Nutrition can be confusing. I get it.
There are a million different diets and philosophies out there all claiming they are the best approach; they'll make you the healthiest, leanest, most happy version of yourself with glowing skin and plenty of energy.
I am no different. I am going to give you advise and research in my posts for what I find to be the best eating pattern. My personal belief is that we are all different and what works well for some people, doesn't work at all for others so there is no perfect diet.
You have to investigate for yourself. Be a self advocate! Begin to pay attention, test and learn how the foods you eat are making YOU feel and perform. How do you do this? Start with mindfulness.
Take a moment 30 minutes to an hour after meals or snacks to do a scan and gauge how your body, digestion, brain and emotions have changed.
Are you grumpy?
Do you have brain fog?
Are you gassy or bloated?
Do you have any aches or pains popped up or become more prevalent?
Do you have more or less energy?
Are you satiated from your meal?
These are some important questions to ask yourself! What you consume can tell you a lot if you're willing to listen. And this is just the beginning of your research!
Now that you are working on step 1 - your mindfulness, lets talk about the best foods you should start incorporating into your daily diet. Just because a perfect diet doesn't exist doesn't mean that there aren't some general rules that most dietitians and nutritionist can agree on. I think we can all agree on these 3 rules:
1. The majority of your diet should be whole, unprocessed food.
*Hint- these are foods that are not packaged, engineered, or shelf stable.
Unlimited vegetables
Quality sources of animal products
Healthy fats with every meal
Fruits
Nuts and seeds
Fiber rich grains and legumes
Some cultured dairy, if tolerated
2. Eat a variety of foods.
This will give your body a variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
3. Stay well hydrated.
Being properly hydrated helps your body to work properly and efficiently.
Incorporating more whole foods and learning to listen to how your body responds is a great start to finding your perfect diet. Think you can handle this? I know you can!
-Betsy Whited, NTP
Ready to go deeper into finding your perfect diet or changing your eating patterns?
Check out the How To Eat program I developed for changing your dietary and cooking habits, eating more real foods and testing foods to find what works best for you as an individual.