How My Nutrition Philosophy is Changing (and 8 recommendations for pursuing health through food and nutrition)

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a blog post. Most of my time and energy is spent towards caring for my kids, running my home, seeing clients, and occasionally posting on Instagram. For a long time, I avoided posting on social media because it can be such a divisive and critical space. Over the past few years I have changed and my outlook on a variety of topics has changed. I’ve stayed pretty quiet for fear of backlash and not fully knowing where I’d land. I still am not sure where I’ll land, but I’ve gained a desire to get back online and share beneficial, relatable content for whoever decides to follow along. I’ve rediscovered my love reading research and understanding the mechanisms behind how the body works.

One of the areas in which my perspective has been shifting is in the area of nutrition. You know that I have provided content for eating disorder recovery and incorporating intuitive eating for the past few years. The intuitive eating book and approach changed my life. And I’m not being dramatic. It completely transformed my relationship with food and exercise and it freed me up to live life again. I still FULLY believe in the principles of intuitive eating, but my heart is no longer passionate about sharing content fully related to that. It has provided the foundation for how I see food and how I want to help others relate to food and their bodies. Because I’ve been at peace with food for so long, it has allowed me to move on to how I can fuel my body properly with food without being disordered. Where I’m at isn’t appropriate for everyone. What is physically and mentally healthy for one person isn’t for another. *Me* a few years ago wouldn’t be ready for *me* now. And that’s okay. But where I’m at now is a place in which I can look at food trends and research and determine, What is best for me and my family? What patterns of eating will allow us to feel good and promote health? How does food impact certain medical conditions or symptoms? So I thought I’d let you know a little bit about where I am and how my nutrition philosophy is changing. In nutshell, if someone were to ask me my recommendations for eating in a way that benefits health, this is what I’d recommend:

1 Eat enough.

I’m talking overall calories, macros (protein, carbs, and fat) and micronutrients. Each are important. Not getting enough of any of these groups is going to have a negative impact on you. Getting all the micronutrients you need without adequate energy is going to be a waste. You can’t use them if you don’t have enough energy to perform the functions in which they’re used. You can consume enough overall calories, but if you’re lacking in protein, muscle synthesis, immune function, or cellular integrity is going to be impacted. You can be consuming enough calories and overall protein, but if you’re lacking in carbs and fat, hormones are going to impacted. We’ve got to step away from a restricted mindset when it comes to health, and move towards an abundance mindset when it comes to nutrition and health. 

2 Eat a variety.

A variety of macros, food groups, and foods within those food groups. Having a balanced plate at meals and snacks is super important for blood sugar regulation and keeping you from getting ravenous and hangry. But variety is not only focusing on protein, carb, and fat, but also focusing on getting a variety of sources FOR those macros. Our body needs a wide variety of nutrients to function properly and each food provides something different. Think about incorporating a wide range of sources for grains, vegetables, fruit, proteins, and fats. (besides, it keeps food interesting!)

3 Eat regularly.

Chaotic eating leads to blood sugar dips, intense cravings, overeating, and GI symptoms. For most people, going long periods without food simply isn’t helpful. I recommend every 2-5 hours depending on a variety of factors. 

4 Focus on nutrient dense foods. 

This is the area that has changed the most for me over the past few years. And it’s the area in which I suspect getting blasted for. I feel like the intuitive eating and eating disorder recovery world has deemed a focus on nutritious eating as disordered, orthorexic, or quackery. No, eating “all the right foods” won’t give me immortality. Nor will it prevent me from never getting sick. But having all the building blocks and coenzymes needed for a strong immune response and resolution of that response is important. And if we’re lacking in those things on a regular basis, it will have an effect on the health of our bodies. Over the past few decades, we’ve demonized nutrient-dense foods (think eggs, full fat dairy, butter, etc) and embraced foods largely based on the criteria of “low fat”, “low calorie”, “low carb,” or “high protein”. I have a lot more thoughts on this topic, but I’m not fully ready to dive into it. But for now, I think focusing on more whole sources of foods is important. God gave us incredible food system that tastes good and provides a host of benefits for our bodies and our brains. This is where the IE principle of “for the most part thinking” can be helpful. For the most part, my family eats homemade meals and snacks. For the most part, we eat snacks that are filling and provide a variety of macro and micronutrients. But we also eat what is given to us at a friend’s house or birthday parties. My children eat whatever snack is given to them at school (today was Dad’s and donuts and I have no qualms about it at all). We still order pizza out every once in a while. And we still buy packaged food products. 

5 Supplement where necessary.

Ideally, we’d be getting all our nutrients from food. But I think this is simply unrealistic in our day and age. There are certain vitamins and minerals that are hard to get enough of on a regular basis. Or there are certain seasons in which it’s hard to get enough overall calories or protein. I think oral supplements or vitamins/minerals can be really beneficial for ensuring adequacy or helping with symptoms. I’m looking forward to researching more on this topic and providing helpful, applicable info for supplements you could be utilizing in the future (so stay tuned!)

6 Be flexible.

This goes back to my statement above about “for the most part thinking”. Being rigid about food isn’t helpful. If you are physically healthy, but anxious all the time about food, you’re not really healthy. Black and white thinking regarding food simply isn’t going to be helpful or healthy. Black and white thinking is what leads to disordered eating and food being in an improper place. And remember that “healthy” looks different from person-to-person and even season-to-season. Early postpartum, food and capacity looked a lot different for me. There will be seasons with less time to exercise, a greater need for convenience foods, etc. That’s okay. 

It’s also important to point out that flexibility is important for maintaining a healthy relationship with food. Rigidity can cause shame and guilt around food choices that can then cause restriction and overeating/bingeing. We should be able to regularly eat foods that we really enjoy that provide little nutrition benefit for the sake of feeling satisfied and normal around food. Restriction leads to chaotic and unhealthy food behaviors, not healthy ones.

7 Remember that food is one aspect of health (we’ve got to keep perspective).

I now believe that food plays a larger role in our health than I previously did (something that might make some people cringe and that’s okay). But I don’t think it’s the ONLY factor. I also don’t think we are fully in control of our health. Food is not our savior. And to make is such will only make food extremely stressful and cause feelings of failure when we inevitably DO get sick. There are SO many other factors and behaviors that will impact health outcomes and how we feel (environment, socioeconomic status, sleep, stress, education level, physical activity, etc). Pursuing “health” in one area to only decrease health in another (relational, financial, mental, etc), isn’t actually healthy.

In the future, I want to be able to highlight the benefits of certain foods/nutrients, while keeping it all in perspective of the larger picture of health/scientific literature.

8 Get outside. Get adequate rest. Learn how to decrease physical stress. Connect in meaningful relationships. 

I’'m curious. Are there any of those recommendations that resonated with you?? Any that you would like further information or clarification on? Comment below!