Are you totally overwhelmed by all the nutrition info out there? I bet you would love to find a simple way to eat healthy while getting the health and fitness results you want. It’s easier than you think to create your healthy diet! I’m going to simplify everything into 4 steps you can take today that are worth your time. Doesn’t that sound better than getting bogged down in the over-complicated world of healthy eating?
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Your Steps:
- Boost your nutrient intake
- Eat high-quality food in the right amount for you
- Notice how you feel – observe your progress
- Do this consistently before you try to make any more changes or decide that your diet doesn’t work (unless directed by your doctor or nutritionist!)
1. Boost Your Nutrient Intake
Nutrients power every single system in your body. Nutrients include the big 3: Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats; and also the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals (from plants) and zoochemicals (from animals).
“Energy levels, appetite, strength, endurance, and mood all rely on getting enough of these essential nutrients. When you don’t get them, things break down.”
– Dr. John Berardi
When your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs, you don’t feel good. Nutrient deficiencies prevent your body from working optimally which can manifest as generally feeling blah, or as other medical issues like chronic disease.
For example, a hormone imbalance could result from a simple nutrient deficiency. This makes sense when you think about it because hormones are made from nutrients. If any key nutrients are lacking, the body can’t make the hormones it needs which will affect the rest of the body. For individuals with symptoms or medical conditions, seriously consider seeing your Doctor or a Registered Dietician to find out if you have a nutrient deficiency.
The most common deficiencies:
- Water
- Vitamins and minerals (Vitamin E, D, B complex, calcium, magnesium, zinc)
- Essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s)
- Fiber
For those of us walking around not sick, but not feeling great, here’s some key info: Nutrient deficiencies are frighteningly common. There have been numerous studies analyzing people’s diets and they show consistently that most people are deficient in anywhere from 3 to 15 or more nutrients! They also suggest that it’s really hard to meet all vitamin and mineral needs from food alone, especially in low-quality diets.
The majority of the United States population consumes a diet that is lacking in every nutrient except whole grains, meat and beans!
Read More:
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
If nutrient deficiencies are this common, the simplest fix is to boost your nutrient intake!
Ways to eliminate nutrient deficiencies:
- Eat more high-quality foods (see the next section)
- See your Doctor to rule out any major deficiencies
- Take a multivitamin and other supplements (check with your Doctor first!)– I like Garden of Life
2. Eat High-Quality Food in the Right Amount
To create your healthy diet, you need loads of high-quality food that is as close to its original form as possible. It is FRESH and it’s MINIMALLY PROCESSED (meaning it hasn’t been sent through 20 machines and stuffed full of preservatives and other chemical additives). If it’s in a box and has a food label with ingredients you can’t pronounce, it’s probably not the highest quality. This article can help you decide if a packaged food is high-quality.
To promote good health, you’ll want to eat a variety of:
- Carbohydrates (whole grains, starches, and fruits)
- Vegetables (technically a carbohydrate – but if you eat no other carbs, eat your veggies!)
- Lean Proteins (lean cuts of meat, fish, eggs, beans, soy products)
- Healthy Fats (minimally processed oils and butters, nut butters, nuts and seeds, avocados)
Once you’ve selected your high quality foods, you’ll need to portion them out so you get enough to eat but you aren’t getting overstuffed. Here’s the best part – there is no counting calories or calculating how many grams of which food you’re going to eat! You’ll simply use your hand to measure approximate amounts of each food. Here’s how:
- Carbohydrates = 1-2 cupped handfuls
- Vegetables = 1-2 fist-sized portions
- Proteins = 1-2 palm-sized portions
- Fats = 1-2 thumb-sized portions
I love this method because it is personalized to your body and it’s easy. Plus, you get the opportunity to tune in to your body’s hunger and fullness cues instead of obsessing over painstakingly calculated calorie amounts (which aren’t even that accurate).
Print out this infographic from Precision Nutrition which explains this method in more detail.
3. Notice how you feel and observe your progress
Creating your healthy diet is not a 30 day diet and then you’re done. This is a fluid process of figuring out what works best for you. If you need to adjust your portion size because you’re more or less hungry – you can! Forget to pack your lunch and have to eat out? That’s ok! This is not about deprivation or guilt. It’s about making the best choices with the options available to you and learning to listen to the feedback our bodies give.
Check in with your body and don’t be afraid to modify as you go.
Keeping a food journal really helped me learn to listen to my body. For two weeks, I wrote down whatever I ate and recorded how I was feeling before and after eating. I included both how I felt physically and emotionally. This helped me notice when I was overeating, how not planning for snacks could make me super grumpy, and how fried foods make me feel awful. It also helped me be more aware of my food choices and better track my progress. I could look back and see that I was selecting healthier foods and portioning my foods better by the end of the two weeks. I might not have noticed the progress I was making otherwise!
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“By learning how to listen to our own bodies, we have better long-term success in healthy eating.”
– Dr. John Berardi
4. Consistency is Key
You don’t need to overload yourself with nutrition information, tricks, cleanses or fad diets to create your healthy diet. You can set yourself up for long-term health simply by focusing on regularly eating the right portions of high-quality foods and supplementing as needed. It may take your body anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to feel and function better and it may take you just as much time to turn these foundations into habit. Stick with it consistently and I bet you’ll be amazed at how good you’ll feel! Once you’ve got these foundations in place, you can start fine-tuning based on your health and fitness goals.
For many people, simply improving the quality of the food they’re eating and being more aware of their portion sizes is all they need to create a healthy diet that gets them results!
Create your healthy diet and make healthy eating easy on yourself! Print out the infographic and get your food journal ready. Then start taking a multivitamin (check with your doctor first!) and eat high-quality food in the right portions. Done!
You can absolutely do this!
And I’d love to hear how it’s going for you – comment below or shoot me an email!
Want delicious Meal Plan ideas? I’ll send you my Meal Plan every week!
This article is intended to provide information to foster healthy eating habits in otherwise healthy populations and is not intended to diagnose any medical conditions, nor prescribe diets or supplements to treat medical or clinical conditions or their symptoms. This article is not meant to be a substitute for sound medical evaluation and advice. If you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency, food sensitivity or allergy, or are experiencing any issues with your health or diet, meet with your Physician, or a Licensed/Certified Nutritionist, or Registered Dietician for a personalized analysis. Any use of this information is at the reader’s own risk. View my full Disclaimer here.