Is it just me, or has nutrition gotten overly complex these days? Every time I pop on my phone, I’m hit with something else I should be counting: macros, protein intake, calories… Ok, that last one has been around since the 1900’s 😜, but it’s still out there. From one busy mom to another, I can tell you I do not need any more things to count. From kids’ sports schedules to trying to remember my own age on any given day (when did I become my own mother?!), I’ve got numbers swirling around my head 24/7.
Let me drop a little truth bomb—nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be consistent.
Earlier this year, I started applying the nutritional principles of Body Well, FIT4MOM’s 8-week transformation session, to my eating habits. Despite having exercised regularly since about age 12, I was always of the opinion that my workouts counterbalanced my food choices. That’s not to say I was eating fast food multiple times a week—I still ate well. I’ve always been mindful of how much better I felt when fueling my body with good foods. However, portion control and exaggerating my vegetable intake were areas of opportunity for me. I was also tired of feeling like I was working out consistently but not seeing the physical results I felt should go along with the effort I was putting in. So, I quietly started on a personal mission to get more disciplined about my nutrition.
Since January, I’ve been lasered in on serving sizes and making sure what I’m eating is supporting my goals. What’s that look like? For starters, my husband does the majority of the cooking in our house, so I’ve made sure that our dinner recipes don’t produce plates filled with beige. You know what I’m talking about—white rice, mashed potatoes, pasta. If it were up to my husband, my kids wouldn’t ever see anything green. Although I was pretty good about including vegetables in our dinners before, I took chance out of the equation and made sure every dinner included at least one veg.
I’m also a big proponent of smoothies for breakfast. To be clear, I’m not talking about sugar bomb smoothies; I’m talking something nutrient dense that’s going to hold me over for a few hours. Smoothies also give me the opportunity to sneak in a vegetable first thing in the morning. Added bonus: my kids will sometimes have them with me, and they have no idea I’ve added spinach, cauliflower, or whatever else into the blend.
The second key component for me has been serving sizes. Not to bring my husband back into it, but since he’s the chef, he’s also the one plating the dishes. And let me say, he does not know what a serving size looks like. Jeremiah is the king of loading your plate and saying you don’t need to eat it all. That’s fine and dandy, but if you grew up in a household where you had to finish everything on your plate 🙋🏻♀️, it’s not a great combination. While I can’t control his tendency to overload, I can control what actually ends up in front of me by asking him to cut that in half or scooping a portion of whatever he made back into the pan before sitting down at the table. It may just be me, but not having unnecessary food in front of me makes it a hell of a lot easier to stay on track.
Here’s what else I’ve taken away over the past 12 months as it relates to nutrition:
One bad meal or day doesn’t need to derail you. I’m not in the business of cutting out food groups or not enjoying treats here and there. All I’m saying is once you do, acknowledge it and move on. The sooner you get back on track, the easier it is.
Eating with purpose—both in food selections and portions—has gotten much easier as time has gone on. It’s like I’ve trained my brain and my stomach to model the behaviors that best support my goals.
Nutrition, and wellness in general, is a long game. The skills and practices I’m putting into place now will continue to serve me and my family for years to come.
So how do things look these days? Since January, I’m down 15 pounds. But didn’t I start this blog with a rant about numbers? I sure did, so let me put it another way. For those who don’t prescribe to weight loss as a marker of success (because it certainly is NOT the only one and the impact of body composition and its effect on weight is WAY too complex to get into here), I’ll tell you that I can tell the difference in my muscle tone, how my weight is distributed, and in how my clothes fit. I also just feel better and like I’m not dragging every day, and I 100% attribute that to my food choices.
Next steps? I’m continuing my journey and participating in our January Body Well session. Starting the week of January 11, Body Well is perfect for moms who are ready to make a change and a commitment to bettering themselves, whether in the form of physical activity, nutrition, and/or self care. It all kicks off with a free preview class at Philadelphia Runner. Interested? Join us for class to learn more, and then enjoy some retail therapy after!
Psst! Body Well is $75 off until January 4. Use code BODYWELL75 at checkout!