I’ve never been an advocate for people that define themselves by the foods they choose to eat or not eat. There’s no place for being judged in any capacity, but I think when it comes to food, there are such emotional ties connected, that it becomes almost sacred and taboo to ask questions and talk about it. Your bodies composition changes as you age, your hormones fluctuate, you go through illnesses, pregnancies, and your tastes evolve.
I’ve never had a reason to restrict my diet(until now-more on that in a bit). In fact I believe strongly in a nonrestrictive yet intentional way of eating. This is how I’ve always coached my clients. My experience over the years working with my nutrition clients, has shown me a common theme when they want to be healthier and more fit, and that is restriction. No matter how many times they’ve tried the Paleo, Atkins, juice cleanse, smoothie cleanses, strictly vegan, intermittent fasting, etc., it all comes back to not being able to sustain that pattern of eating AND feel like they can live a life of fulfillment. There are healthy aspects of all the listed diets above, but there are also some pretty big holes. That could be an entire blog post on it’s own! Eating a nonrestrictive yet intentional diet simply put, is making conscious decisions about the foods you eat 90% of the time, and allow for indulgences and spontaneity to flow through your life that other 10% without guilt, self-loathing, shame, defeat. Do any of those feelings sound familiar?
Choosing high quality, and I mean the best quality(do your research or ask me!) of the foods available to you when you’re in that intentional phase. COOK your own food! Experiment, get the kids or your sweetheart involved, make trying new foods fun, and vibrant, not a chore. Take a cooking class(like, mine (: ). Instead of going out, invite friends over for a casual dinner party, or a fancy one! BE INTENTIONAL, and you will be in control. That is your power when it comes to your health. So when that spontaneous phone call to go to dinner with your girlfriends happens, and you know it does, you can enjoy it entirely, and not worry about whether or not you’ve just ruined your week of killer workouts. You didn’t. Let me repeat, you DIDN’T. Do you know why? Because the next morning you’re back to being intentional, and will fuel up and slay the day. It sounds simple, because it’s not that complicated. It’s mostly about reframing how you see food in your life, and your PLAN. Making sure you’re getting proper macro nutrients to have the fuel to energize your day and workouts, and to also fuel your recovery periods. There’s a reason the saying exists “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”. Implementing, and adapting new ways of eating, planning, cooking, and your perspective, takes time and help from someone like me that can guide you through these changes, be a sounding board & confidant, create a plan that is specific to your needs, your goals, and your life circumstances. To have sustainability, you must have authenticity. Yes there are going to be days where you struggle in the beginning, and want to slap someone that utters the word KALE, but at the core you’re going to find that eating this way allows you to have the best of both worlds. Over time, food will become less of the enemy, and you’ll be able to see and feel real results in your weight, strength, energy, and your overall happiness.
To get personal, I have recently needed to drastically change the way I eat, which if anyone knows me is already very clean. I have eczema all over my body. It has been manageable for the past 7 years, but in the last 2 years has reached a point where it keeps me up at night, and is a daily struggle. I can no longer soothe it with a salve, and I’m tired of suppressing my immune system with topical steroids. I’ve been seeing a highly respected Holistic M.D. in Newburyport. Let me just say quickly, I thank the stars for holistic practitioners out there that want to HEAL their patients (insert hands up in the air emoji). To get to the bottom of what is causing this in my body involved kinesiology testing, which showed a strong sensitivity to wheat, other grains including quinoa(tear), brown rice and oats, dairy, corn, soy(even fermented-another tear). This news made me feel pretty out of control, to say the least. BUT I refuse to let it get me down, because let’s face it, there are far worse things. I can still eat, and that’s something I’m thankful for. This just means I’m going to have to be highly vigilant and intentional about everything I eat that I don’t make myself. In about 4-6 weeks I’ll revisit to see if it’s improved, stayed the same, or gotten worse. From there I can slowly introduce one of these back into my diet at a time and see if there is a flare up. He said his gut is telling him that I may have to keep dairy, and gluten out of my diet indefinitely. Stay tuned. R.I.P cheesy heaven. I’ve already decided that this is a test, and will drive me to be even more creative in my kitchen, creating more plant based foods with the occasional chicken, fish, and eggs. I am not from the school of thought that things ‘happen to me’. We all know people like that. Don’t be like that. You have every bit of control about how you deal with your circumstances that are meant for you to handle and become that much more empowered, educated, grounded, humble, and empathetic.
Everyone has their own unique path to health and greatness. Seeking help from professionals to guide you in what that means for you is the best thing you can honor yourself with. Think about how much empowerment you could gain, with just one conversation. Info inquiries on our website www.empoweredbody.net Also, you can follow me on Facebook- Empowered Body, Instagram empowered.body & kale_chick
xoxo
Jenni B.
