You Do Not Need To Eat Salad To Be Healthy
You hear it all the time, if you want to be healthy, then you need to eat salads 24/7, 7 days a week. While salads can be quite interesting and tasty, there are other foods out there that contain loads of nutrition, not to mention, are already incorporated into many lifestyles and cultures. It is not just lettuce that makes you healthy, but an array of all different foods and food groups put together over time that gives you the most health benefits. Other foods that are just as nutritious as a salad include legumes, potatoes (yes white as well as sweet), greens, brown rice and other wild grains, fruits, fish, anchovies or sardines, organ meats, chicken, and pork.
Support, Accountability, and Encouragement Are Game Changers
It is not just about registered dietitians telling you what you must do, eat or not eat to get you to your goals. Support, accountability, and encouragement push you far further on your journey than someone telling you what to do. Usually when that happens, your rebellious side comes out and you choose to not follow any of the advice just because someone said you had to. When you have someone by your side, holding your hand, walking beside you down your path, it is then when you accomplish the most and get to where you want to be. This added support helps guide you, allowing you to make the best decisions for your health.
We Eat Cake, Ice Cream, and Fast Food Too
Dietitians are human. Life happens and time gets cut short. We are not perfect. Many like to think we are but we are just like you; working every day on our relationship with food and body image journeys. We are here as role models to show you that it is not just what you eat but how you eat it that makes the most difference in your nutritional health. Taking the time to listen to your body tell you what it needs, how much it needs, and when it needs it is how all foods fit and can be incorporated into a nutrient filled diet lifestyle.
Non-Food Changes Can Be Even More Helpful Than Foods
Yes, food plays an important role in our health, however, some other factors may be keys to how your health unfolds. Sleep, stress, movement, energy, and mood are just a few outside forces that can really affect your health. Getting enough sleep is one way to help stress, blood sugars, hormones, and appetite. Reducing stress or finding ways to handle stress on a healthy level without always turning to food helps control hormones and weight. Allowing time for movement brings more joy into your life instead of hyper focusing on specific exercises and slaving away at a gym for hours. Improving your energy and mood can lead you to better health choices, less stress, better sleep, and more movement. They are all connected yet need to be worked on individually to improve each other.
It Is Not Always About What Goes Into Your Mouth
Connecting mind and body is more than just putting food into your mouth. Learning to listen to your own body cues for hunger and fullness, what it needs, and when, putting time into prepping, cooking, cleaning up, and including the social connection throughout the meal, brings about intuitiveness and mindfulness. These two concepts are what improves your relationship with food and body for the long hall; a lifestyle that works with you and not against you. It is not just about what food goes in but the process, respect, and honor you have with that food.
Nutrition and a healthy lifestyle is not about strict diet plans, removing food groups, or counting carbs or calories. It is about making food a priority, choosing foods that will make you feel your best, and allowing the time you need to enjoy the food, listen to your body, and nourish your whole self.