The Anatomy Of Great Nutrition

Why is nutrtition so hard?

In today’s world, it is always about, “What is the latest and greatest?” This is why so many people are frustrated, year after year. Nutrition has gotten so far off from the basics. It’s become something that keeps you yo-yo-ing and I’m here to tell you, that it doesn’t have to be that way. Here is how you can do it.

Back To Basics

Take a look at a professional football player for a moment. Let’s use the example of a receiver. That receiver, that does an amazing job, doesn’t do anything “fancy” to be amazing. He runs a route and it does it to perfection. That is something that was learned waaaay back in the beginning. Because he has made the basics look so good, he is able to do a better job. Slow down eating. Stop eating when you are 80% full. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Sleep 8-10 hours per night.

Cutting Out Food Groups

Only cut out entire food groups if you are allergic to them, not because “it’s bad for you” So many people talk about, “Oh this is bad for you, and that is bad for you.” Listen, anything not in moderation is bad for you. Nutrition is no different than anything else, in that regard. I don’t care what it is. Carbs are not the enemy. Fats are not the enemy. Protein is not the enemy. Heck, sugar is not even the enemy. It’s all about how much of it are you intaking. If you have an allergy to something, then yes, cut it out. Otherwise, moderate your intake.

Balanced Plate

Now that you have figured out what foods you can’t eat, the next step is to make sure that you have the proper amount of everything. I’ve written several nutrition articles about, “Creating the perfect meal” and “Mastering the meal prep”, so check those out for greater detail. A quick breakdown is a 1-2 palm size of the protein. 1-2 cupped hands size of carbs. 1-2 closed fist size of veggies. A 1-2 thumb size of fats. Females will be closer to the 1 on everything while males will be at the 2. Everyone’s hand size is different, so that makes for perfect measuring for yourself. Generally, you are wanting to get 4-5 meals per day. The more active you are, the more that will go up. A meal can be broken up into 2 snacks if preferred.

Social and family life

Looking at your normal everyday life is critical to finding how to strike the balance that you need to maintain your nutrition and health. If you know that every Friday night is pizza night with the family then you need to make that adjustment in what you are eating early in the day to accommodate that. The problem lies, when you have a family night one night and then drinks/dinner with friends another night, all in the same week. I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m saying that it is a lot more difficult to now limit yourself 2 times a week.

Feeling Satisfied

At the end of the day, nutrition has to be something that you stick with. If you can’t follow it for the rest of your life then it’s not doing you a lot of good. Cutting out this thing, that thing, and lots of other things in between is a big part of how that happens. You can only dangle a carrot in front of a starving horse for so long before it doesn’t motivate anymore.

You can only dangle a carrot in front of a starving horse for so long, before it doesn’t motivate anymore.

Cody Rhinehart

You have to still feel satisfied or otherwise when you finally “give in” it will be a binge. Who knows how long after that binge before you try to get back on the horse again.

Know your triggers

Knowing what sets you off is another big part of your nutritional plan. If you don’t know what is going to push you over the edge, then how are you going to know when to “put your guard up”. Each time you fall into an old habit, look at the:

• Time of day
• Location
• People around you
• Emotional state of yourself
• Food,water,and sleep intake

Make notations of each time something happens and look for the similarities. There is your starting point. After you know that, start with you low hanging fruit, or the easiest thing you can do right now to help make it better. After 2-3 weeks on that one thing, move up the chain to attack the next thing. Bada-bing bada-boom.

Take home points

• Don’t get wrapped up in everything at once.
• Don’t go after the new shining thing.
• Be honest with feeling satisfied but still making progress.
• Understand what sets you off, so you can head it off before it derails you.

I know this will help you, if you apply it. Let us know how it helped you improve you nutritional habits.