Are you treating your body to get 100% out of it?

Good nutrition is at the heart of everything. You really are what you eat in a way. Food is our bodies fuel. You know if you buy cheap gas for your expensive nice car, you are risking engine damage, junk build up, and other not so nice things that can end up costing you a lot in repairs… that is totally preventable by changing the quality of what you put in your car.

So why don’t we treat our bodies like the finely tuned luxury sports car that they are or could be? Your body is not the beat up Ford Pinto you may think it is, underneath whatever body you see is a perfectly tuned machine, just waiting for the right fuel to show you what it is capable of!

Now you are probably thinking, “So what is the perfect fuel for me, the top five things to eat or avoid, or the perfect diet?’…. but what I have to tell you might just shock you. There is no ONE plan that is perfect for everyone. I know, I know… A bunch of people just started arguing with me in their heads! But here is my two cents, which since you are still reading this (hopefully you are!) you just might be interested in my opinion.

Everyones body is different, different blood types, metabolic types, different levels of stress, movement, different with hormones, emotions, activity level, etc. While many different “Eating styles” are popular or say they are perfect for everyone, you need to listen to your body and find what works best for you. This means you do have to put some effort into finding how your body reacts to certain foods, and nutrition. Now no one is going to have good health from a Donut a day, or eat only purple foods, or some other extreme weird “diet”. Lets be real. Everyone will benefit from eating REAL food. That means you shop in the produce section, the meat and dairy section, and avoid foods with a billion ingredients and prepackaged convenience foods.

So how do you get started eating better? First, as you are taking your first steps to better nutrition, educate yourself. Books like Nutrition 101 by Debra Raybern, and It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig are fantastic books that will help you learn how your body works and how food effects your body, in positive and negative ways. While you are reading those books, start going through your pantry and fridge. Start eliminating the chemical laden foods, sugary processed foods, and donate them to your local food pantry. Get ride of the white flour, processed sugar, and artificial ingredient laden foods asap. Start buying more fresh foods, frozen veggies and not canned, real meats not processed meats with added sugars and nitrates, grass-fed and wild caught meats, and minimally processed foods.

Step two, start experimenting with different ways of eating. Maybe try Paleo and gluten/grain free for a month, or go Whole30 for a great whole body reset. Or give a Ketogenic/Low Carb/High fat method a try for 30 days. Eliminate dairy for a month or two. Maybe you need to do an AIP protocol for 3 months to really reset your system. Listen to your body, it will tell you what works best for you. For me personally, a ketogenic/low carb-high fat method of eating works best for me at this point in my life. For my husband Josh, a more Paleo, gluten, dairy, and legume free method is best for him. I do best eating 3-4 small meals a day for a total of about 1600 calories, while Josh needs 4 meals and 2500+ calories. This gives us both the energy we need to do Crossfit workouts 4-5 times per week, and maintain the health of our bodies. I am still shedding some excess fat in my body, and Josh is building good muscle so it is what we need at this time. Six months from now we could be needing something totally different, but the key is that we listen to our bodies and make good choices.

Step 3… Don’t Obsess! Do we eat perfect 100% of the time? Uh.. NO! We are human, we make mistakes, have days where our calories or macros are not were we wanted them, and we eat out on a date night here and there. But the important thing is that we make the best choice for our bodies with out stressing out and turning our eating habits into an eating disorder.

So what is your main takeaway here today? Eat real whole food. Find what your body runs best on and what your body does not run well on. And don’t obsess and stress out if you don’t get it perfect!

On our website you can find some of my other favorite books and cookbooks on different eating methods. Learn and be knowledgeable, and make wise choices, and most importantly, listen to your body – and I don’t mean the craving for a donut!

Blessings,
Sharon and Josh