As we start National Nutrition Month it seemed fitting to start broad and think about the fundamentals of good nutrition and what it means to eat well and have a good relationship with your food. So here’s some quick fire thoughts on things we need to remember when it comes to food, diet and heath.
There is no perfect diet.
What works and what makes you feel amazing will look different to everyone and there is no black and white or right and wrong. Food preferences, fitness or composition goals, moral, ethical or religious beliefs, where you live and family life and budget will all influence what you eat and what is right for you. No two diets will look the same and that’s what makes it great.
There is no such thing as a “bad” or “good” food.
Some foods are more nutritionally dense than others and have more vitamins, protein or fibre but there’s no one food that is inherently bad for you. “The poison’s in the dose” and of course its important to make most of your food healthy and nutritionally dense but there has to be room for everything.
Food impacts your mental health not just your physical.
High fibre, whole-food Mediterranean style diets are associated with better mental health and diets high in heavily processed foods are associated with poorer mental health. This being said your diet should also bring you joy and not cause stress so that’s something to think about too.
If you want to lose weight you have to achieve a calorie deficit.
Your output has to exceed your intake when you’re trying to lose weight. You can do this by increasing energy out or decreasing energy in (a combination of the two is often the winner) but the most important thing is to find a way to do this that makes you feel great not miserable.
It’s normal for your blood sugar levels to rise when you eat.
It’s sensible to avoid lots of high sugar food in the diet for a whole host of reasons but unless you have diabetes (type 1 or 2) you don’t need to dedicate yourself to a strict regime of monitoring and avoiding “spikes”.
Self-compassion goes a long way.
No pain no gain mentalities and bullying yourself into change doesn’t work for 99.9% of people. Strict rules and routines set you up for failure and only give you more reasons to believe that you can’t achieve your goals. This is a load crap and it’s never a you problem. Being nicer to yourself is going to set you on a much better path to respecting your body more and working on routines that feel good for you.
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