New week, new month!
Thank you so much for all the amazingly sweet comments on my last post! My sister appreciated all the well wishes and is still riding the high from her marvelous wedding!
Today on the blog we’re talking nutrition. Let’s get into it….
Everyday we’re hit with nutrition tips from everyone from Dr. Oz to consultants on the Today Show to bogus internet articles that are written by the latest health guru. But not all of these tips, tricks, and suggestions are legitimate. Not only that, but they aren’t necessarily right for every person.
Over the years I’ve found myself having to sift through a lot of this info to figure out what works for me and what’s best for my body. Nutrition, and healthy living in general, is not one size fits all. Not all guidelines and recommendations fit everyone’s lifestyle and in fact, some tips aren’t even really substantive to begin with.
I’ve learned to embrace the mentality that you have to take a lot of what’s put out there with a grain of salt. It may apply to some people but it certainly doesn’t apply or work for everyone.
Here’s a few examples of some nutrition tips I’ve come to embrace and some that I choose to ignore.
[I am in a no way a medical professional, nutritionist, or dietician….this post is just speaking from personal experience about what works for me! I encourage all of you to look at the nutrition ideologies you choose to follow and evaluate whether they actually fit your lifestyle or if you’re just following them because they’ve been promoted by the media!]
Embrace: Eat in season foods.
Not only do they taste great, but they are often cheaper, help your local economy, and are bursting with nutrients because they’re at their peak of freshness!
Ignore: Eat all organic.
This may be a bit controversial, but I am not one of those people who eats organic whenever possible. I just can’t justify the costs of certain organic foods. When there is an organic food that does have a comparable price point I have no problem buying it. But for the most part I stick with local, conventional fruits and veggies. Eating organic can be great though for those that can afford it. Less pesticides and chemicals going into your system!
Embrace: Avoid artificial sweeteners.
I have never been a fan of artificial sweeteners and I pretty much equate them with being another form of chemicals in our food. I’d rather have real sugar any day. Real foods > stuff that’s made in a lab! Plus, they give me major bloating and stomach pains when I do happen to eat them.
Ignore: All sugar should be eliminated.
This would be a bit better if it clarified ‘added sugar’. But even then it doesn’t have to be fully eliminated! Yes, you shouldn’t be eating a ton of added sugar everyday, but a treat now and again is totally in line with a balanced healthy lifestyle. And don’t get me started on fruit! It bothers me to no end when healthy people start limiting their fruit intake because of OMGsugar. Fruit is perfectly healthy and should not be cut from your diet unless there is a legitimate medical reason.
Embrace: Eat every few hours.
My metabolism HUMS! So not only do I like this suggestion, but I HAVE to follow it. I get hungry like clockwork around the same times everyday every few hours. Not only does this keep my metabolism nice and speedy, but it keeps my blood sugar stable all day long. And who doesn’t love eating?! The more times a day, the better! 🙂
Ignore: Choose raw food over cooked food.
Raw food is an integral, nutrient dense part of a healthy diet. But being raw doesn’t automatically mean a food is healthier. In fact, some nutrients in foods can’t even be fully absorbed unless they are cooked. Take tomatoes, kale, and carrots for example! Raw food AND cooked food should be incorporated for a healthy, balanced diet.
Embrace: Shop the perimeter of the supermarket!
This is where all the fresh foods are! Veggies, lean meats, fruits, and dairy! The food products that are in their most natural state can be found here. In the middle aisles is where you’ll find the packaged, less healthy foods typically.
Ignore: Opt for low-fat foods.
I never go for the lower fat variety of a food product. Often times these foods have been loaded with extra sodium and sugar to make up for their lack of fat. Removing the fat means more processing and moving farther away from the foods natural state. Plus, WE NEED DIETARY FAT! Especially healthy fats that are naturally occurring. Nothing makes me cringe more than when I see someone reaching for ‘reduced fat’ peanut butter instead of the real deal!
Embrace: Eat breakfast everyday!
This is a must. Not only does it jumpstart my metabolism but it energizes me and prepares me for a full day ahead. And I happen to be a big lover of breakfast foods so I would never want to miss this important meal.
Ignore: No carbs after 7! (or even the more extreme, no eating after 7!)
If you know me, you know I’m a snacker. And I like BIG night snacks. Going to bed hungry is not something I like to do. And if you are looking to control your weight, the time you eat doesn’t matter. It’s about your total calorie intake and deficit. So eating or not eating past a certain time doesn’t matter….it’s what and how much you eat that does.
Embrace: Start the day with a big glass of water.
Not only am I thirsty when I wake up in the morning, but also drinking a glass of water right when you get up is great way to start your hydration for the day. It purifies your internal system, enables better absorption of nutrients from your food, and helps renew your cells!
Ignore: Drink a glass of water to trick your hunger.
If I’m hungry, I eat. Plain and simple. I don’t believe in trying to trick your body with these types of silly tactics. Your body has hunger cues for a reason and is pretty darn smart with knowing what it needs! So when it’s hungry, give it some love in the form of nourishment! Don’t stifle those signals your body gives…ignoring them can only lead you down a path of bad habits.
Embrace: Order dressing on the side.
Pretty simple but it’s a great way to keep a salad healthy when out to eat. Usually when salads are made in restaurants they come out swimming in dressing. For me, that’s just not enjoyable. I want to be able to taste all the ingredients in the salad, not just the dressing. So go ahead and order on the side. It gives you a little flexibility and control with your meal!
Ignore: Limit your fruit intake because of sugar content.
This one really gets me riled up! I am totally here in defense of fruit! Not only do I love it, but it’s also FULL of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are great for you. For some reason though, fruit has started to become taboo in the diet world and more people are swearing it off because of its sugar content. I can understand if you have an illness like diabetes and have to watch your sugar intake, but if you’re a normal healthy individual, worrying about a little natural sugar from fruit is just silly…not to mention stressful! Can you imagine getting worked up about a banana!?
Embrace: Eat foods in their most natural state.
This means eating foods that are whole, real, and from the earth! Things that have been minimally processed or altered from their original state. Think fruits, veggies, lean meats, raw nuts, and seeds, etc!
Ignore: Avoid all processed foods.
The word ‘processed’ can be confusing. Yes it’s good to limit foods that have a lot of ingredients, additives, and little nutrition (AKA ‘junk food’), but did you know that things like frozen fruits and veggies are considered ‘processed’? Even though they are perfectly healthy (sometimes even healthier than fresh!), they are considered processed foods! So it’s better to just be choosy about the packaged and processed foods you eat! Check for foods that have few and recognizable ingredients and good nutritional stats. Avoid the ones that have excessive added sugars, fats and sodium while contributing few healthful nutrients.
Obviously there is a lot more to nutrition and a lot more tips and tricks out there to live healthfully! But these are just a few tenants I choose to incorporate into my life!
What nutrition tips do you embrace? Ones that you ignore?
What’s your diet ‘philosophy’? Mine is definitely to eat REAL, WHOLE foods from every food group in moderation. 🙂
Kaila
Subscribe on the side. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Pinterest. Like me on Facebook.Follow me on Instagram.
Todays’s Healthy Help: Picked up some groceries for my neighbor!
Never too early to start Lending a {Healthy} Hand for this week’s round-up! Tell me what you’ve done to help someone else lately!
31 responses to “Nutrition Tips to Embrace and Ignore”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Great article, Kaila! As a nutrition student myself, I definitely can relate to much of what you said. I just have come to embrace the idea that “everyone has a right to their opinion” and while I do enjoy helping people by giving them sound nutrition advice as often as I can, I hate to really get onto people who I KNOW are making silly decision in regards to nutrition because they’re being too strict with themselves or following along with social media and trends. But it’s really hard not to just shout at them sometimes! Haha. The one that always gets me started (besides the sugar in the fruits tip–definitely agree with you on that one!) is the gluten free diet. For people who ARE NOT gluten sensitive or have celiac. They do it for weight loss….yeah, it makes no sense and doesn’t work.
Great post! I love your blog, it’s so colorful, fresh, and full of great info!
I couldn’t agree more! Nutrition is about making it work for you. What works for one might not work for another. Making the right healthy choices for you and your family is an individual basis 🙂
I nominated your blog for a Liebster Award! You can find it here: http://fitnesslulu.com/uncategorized/i-was-nominated-for-a-liebster-award/
Thanks Laura!! 🙂
Absolutely 🙂
The only things I embrace is eat when I’m hungry and EAT REAL FOOD!
Amen sista!!
Im intuitve.
mindful.
IN TUUUUNED to my gut.
Love that Carla! 🙂
Such a great post Kaila! One I am crazy about is the importance of breakfast- my favorite! It IS the most important meal of the day 🙂
Great tips! It’s so hard to wade through some of the filth you find online wrt health. Not all of it is bad of course, but like you said, not everything works for everyone.
That kind of ties into my food philosophy: I listen to my body and try to eat accordingly and not follow any and every suggestion unless I’m sure it’s gonna work for me and my body.
Thanks for sharing 😀
I agree with all of your statements! I love buying frozen fruits and veggies (as long as there isn’t any added sauce or something), it is much cheaper and just as nutritious! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day…starting off a new day with a fresh start and delicious food! It’s so important to find what works for you!
totally fist pumping to your food philosphy here! 😀
I agree with SO many of these! One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cut out carbs after some ridiculous time like 2 pm. Our bodies get energy from carbs, and especially if you’ll be active during the afternoon and evening, you still need some carbs to get through those hours. And what’s wrong with enjoying fruit, sweet potatoes, etc. in the evening? Absolutely nothing!
Speaking of timing, I used to be one of those people who feared eating anything after a certain time, but now I embrace it. Mostly because I work weird hours now, so I have to rearrange my meal times and even though it’s weird to be eating dinner at 3, it’s what works for me and my schedule!
Kaila – I know you probably won’t let this comment through, but after seeing pictures of you, it’s really hard to believe that you really live by all of these.
Right now, you cannot trust your hunger/fullness cues. You need to REST. I know you’ve cut back on your exercise, but running 10 miles right now is just putting your health in danger. No, I don’t know you, but I can guarantee you, whether or not you are restricting on purpose or out of anxiety or if you have an underlying medical condition, your physical state is NOT “healthy.”
I’m only even writing this because I really want you to know that I love the concept behind your blog – spreading the joy of helping others and encouraging everyone to be healthy. I am just extremely worried by either your denial of your eating issues or the fact that you are presenting them as “normal.” PLEASE consider the impact of your blog and instagram when you post things – especially regarding health, exercise, and nutrition.
I will be addressing this on the blog in the morning. Thanks for being so kind and respectful with your comment.
Totally agree about ignoring the whole don’t eat after 7 thing, as well as the no sugar thing. Well, I actually agree with all of these! 🙂 I snack all day throughout the day because otherwise I’m get so hungry. I tried intermittent fasting once and that just didn’t work out for me 😉
We share a lot of the same “embrace”!
great way to EMBRACE good nutrition!! carbs after 7 are always in my life. 😉
I agree completely. As an athlete and nutrition coach, I fully endorse each of these! Thanks for posting. 🙂
I’m glad someone else ignores the all organic trend. I wish I could, or grow all my own veggies, that’d be even better. At least I’m eating fruits and veggies. And I embrace frozen veggies too.
I definitely agree with ignoring the eat only raw foods thing… My stomach cannot handle a lot of RAW FOOD so… Yeah, I need to COOK IT! And eat all organic?! PAHHH-LEEEZE! lol!
GREAT article. I completely agree. Growing up in the 80’s my mom was all about Jane Fonda, jazzercise and low-fat everything, no eating after dinner, drink water if you’re hungry…. these habits have been hard for me to break and hard to retrain my mom on.
Great tips- I just got back from a wellness retreat where a lot of the educational focus was nutrition–shopping the perimeter and throughout the day for metabolism were huge aspects.
Thank you!
[…] Nutrition Tips to Embrace and Ignore via Healthy Helper Blog […]
[…] Nutrition Tips to Embrace and Ignore by Kaila – I love Kaila’s take on nutrition tips that she embraces and ignores. There are so many food “rules” out there. What is best for YOU is to educate yourself, experiment, and find out what works best for YOUR body. If you are following someone else’s rules, ask yourself why. […]
It’s so interesting to read your take – especially on fruit sugar and no eating carbs after 7. I thought that was taboo? I never even eat pineapple anymore bc of the sugar content. Something to re-think.
[…] Nutrition Tips to Embrace and Ignore via Healthy Helper Blog […]
I absolutely love this post! I agree with everything you either chose to embrace or ignore. I hate fat free foods (aka added sugar and gums), and artificial sweeteners. I also ignore not eating before bed, I LOVE TO, and can’t go to bed at all hungry. Doesn’t look like it’s caused me a problem 🙂 And I hate when people limit fruit because of sugar, ITS FRUIT, I’ll eat as much as I want.
I definitely want to eat more in season foods though, I don’t ever take the time to realize what is in season! My food philosophy is eat mostly clean, whole foods. And if I want a treat or I’m really craving something..I eat it! Without shame. Everything in moderation.
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
[…] Nutrition Tips to Embrace and Ignore Not all nutrition tips are created equal…these are the ones I choose to follow and the ones I choose to ignore! […]
[…] a specific diet based on what you see around you. It’s more like an arbitrary set of ‘food rules‘ that you’ve collected from here and there and now use to guide your every food related […]