe way to feel confident day in- day out, all year long.
And while I had this solid nudge to get on top of sustainable health and fitness, I am SO thankful I took the time to study, observe, and apply these concepts.
While I thought I was doing it for my career— turns out— I was doing it for my life.
Being in tune and paying attention to my body’s natural cues, created a constant and sustained energy with the ability to recover much faster. (And to have energy and feel recovered.. is a sought after commodity as a mother.) So by doing the work now, you’ll know how to adapt and feel your best at any point in your motherhood journey— and life thereafter.
Your nutritional needs WILL change before-during-after pregnancy. And intuitive eating will be your best friend!
The best source for knowing what truly works for your body—is you. When you listen to your own internal cues, you’re accessing your bio-individuality. Bio-individuality helps shed light on what habits work best for each person’s health. And… that, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health and fitness!
For example, the foods that sustain me, the exercises that work for my body, and the coping methods that help me fight stress will most likely be different to what works for you. (I clean when I’m stressed. HIIT cardio currently does not feel good for my body, I get frustrated during many yoga practices and I don’t digest onions and apples well.)
So the best way to find your perfect health is to learn about yourself and pay attention to what works for your body. Knowledge is power.
The more you know yourself physically, the clearer you’ll become mentally and the better you’ll feel emotionally.
And while I’ll help get you started with tools to explore your own unique needs, it’s never a bad idea to seek the help of a registered dietitian or medical professional if you need or feel stuck in the process! Though I was experienced with feeling and listening to my body, I did supplement my observations with a DNA test to pinpoint some aversions in my genetics and I did do some blood work to check in on my hormones postpartum. Both of which supported what I was feeling, and gave me that extra nudge to adjust some things!
Remember, you only have to put in the research ONCE. And the self awareness at the end of it will be carried with you for the rest of your life. All sounds great, right? But where do you actually start…
Write a Food Diary
Break out that dusty journal and shake the ink back down to the bottom of your pen.
(It’s my own preference to write it by hand instead of an app or computer— but you do you!)
Sometimes, in the blur of a busy life, what you actually consume daily/ weekly/ monthly can also be a blur. And within this blurry cloud, how you actually feel can be blurry too! The quickest way to regain clarity, is to complete a food diary. Your food diary will help identify triggering foods based on your record of how you feel after you eat.
In your food diary, log:
ALL FOODS
Log roughly what you ate. (Don’t agonize over the weight of the food— I notate things like “palm-size chicken”, etc.)
**Tips & Tricks: General rule of thumb for macro portions is 55% carbs, 25% protein and 20% healthy fats. ‘Short cutting‘ these calculations, look at the plate you prepared (both meals and snacks), half of the plate should be carbohydrates, a quarter protein and a quarter fat.**
ALL DRINKS
Log all water, caffeine and alcohol intake.
**Tips & Tricks: Aiming for 3L of water per day, grab a water bottle that goes where you go throughout the day. If you have a 1 liter bottle, you know you are aiming to fill it up 3x’s that day!**
ALL SUPPLEMENTS
Log all multivitamins, tinctures, protein powders etc.
These guys will can also play into energy levels and overall health. **Hopefully with a positive impact! But noting them may also highlight a hidden sensitivity…
WITH ALL RECORDINGS, ALSO NOTE:
TIME
What time did you consume your meal, snack, beverage or supplement?
FEELING
How is your energy level and overall feeling 30-40 min after eating?
**This is where certain foods start to stand out as being potential triggers for bloating, fatigue, or even slight food allergies!
***It is also an indicator if you are missing macros… For instance, if you’re still hungry an hour after your meal, perhaps you didn’t eat enough fat or protein. Or, if you’re exhausted after your meal, you may need to lower your carbohydrate intake.
FEEL your body again, what is it telling you?
CRAVINGS
Fear not! They are very helpful 🙂
**For example: Sugar cravings! Instead of repressing, let’s see… is your body telling you…
That your carbohydrate intake is not well adjusted to your training goals.
Your carbohydrate intake is not balanced throughout the day.
You don’t eat enough protein at meals and feel hungry 30 minutes after.
You put yourself on too restrictive of a diet and your body feels under fueled.
Pay attention and troubleshoot— you CAN do this.
SLEEP
How many hours of sleep did you get the night before?
**This can also help you identify overall energy throughout your day. It will also be a factor when you start to make adjustments to your food— (For example, when I cut dairy out of my diet, I digested better, and slept better!)
And while this diary may make things more clear about how your body reacts to your current food selection, there still may be some other adjustments you can pepper in and think about…
SELECTION
Without overhauling your refrigerator or dried goods in a day… try looking at your current habits first. Is your current selection of meals, snacks, supplements and beverages making you feel good? Do you have the energy you need to get through your day? Do you have a healthy relationship with your food selection and habits?
One solid pro about moving around the world, is that I get to reassess my food selection (in different languages).. quite often! Once I go through the grocery store, translate and read through the ingredients, and make that first selection, I’m set (until I move again). Because, as a creature of habit, I buy (roughly) the same foods over and over again.
So, if you’re reading this, and you don’t know where to start, schedule a date with yourself to go to the grocery store consciously. Go through and actually read the ingredient list of the foods you are buying.
**Quick tips here: if you can’t pronounce the ingredient— it is probably not great for your body and! usually, the less ingredients per item, the better!**
TIMING
It is super common to suppress (or not be aware of!) hunger cues and/or skip meals. But in doing so, your metabolism (huge, trendy, fancy word that means: your body’s natural system to convert food to energy) takes a hit and slows down. When this involuntary system slows down, your body stores food— it doesn’t use it. When you do eat after that skipped meal, your body wants to hold on to it and process it slowly because it doesn’t know when you will fuel it again.
Be consistent.
Fuel your body regularly. I like to eat smaller portions but more frequently. That means I plan to eat every 2-3 hours equaling 5X’s a day! (3 classic meals, and 2 snacks). Like this, your body is receiving the signal that you are regularly fueling and will continue to process that food into energy. This also regulates and keeps your blood sugar levels balanced, which will carry you through those mid-day energy crashes.
MINDSET & MODERATION
Unfortunately, early on, a lot of us experience a shift from self-regulation to some external chatter; dictating what we should and shouldn’t eat, how much of it, and when.
Challenge this chatter and any internal negative thought patterns that categorize foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Food doesn’t have morals… but they do have values!
If you tip the scale toward filling up on more nutrient dense foods that give your body vibrant energy… but still leave room for a smaller portion of less nutrient dense treats, you can start to eliminate the feelings of failure or guilt surrounding food. Eating what your body thrives on with what you actually want, *in the right proportions* can leave you more satisfied with your meal. It’s when you deny yourself completely, that it’s much easier to munch between meals with less nutrient dense foods. Just visualize your meals and snacks to be nutritious, but also satisfying and tasty.
Your body will tell you if it liked your selection, remember??
Much more on this later… but I’d love to hear what you think so far!! Leave your comments or suggestions below 🙂
