Nitty Gritty of Nutrition Vol. 2 - Add Before You Take Away
Every time I hear “don’t do this” or “don’t do that” I am immediately transported back to my childhood.
Don’t sit too close to the TV, don’t stay up all night playing video games, don’t jump off the kitchen counter trying to dunk on a door-mounted Nerf hoop after watching Space Jam thinking you were Michael Jordan playing on the Toon Squad.
In my parents' defense, I was a bit of a menace and I unequivocally deserved all the no’s, dont’s and stop it’s.
But, as my broken bones have healed and scars took the place from the stitches from all of the times I did not heed my parent’s advice, I have come to the realization that telling someone not to do something is a rather ineffective strategy.
Akin to “don’t look down” when traversing up a ladder, all of the restrictive language pertaining to nutritional advice usually falls of deaf ears. Don’t eat carbs, don’t eat fried food, don’t drink soda, etc.
While that advice isn’t inherently wrong, we are all adults. And I don’t know about you, but my full-grown adult self does not like to be told what not to do. The best advice delivered in the wrong way or at the wrong time renders it almost completely useless.
I spent the first few years of my career trying to show everyone how smart I was by dolling out absolutely ideal meal plans and perfect nutrition recommendations while completely disregarding everything else that is going on in my client’s lives.
Luckily enough it only took a few 50 something year olds who had a job, kids, and countless other burdens to tell my ignorant 25 year old self that my sage advice was completely missing the mark. Since then, my initial nutrition recommendations have been K.I.S.S.ed into much more practical and applicable tactics.
If you know your nutrition is not where you would like it to be, I want you to ADD BEFORE YOU TAKE AWAY. Specifically, I want you to add more of these things:
Eat More Protein
Eat More Veggies
Drink More Water
Do NOT focus on cutting carbs, restricting entire food groups, or limiting the things that you enjoy to eat initially. There are 3 big things that happen when you focus on eating more protein and veggies and drinking more water:
You develop a much better and more sustainable relationship with food. Instead of all of the negative “don’t eat this” and “avoid these foods at all costs” lists that make going to the grocery store or restaurants an absolute pain in the ass, you are put in a much better head space. This allows the changes you are making to be more consistent and more sustainable.
You legitimately start to feel better. There’s no secret here - protein is good for you, veggies are good for you, and wait for it … water? Also good for you. Simply put, consuming more of these things will have a whole lot of benefit for you.
You end up consuming less of the “other” stuff. Eating protein makes you feel more satiated, veggies have a lot more volume and make you feel more full, and drinking water quenches the thirst and makes you not crave all the sugary liquid stuff. Eating less of the stuff you shouldn’t while only focusing on eating more of other things - pretty sweet.
In the next installments, I will get a bit more tactical on the “how’s” of making all of this happen. But, for now, just stuff your face full of all the protein and veggies and keep that Stanley (or whatever drinking vessel all the cool kids say is socially acceptable to be seen out in public with) full of that H2O.
Ps - For those of you that know me and are screaming hypocrite … I’m aware that I did not eat a vegetable until I got married and most of the water I consume is filtered through coffee beans and has a splash of cream. This is one of those “do as I say, not as I do” type situations. I’m working on it … I like tomatoes now, so that’s progress.
