How to Simplify Nutrition in 3 Easy Steps

Ever feel like nutrition is so confusing and everyone has a different opinion on what works best? SAME.

Every person on this planet would be lying if they didn’t admit to struggling with nutrition at some point in their life. Dieting has become such a bad word in the fitness world because of how restrictive and unhealthy it can be. But a healthy balanced diet with out cutting calories excessively or restricting large food groups is something we should all have. Honestly though, it’s not easy to figure out what you should be eating and how much, considering everyone has different goals and activity levels. Not to mention everyone claims to have the secret recipe (no pun intended) for exactly what to eat every day. But I’m taking a different approach here.

What you need is a template for how to eat without someone telling you exactly what to eat.

Sometimes I wonder how nutrition got so complicated because there’s no way cave men used myfitnesspal to track their macros! So how did they just know what to eat or how much to eat? Well, first of all they didn’t have donuts, cookies, and cakes staring them in the face all the time and they definitely didn’t have as many options as we have today. So, my goal is to help simplify nutrition in three easy steps so you can stop worrying and start enjoying food again.

Here you will learn:

• How to choose what to eat?

• How much should you eat?

• How often should you eat?

 If you’re looking for the perfect guideline to fit your nutrition needs, then keep on reading!

The information shared through this website, emails, products and services is for informational and educational purposes only. It may not be the best fit for you or your personal situation. I am a Physical Therapist but I’m not your doctor. It shall not be construed as medical advice, nor as a replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis and/or treatment.

1. How to Choose What Goes in Your Body?

This is the part that can be so difficult for people to grasp. The diet culture has fed us so many lies that we must do high protein diets, low carb diets, low fat diets, and tons of others! The only thing diets have accomplished is causing people to restrict, feel guilty, and ultimately go right back to where they were to begin with. The secret here is to choose food that you love enough to keep eating FOREVER!

It is perfectly ok to enjoy desserts and food that makes you feel good! But it’s just as important to not forget why we eat in the first place! The whole point is to fuel your body for what it was made to do! You can’t put diesel in a car that takes gas because it just won’t work. The same goes for our bodies. You can’t expect to eat cheetos and twinkies all day and feel like a million bucks!

Nourishing your body from the inside out will allow you to actually feel better and more energized! This means not feeling sluggish all the time when you got plenty of sleep the night before, or feeling like you can’t lift as much when you go to the gym. The food you put in your body affects everything from your mental health to how your muscles perform so it is important to make sure what you consume has nutritional value.

The best way to do this is to follow this simple guideline: Eat whole foods with a high nutritional value as much as you can. These can include:

• Carbs made of whole or multi grains that have a higher fiber content

• Fats such as butter, avocado, nuts, and olive oil (yes, butter is actually good for you)

• Proteins such as chicken, turkey, and beef

• Try to include vegetables in at least 2/3 meals per day

If you would like to learn more about macros and their nutritional benefit, check out this post.

One of the best tips I ever learned in relation to healthy eating is called the 80/20 rule. Basically, you eat healthy, nutrient packed foods 80% of the time and whatever you want the other 20%. This rule ensures that your body is still getting the nutrients it needs but also allowing you to enjoy some treats the other 20%. A lot of times, simply allowing yourself to have dessert when you want it can completely remove cravings. Feeling like you “can’t have” something just makes you want it more.

2. How Much Should You Eat?

This is one of the most variable parts of choosing a nutrition plan because this will be different for every single person! It all depends on your weight, your goals, and how active you are on a daily basis.

There are some very simple online calculators that will help you determine a rough starting point for how many calories you should be eating each day. Before you close this post, please know that counting calories doesn’t have to control your life but you DO need to know how much it takes to fuel your body. One simple truth is that calories do matter. If you are consistently eating more calories than it takes to fuel your body, then you will gain weight due to the fact that excess calories are stored as fat. If you want a simple calculator that will help you figure this part out, click here. I found through my own personal experience that this calculator is pretty accurate and it also will take into account what your activity level is.

Based on the fitness levels within the calorie calculator, “somewhat active” means you are mostly sedentary even if you workout a few times a week. “Active means” you are active for a good chunk of the day on top of your workouts. “Very active” means you are rarely still in one place throughout the day. None of these description may fit you to a tee but just slightly underestimate your activity level and you can’t really go wrong.

If you find out that the recommended amount of calories is not enough and you are frequently finding yourself hungry, take another look at what food you are eating and make sure it doesn’t have “empty” calories (AKA foods that are high in calories but have no nutritional value, like candy). If you are consuming the right foods then give yourself permission to eat more if you are hungry.

Now that you have a rough estimate for the number of calories you should be eating each day, it’s important to figure out where those calories come from. Again, you don’t have to count macros but having a general guideline will help you reach your goals and keep you healthy. So, a good starting point is making sure that about half of your plate is made of carbohydrates, and the other half is divided between protein, fat, and vegetables.

3. How Often Should You Eat?

The good news is you can be super flexible with this part. Some people prefer to eat six small meals per day while others stick to three larger meals with no snacks in between. This will truly depend on your personal preferences and what works the best for your schedule. As long as you are sticking to the number of calories you need each day then it doesn’t really matter when you eat. The most important thing is to listen to your body and make sure you are actually hungry before just reaching for food out of habit or boredom. Whatever you decide to do, just keep it consistent. It truly depends on what you like and what makes it the easiest for you!

Summary:

If you follow these three simple steps consistently, you WILL see results in your overall health, how you feel, and eventually how you look! Keep going, you got this!

Step 1: Eat nutrient dense food 80% of the time.

Step 2: Monitor your calories to make sure you aren’t over eating.

Step 3: Eat frequently to keep your metabolism up.

Below I have included some examples of meals that are well balanced in macro nutrients if you are looking for some ideas:

Breakfast

1.     1 serving of steel cut oats with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, half a banana and some cinnamon

2.    Egg omelet with some toast

3.    Egg and sausage breakfast sandwich on multigrain bread

4.    Avocado toast with eggs

Lunch

1.     Multigrain wrap with turkey, avocado, spinach, jalapeños, and whatever other toppings you want

2.    Grilled chicken salad with avocado and add in beans, fruit, or some sort of multigrain bread on the side for carbs

3.    Quinoa bowl with ground beef, beans, avocado, corn, etc.

4.    Chickpea pasta with ground turkey or beef, and pasta sauce

Dinner

1.     Grilled chicken with sautéed squash and zucchini and chickpea mac and cheese

2.    Spaghetti squash with ground turkey or beef and pasta sauce

3.    Pork tenderloin with grilled asparagus and red potatoes

4.    Quinoa and black bean enchilada casserole with ground turkey or beef, enchilada sauce, green chiles, quinoa and black beans thrown in a pan and baked with some cheese on top

Now you have the perfect guideline to fueling your body to not only function well but feel good too! The key here is figuring out your goals and fueling your body for what will help you meet those goals. Hopefully this gives you a good starting point for how to focus on nutrition when planning your meals to optimize your health!