Healthy Eating Basics

Hola, mi amigos!

It's a lovely, sunny day, and I got a nice dose of sunshine on my lunch break! That always helps my mood!

Over the Mother's Day weekend, I got into a discussion with my dad about the confusing, conflicting, and chaotic world of nutrition. With one study contradicting another, a new recommendation switching an old one, and every "Expert" under the sun coming out with their own version of the "perfect" diet - you know, that one that will FINALLY work for you, and will solve all of your problems? ... it gets to be a very frustrating nutritional road to navigate!

I just wanted to throw out a few quick suggestions, though I would never claim to be the end-all-be-all-expert. They are my thoughts, and what I've seen to be true over my 10 years studying nutrition.

The biggest tip on picking a the correct eating/activity lifestyle:

DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!

What feels good, what fits your schedule, what are you going to stick to? If you don't like your food choices, you're not gaining energy, or you're stressing more about what to eat for dinner than anything else, it's not healthy! The best intentioned "perfect" diet will be no good if you're harming yourself with stress and anxiety!

Ok ok, that's vague - how do you pick WHAT will work for you?

To quote dietitian Marion Nestle: “The basic principles of good diets are so simple that I can summarize them in just ten words: eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. For additional clarification, a five-word modifier helps: Go easy on the junk food.”

And author Michael Pollan shrinks it down even further to his 7 word mantra: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” then clarifies real “food” as items closer to what they look like in nature, as opposed to things that have been processed, which he calls "Edible Food-Like Stuff" (or something similar.)

So if you get nothing else from this blog, let those two quotes give you some guiding light for how to take steps towards living a healthy lifestyle!

Good luck, and I'll see you back here soon! :)

~Katie