Nutrition is like the secret sauce of a good life. It’s like having the finest fuel in your car to keep it running smoothly. Plus, it’s not just about what we eat, but also how we eat. Savoring our meals, relishing every bite, that’s a big part of the joy of living healthily.
One of our principles is the world’s best laboratory is YOU. The truth is that YOU know your body BEST. You may go through a season of life where you forget what works well for your body or make choices that aren’t helping you feel your best, but ultimately your body is a guide book that works better than any diet book out there.
“I have been in the world of nutrition for over 12 years now. When I first started as a dietitian, I thought that I would find the best diet in the world for all people. Naive, I know, but I was young and determined,” says Brianna Kennedy, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and a Stamina Lab coach.
“What I found instead was that taking in all of the noise from diet culture was doing more harm than good. I became obsessed with healthy eating “rules”, and this obsession was affecting my life in more ways than one.”
“After healing my relationship with food, I reconnected with my body’s cues and let go of arbitrary ‘rules’ that were not serving me. I decided at that moment that as a dietitian I would help others connect with their body, their goals, and create habits that serve each individual rather than add stress or worry to their life.”
While learning about nutrition can be interesting and there are times where certain foods may help with healing, there are no strict nutrition rules required for general health and well-being. If you have an allergy or medical condition that requires you to stay away from a specific food, that’s obviously different and may require you to adopt a rule that is individualized to you.
To help you get started on your nutrition journey, Kennedy recommends these four key strategies:
- ADD > SUBTRACT: When developing nutrition habits that work FOR you, focus on foods or habits that you get to ADD to your plate versus take away. Our minds can rebel against things we don’t get to do, but thrive when we add solutions!
- An example of this if you were wanting to change how much food you eat at night time might be: I will have a smoothie for my after dinner snack to see if it keeps me satisfied until bedtime.
- EXPERIMENT: Your body, your lab. Try different foods that you’ve never tried before and see how these foods make you feel. Or experiment with savoring and slowly tasting a favorite food over rushing through the meal or snack. You might find that you don’t like the food item as much as you thought you did or that a little taste goes a long way!
- CATCH THE STRESS: If your food habits and changes stress you out, it might be time to take a step back to re-evaluate. Your life is worth living to the fullest and while you won’t get rid of every single stressor you have, your healthy habits should promote well-being versus adding additional stress to your life.
- Team Up: Checking in with someone (like your coach) or having the group to turn to for extra support while reaching your goals is immensely helpful. It’s these positive accountability interactions that can keep you going when the season gets a little rough. A little bit of encouragement can go a long way, especially during the tougher days!
So, embark on your journey towards better nutrition with these tips in mind. Remember, the key is to keep it simple, enjoy the process, and listen to your body. It knows best.
To help, we have a delicious No Added Sugar Recipe Guide available for free download here.
