Do you need to find clarity in your nutrition journey?
Food fuels our bodies, but not all food is created equal.
With an abundance of highly processed, high-sodium, high-fat, high-sugar foods, we prevent our bodies from being fuelled efficiently and performing our best in life. We may also have certain goals when it comes to nutrition, but find ourselves struggling to figure out what works best for our body, as we also navigate our busy work schedules, our family and our own ‘down time'.
Like most things, you can google nutrition plans and find a list of different ideas on where to start. And this can be useful, if you already have some understanding of your body’s needs, your goals (professional and personal goals), and if you're already in a routine with your home-life and your exercise.
But what if you’re not in any routine?
Having a routine with your nutrition and feeling confident that you can keep your body fuelled and happy can relieve so much confusion and angst in your life. The majority of people I work with think about food often. And some have reached a point of food anxiety from overthinking about their diets.
This is usually the point at which they need a nutritionist. Nutritionists have a wide job description, playing part clinician, part detective, and part counsellor. They support you with guidance on eating a varied, healthy diet for your lifestyle, providing meal plans, identifying nutrient deficiencies and intolerances, and the better ones also work with supporting you to overcome some underlying emotional behaviours that have led to unhealthy eating habits. An experienced nutritionist will show you how to apply this knowledge to have it be sustainable, and working best for you.
The recent report from the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention indicated that in 2017–2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in adults was 42.4% (an increase from 30.5%), with no significant differences between men and women among all adults or by age group. Considering that the wellbeing industry (in particular fitness and nutrition) is a billion dollar industry, then why are people still not getting it right? If you’ve ever felt like you’re alone in your struggles to find a healthy clarity, flexibility and also sustainability with your nutrition, think again – it’s a widespread problem that a lot of time-poor busy professionals face, regardless of having a family/children.
Finding a Healthy Food-Life Balance
Gaining clarity
One of the largest problems for many who can’t find food-life balance is that they simply don’t know what they should be eating, when, how much or how they feel about the food they eat. It’s time-consuming to do the research on your own, and when your life is driven by your busy work schedule. For example; getting clear on your nutrition journey is time consuming and for many, unattainable.
Releasing diet rules and restrictions
Many people who come and see me are generally victims of ‘diet culture’, that is, many have tried at lease one diet fad before the realisation that, whilst this particular diet has worked for a moment in time, it simply isn’t sustainable and does not fit with their lifestyle. What also happens here is that some people forget how to eat in a way that helps them fuels them, makes them happy and promotes healthier eating behaviour.
Not enough motivation or support
Work colleagues, family, flatmates. How do they support your nutrition journey? Perhaps some of the key people in your life also don’t have time to make their health and eating habits a priority? This can also make motivation difficult. It’s also tough if your family or friends also have unhealthy habits themselves, and choose not to support you when you’re trying to make healthy changes. At some point you will have to gain confidence in your choices and decisions around food, and also need to develop a support system to hold you accountable and motivate you throughout your journey.
Under exercising or over-exercising
Movement is critical for our bodies. It helps keep us mobile, slows premature ageing, releases serotonin and reduces stress levels. Stress at home or at work for many may potentially lead to stress eating and over eating. Persistent and prolonged stress however, leads to the secretion of larger amounts of the hormone, cortisol, which in turn may increase cravings for ‘comfort foods’ such as sweets and saturated fats (think donuts, ice-cream, crisps). Eating unhealthier foods and not moving can potentially lead to harmful consequences, such as Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure.
Over-exercising can also produce excess cortisol as the body is under prolonged physical (and at times mental) stress. Over-exercising can also increase hunger and appetite. If you don’t understand what to eat post-training to reap benefits, then you are doing yourself a disservice. When I say to clients that we can work together to resolve the chase that comes with trying to ‘out-train a bad diet’, there is visible relief as we explore how 80% of looking and feeling great is linked to nutrition (not fitness).
When your busy work schedule or family life leaves you with limited sleep, little exercise, or you over-train for stress relief, to increase fitness or to reduce body fat, then you support from a nutritionist to get a solid plan in place.
Solutions (And How a Nutritionist Can Help)
A nutritionist’s job is to support you by providing you with the right strategy that is tailored for you. They know what foods belong together to give you the best effect, how to balance protein with carbohydrates to change your body composition, help you to overcome cravings and unhealthy food behaviour habits, and how to jump start your metabolism to get it running smoothly again.
Support you with personalised nutrition plans. Every person is unique meaning that no one nutrition plan works for all. Age, height, weight, and gender all affect what diet will work best for you. Nutritionists also take into account personal aspects like physical activity, special needs, family history, and present health conditions. Instead of reading generic healthy food guides in books or online, or relying on a fad diet, a nutritionist can provide you with a personalised eating and exercise plan, to help you find a healthy food-life balance.
Nutritionists can help you feel in control again. If you believe that your diet and your thoughts around food are taking up TOO much headspace, then you’re probably right. If you also feel like trying to work out how to increase your energy, gain confidence around your food choices, lose weight, increase or even just meal prep is what you want to aspire towards, then a nutritionist is the one who can help you get there.
Food freedom is a wonderful feeling! With specialised support, you too will have the ability to reach your goals, leaving more time for doing the things you actually enjoy.
For further support, reach out www.execfuel.com.au/contact for a plan that will work for you, or book a free call today.
