Many times when I talk to personal training clients about nutrition, I notice an adversarial tone to their language around food. They consider food a frenemy at best.
Food is the villain that brought on all the unwanted pounds. Food is an inescapable saboteur in the battle to lose weight.
I try to counter that line of thinking by presenting food as fuel. Just as a car is at its most basic a means of transportation, food is a source of energy for the body.
Whether a vehicle was made in Detroit or Bavaria, its main purpose is to get us from point A to point B. Once that primary duty is locked down, we can add the pretty, shiny things to make it fancy.
Somehow, we often get the function part backwards with food. We base our food choices on the options – like frosting and melted cheese. Only after the food is consumed do we consider whether it was actually a good source of fuel.
When I don’t have appropriate fuel, I don’t function well. As an active woman closing in on my fortieth birthday, I have to eat well to keep going strong.
Gone are the days of sustaining myself over an entire weekend on a single chicken soft taco. Now I get grumpy if I miss breakfast.
Sometimes my busy life can make putting an array of rainbow-colored vegetables on a plate an unrealistic ideal. That’s when it is crucial to have healthy snacks or quick fix options.
Take-out can seem like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, it just worsens a suboptimal wellness situation to eat packaged salt, fat and sugar when I am already exhausted.
I have to consider how my body feels after I eat certain foods.
The deliciousness is not what I am assessing. Remember – Fat tastes good…that’s why it’s in everything.
I have to pay attention to how my body responds once I get past the endorphin rush of that first bite of culinary bliss. If my tummy starts rumbling it’s likely because my gut knows better than my brain how bad this stuff is for me.
On the flip side, I take special note of the foods that make me feel good when I eat them. I also notice which foods work best for what activities.
When I am doing resistance training my body requires more protein than when I am doing cardio. There are also certain foods that sustain my brain better than others during a long work day.
It’s vital for me to choose foods that energize me and actually taste good. There are too many options out there for me to choke down food that tastes disgusting just because it’s supposed to be healthy.
Of course it helps that I really like black beans, brown rice, quinoa and green leafy vegetable smoothies. My challenge is I am a much bigger fan of eating than cooking.
I’ve been known to eat a bowl of cereal for dinner because cutting the vegetables for a salad seemed too taxing. It was super high-fiber cereal with almond milk, but still.
I share that to encourage those who don’t love spending time in the kitchen. The trick for me is to prepare as much of my fueling food as possible in bulk ahead of time.
It’s much easier to make the healthy choice when all I have to do is pop it in the microwave or scoop it out of a plastic container.
On a real note, let’s acknowledge everyone eats just for fun sometimes. That is the basis for most amusement park and fair food. The key is not to make that routine, or even often.
Being healthy requires some thoughtful consideration of what we eat. To lay the proper foundation for optimal wellness we need to fuel our bodies and not just fill our stomachs.
How well are you fueling your body? What modifications can you make to improve it?
If you would like help developing strategies to maintain your own wellness, please click here to request an Essence of Strength sample coaching conversation.
Dr Jattu Senesie is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, certified success coach, physician satisfaction specialist and speaker. She blogs about issues of self care and well-being in an effort to help her fellow altruistic high achievers find satisfaction in their success as early in their careers as possible.
