What You Should Eat
As a health coach, one of the most frequent questions I get is “What should I eat?” It’s not a clear cut answer because as similar as we are, there are many differences because of our habits, fitness levels, chemistry, genetics, lifestyle, access to foods and our desire to change our eating habits; just name a few variables. But, I’m committed to sharing not only some of my favorite foods, but also instructions on how you can know what YOU should eat.
Cottage cheese on toast with honey and pumpkin seeds
Food choices include so many factors, it tires me out to even think about all the influence we have every day when it comes to decisions about what, when and how much to eat. And, if you ever make the mistake of searching for recipes or “healthy dinners” or any particular style of eating, everything on the internet suddenly finds it’s way into your phone and computer. It’s a sticky world out there.
Fermented asparagus, cucumbers and olives + meat and cheese
I’m not a foodie in the sense that I must have a beautiful presentation. Or, always need to have enormous variety in what we cook and eat. I don’t really spend all that much time searching for new things to eat, although I do like a good cooking video on instagram. I don’t make lists of meals or foods on a weekly schedule, and even sometimes, I go to the store without a grocery list! Lol.
Grass fed beef + eggs + sharp cheddar cheese
However, I am a student of food because I really appreciate the desire to learn more about what fuel us, tastes good, and improves our function. But what this questions don’t answer is what about YOUR tastes, YOUR interest in experimenting, YOUR desire to improve YOUR nutritional value, how much time YOU can commit to shopping, cooking and cleaning, what access do YOU have for ingredients, etc, etc, etc.
Grass fed filet + butter, sweet potato and sautéed asparagus
Unless you truly don’t have an opinion, or have other’s in your house you’re cooking for, there are lists of the most nutritious foods to eat. Things like fresh meat and eggs, fruits and vegetables, natural fats and maybe even some raw dairy. And then if you want to veer off into more restrictive eating patterns (carnivore, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, keto, etc) there are even more decisions (or more restrictions). There’s no getting around thinking about what to eat that’s the best.
Greek salad + Sun-dried tomato chicken (recipe in K-Kitchen)
It’s much easier to talk about the foods we SHOULD NOT eat because that list is much shorter and serves all of us at once no matter our age, occupation, activity level or goals:
Fast, fried, sugar-filled processed foods
Anything that includes seed oils (canola, rape seed, safflower, sunflower, peanut, vegetable, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sesame, rice bran) — see rule #1.
Unfortunately, google will give you information that will support and refute both of these rules but here’s why I believe we should heed them.
Chicken meatballs + sweet potatoes & honey goat cheese + roasted cabbage
When you think of nutritious foods, what comes to mind? French fries? Frosted flakes? Kraft mac and cheese? Coke and Pepsi? Burger King? Fried chicken? Hot dogs? Doughnuts? Candy?
Of course we all know these kinds of foods are not nutritious. Some folks may like the taste of them, but I think you’ll struggle to find ways to support any nutritious claim from highly processed, sugar, and fatty foods. We just know it’s wrong. We feel crappy when we eat crappy.
The seed oil rule may be relatively new but here’s why it’s important: seed oils are high in Omega-6 fatty acids which can be eaten but not in abundance, not when heated over and over again and not as a means of preservation. Why? Because when we eat a lot of them, they damage our cells leading to inflammation.
Here’s what my AI bot came up with when asked why seed oils are unhealthy:
Seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation in the body when consumed in excess. A diet high in omega-6 and low in omega-3 fatty acids has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Additionally, seed oils are often heavily processed and can contain harmful chemicals.
Of course, AI isn’t always believable, but it’s also what you find if you start to follow highly respected and well accepted leaders in the fields of biochemistry, nutrition and medicine.
But I have a smaller and better litmus test for you to use when choosing foods you should eat.
Baby romaine, avocado and olives + feta + olive oil/salt/pepper
Raise your awareness of how you feel after eating to find what works.
Digestive upset of any kind (bloating, gas, indigestion, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, cramping, fatigue, brain fog, depression) are signals that your body is struggling to process what you ate. Now, it could be in addition to you eating too quickly or too much, not chewing well or drinking something carbonated, but regardless of these other reasons, this food is clearly not jiving with your body. The faster you can figure out why that is, the quicker you’ll discover what you should eat.
Energy, focus and a calm, quiet belly are the normal side effects of eating foods that agree with you, nourish you and can be absorbed. It’s also a sign that your digestive tract is working well. If you find yourself drowsy after a meal, it can be the result of a glucose spike from too many starches and carbohydrates, too much quantity or maybe you ate to closely to your last meal. However, digestion requires a tremendous amount of energy and one way our smart body works to improve efficiency is by slowing down our brain so that it can get to all that food.
Eating less often via intermittent and therapeutic fasting is the fastest way to improve the quality of your foods. Why? Because when you aren’t grazing, you let yourself find true hunger and you’re conscious of what makes your body feel good, you will be willing to shop, cook and eat the foods you should.
It’s a great mystery and a total surprise to me as to why this happens for me and all my clients in Formula3, but it’s consistently true. If you’re ready to jump into experimenting with your food habits, I’m ready to help you; message me here.
Be sure to checkout my recipe page, K-Kitchen, to find some of my favorite seasons recipes made to share with all of you!
