A Beginners Guide: Eating Well

With “healthy eating” changing as quickly as fashion trends these days, how are we supposed to eat well? And more importantly what does eating well really mean? Low Carb, Keto, Gluten-Free, Low FODMAP, Vegan, Low Histamine,  Mediterranean, No nightshades, Raw, South Beach, Weight Watchers, ugh. Honestly, there is so much to wade through it can feel overwhelming.

Here is what (I think) we can all agree on:

Vegetables

• • Eat your vegetables! They are filled with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, they take up volume in your belly to keep you feeling full. For clients who are looking to improve nutrition, I ask clients to come up with ways to add one more serving of vegetables into their day. In a perfect world, 50-75% of our plates for each meal would be vegetables.

Water

• • I’ve heard from people that they don’t like the taste of water, which may be true. Over the course of many houses, I know the tap water varies from place to place. We invested in a water filter about eight years ago and we haven’t looked back. Removing chlorine and other impurities will make a huge difference in the taste of your water. Most experts recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces per day. For example, a 200-pound person should aim to drink 100 ounces of water, but in all honesty, if you can drink more water then you are right now, that’s a win! If you are still struggling feel free to flavor your water up naturally with lemon, lime, mint. I have also found that bringing a water bottle (like this or this over the top yet beautiful one) with me helps get in some extra H2O.

How does  X food make you feel?

• • When trying to decide how something makes you feel, you need to not have it. So if you are wondering how gluten or dairy makes you feel, get off that food for a week or two then have some. If you feel sluggish or gross then you may have your answer. For me, I’ve been noticing that sugar has not been sitting well with me. While you can test food testing done (even from the comfort of home) elimination of foods is a very cost-effective way (FREE) to do some self-evaluation. And you don’t know unless you try.

So in conclusion, the basics of eating better include eating vegetables, drinking water, and being mindful of how certain foods make you feel. Keep it simple. If you are struggling with how to make real sustainable changes to your health and wellbeing, drop on over to see if Integrative Health Coaching is right for you.

BONUS: Additional before reduction

• • Bonus Thought: How does adding in more sound? Many people think eating healthy is all about reducing or eliminating x food to be healthy but what would it feel like to add in food first. For example, what does it feel like to add in one additional serving of vegetables to a smoothie? Spinach is flavorless in a smoothie but you still get the benefits. So think about ways you can add in more nutrient-dense food before thinking about ways to remove other foods.