People get sucked into the realm of dieting for 2 main reasons:

1. misinformation about the human body + basic nutrition concepts
2. plagued by body image issues + body dysmorphia

Today, we’re going to focus on thing #1: teaching you the basic principles of nutrition so that you feel smart enough to not have to diet anymore.

Dieting makes people stupid.

There, I said it.

Why does dieting make people stupid?

• rely on external rules to feed yourself which disconnects you from your own hunger, fullness, and cravings cues
• dieting doesn’t encourage you to think for yourself
• memorize arbitrary food rules instead of learning about your unique nutrition needs
• typically indoctrinated into a following a ‘system’ or rules that weren’t designed for you, your body, or your lifestyle

You feel like you need to diet because you’re disconnected from your body. Dieting exacerbates this disconnection. The longterm, sustainable solution to dieting is to take the long, introspective journey of getting to understand your body and the unique ways it communicates its nutritional needs.

You literally cannot do this while dieting or exploring intentional weight loss.

In fact, perusing intentional weight loss is a contraindication to learning about your body. This is because your body communicates dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of things to you each day. When you’re dieting, you can’t hear your body over the food rules, the scale, and other forms of external measurements and data.

Not dieting requires you to turn inward and towards yourself- the exact opposite of what dieting and intentional weight loss requires of you.

There are many ways to begin exiting the dieting and weight loss-obsessed realm. Things like unpacking your dieting history and your relationship with food (going back to childhood + your parents’ relationship with food and body) & emotional regulation will help.

Even still, basic nutrition education concepts can help from a tactical perspective.

The good news is the basic nutrition education concepts you need are just that… basic, simple, easy to follow. The best part is you don’t need to measure, count, weigh, or track your food in order to do this.

Let’s dive in.

How to build a meal

Most meals*  should contain 4 separate categories:

• Carbs
• Protein
• Produce
• Something to make it taste good (fat)

*7 days/week x 3 main meals per day = 21 main meals per week. ‘Most‘ is roughly ~18 meals/week

Carbs:

Carbs get a bad rap. Once again, this is due to confusion regarding nutrition concepts which are entirely different from dieting concepts.

There’s a reason carbohydrates make up the base of the food pyramid!

 

 

Carbs are the human body’s number one preferred fuel source.

When it comes to nutrition vs dieting, true health and wellness is at the forefront of our minds and intentions. A healthy, wellness driven lifestyle will include physical activity and exercise. This automatically accounts for the carbs we need to fuel our activities and lifestyle.

Most folks eat carbs at most meals and do not pair them with other nutrients to give them their strong fuel-like staying power. You’ll need to get into the habit of eating carbs alongside the other nutrition categories at most meals.

When you eat carbs alone, they spike and then plummet your blood sugar. This leads to excess and unnecessary hunger and cravings. In some people, the habit of eating carbs without protein, produce, and fat can lead to type 2 diabetes and other hormone & stress related diseases.

We can mitigate this by eating carbs alongside produce, protein, and fat.

Carb sources include but are not limited to:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Cereal
• Rice
• Beans & legumes
• Oats & grains
• Potatoes
• Fruit snacks
• Candy
• Juice

 

Protein:

Correctly identifying protein is part of the education needed to not diet anymore. There are lots of misconceptions around what a protein is and isn’t.

For example, peanut butter is not a protein source. It contains protein, but it is primarily a “taste good” source. I’ve had clients who believed avocado was a protein source. Not so. Avocado is also a fat or “taste good” source.

Protein is not a proper fuel source. If the human body is tapping into protein as a fuel source, it’s because there isn’t enough energy in the body from either carbs or stored fat. We will typically see the body switch into protein for energy during the late stages of an endurance event (think: finishing a marathon or triathlon). Protein as a fuel source is bad news bears and indicates tissue catabolism or breakdown.

Even though we don’t use protein to fuel our body, it’s still a vital nutrient. We need plenty of it throughout the day.

We need protein to regulate blood sugar, aid in cell and muscle health, repair, and growth, for healthy immune function, & bone health- just to name a few things.

Protein is not just meat and poultry.

Protein sources include but are not limited to:

• Cottage cheese
• Greek yogurt
• Eggs whites (but eat the whole damn egg. Yolks are packed with nutrition!)
• Chicken
• Pork
• Beef
• Fish
• Rice + beans together (alone these are not a complete protein)
• Tofu

Produce:

We lump fruit + vegetables together under produce. All produce is good- none should be avoided unless you’re allergic.

Some of the crazier (read: stupid) things about produce that should be forgotten is dieting-based. Things like “bananas make you fat” or “there’s too much sugar in carrots and apples.” Even the organic-centered craze is ridiculous- just rinse your produce well when you bring it home and move on with your life.

If you’re committed to creating barriers for yourself by believing hard and fast rules like the above, you’ll stay stuck in a dieting mindset forever.

Produce brings the benefit of micronutrients from vitamins and minerals all the way to fiber, which is paramount for digestive health.

Produce is anything that you could pluck out of a bush, tree, or ground.

Some produce like potatoes falls into two categories: produce and carbs. If I’m eating potato, I’ll usually ‘count it’ towards my carb bucket and supplement my meal with additional produce source. Sometimes not, though. (Remember, we’re going for most meals and not aiming for anywhere close to perfection or 100%.)

Produce is one of the easier meal categories to spot and understand whereas with things like carbs, protein, and fat (taste good) confusion often gets in the way until you’re more comfortable identifying foods.

Produce sources include but are not limited to:

• apples
• bananas
• grapes
• onions
• peppers
• corn
• green beans
• cabbage
• kale, spinach, lettuce of all kinds
• celery
• potatoes
• berries
• cherries
• plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots
• tomatoes
• cucumbers

The list goes on and on and on.

Canned and frozen produce is a fantastic option.

Don’t let the health nuts steer you wrong. Eating canned or frozen produce is a perfect option for any reason. If I’m short on time or energy, I’ll use steam-in-the-bag frozen veggies or canned veggies. We often waste a lot of our fresh produce, so canned is a great way for us to waste less food and save on money. Fresh is obviously great, but is oftentimes a barrier for folks due to the time it takes to prepare, chop, prep, store, etc. Choose canned and frozen whenever you need to! 

 

Taste Good:

Taste good is scientifically known as dietary fat. I use “taste good” to remind people that yes, you should actually enjoy eating your food!

Enjoyment is a compliance tool. And there’s no trickery here- I genuinely want you to enjoy your food. In fact, you need to!

Dietary fat is crucial for overall health and wellness. Fat is what helps our hair, skin, and nails. Fat also transports vitamins through our body, specifically vitamins A, D, E, and K. Dietary fat also plays a crucial role in hormone health as well as satiation or feeling satisfied after a meal.

Fat sources include but are not limited to:

• nuts
• butter
• avocado
• fatty fish like salmon or beef
• peanut butter or nut butters
• oils: olive, avocado, vegetable
• cheese and dairy
• salad dressing

The Nutrition Framework:

Now that you know which foods go into which categories, you can begin building meals using the framework:

Carbs, Protein, Produce, Make it Taste Good

It’s as simple as choosing an option from each category and making a meal.

You can mix and match however you’d like, even if you’re in a pinch, at a buffet, out to eat, at a party, running late, have no time, have no energy to cook- you name it. This framework helps you feed yourself well in any and all situations.

Ideally, you’ll follow this framework for mini-meals or snacks as well.

Here are some examples. Some are more traditional than others. Some are real-life examples of how I compose meals when I have no time or energy.

 

Breakfast:

Example 1:
toast + butter
eggs
tomato + cucumber slices + salt and pepper

Example 2:
pancakes, butter, syrup
eggs
apple + PB

Example 3:
4% Greek yogurt
granola
berries

Lunch:

Example 1:
Sandwich (bread, lunchmeat, cheese, mayo, mustard- whatever you want on a sandwich)
Salad with dressing
Nuts
Banana

Example 2:
Pasta + fav sauce + parm cheese
Chicken
Peppers + Onions

Example 3:
Beef Jerky + Protein Shake
Carrots, Celery, Peppers + Hummus
Bag of chips + handful of nuts
Grapes + Cottage cheese or yogurt

Dinner:

Example 1:
Salmon
Mashed Potatoes
Carrots + hummus

Example 2:
Rotisserie Chicken
Rice
Green Beans + butter

Example 3:
Tacos: tortillas + ground beef or ground turkey
Rice + Beans
Corn

 

These are the first steps in honoring your nutrition and moving away from fad and crash diets that really and truly will not work. I mean, think about it: if all of your dieting efforts truly worked, would you still be trying to figure it out?

It’s important to note that nutrition and feeding yourself well is not a weight loss strategy. Nowhere here were you guaranteed or promised weight loss, as that is not at all the point.

There are plenty of other nooks and crannies to explore when it comes to your nutrition, listening to and honoring your body, plus many other dieting thoughts and misconceptions that get in the way. We’ll cover those in the future!

Happy eating!