Is improving what you eat the main priority for you right now?
If you prefer to focus mainly on learning more about how to nourish your body in a healthy way, we can certainly do that. While there seems to be an unlimited number of claims for the one food you should (or shouldn’t) eat, the best diet for this person or that condition, or the right (or wrong) time to eat your food, the best nutritional science available demonstrates that proper nutrition is not really very complicated and hasn’t actually changed that much over time. Honestly, sometimes we try to make the simplest things hard. That really isn’t necessary.
In the most basic sense, diet is the food and drink you regularly consume. If your diet provides you with the right amount of energy and nutrients you need in order to grow, to participate in daily activities, to maintain a healthy weight, or to lower your risk for certain diseases, then it is providing you with the nutrition you need. If it doesn’t, it might be time to consider taking better care of yourself by being intentional in what you put into your body.
For the majority of people, the basics of good nutrition are essentially the same. While infants, children and adolescents, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the elderly do have different and/or additional needs, most of the rest of us need approximately the same things to provide the nutrition that enables us to thrive as well as to prevent many of the lifestyle diseases present today. The old saying ‘you are what you eat’ has a lot of validity. To be sure, there are some medical conditions that require a specific diet, but those are actually very few.* And yes, while competitive athletes may need more calories or a little more of this or that nutrient, their diet still isn’t very different from the average person’s diet.
*In those cases, people need to work with their health care provider and a registered dietician to ensure they meet their nutritional needs appropriately.
Coaching with a nutrition-only focus
We will assess your current eating habits (including what, when, where, with whom, and how much) and accommodate any recommendations you may have received from your health care provider to gain an overall picture of where you are right now regarding a healthy diet. Based on your lifestyle and your goals, we will discuss strategies to improve your nutritional intake. Your focus might be on weight management, diabetes prevention, cardiovascular risk reduction, or just to improve the quality of the food you eat in order to feel good. Whatever your nutritional goal may be, there is a way to achieve that through eating real food. And the best news is that you don’t have to give up all of your favorite foods entirely. This is not a diet plan or a meal prescription plan – the focus is on improving your nutritional literacy so you can confidently make wise choices about to what eat.
If you find you need more hands-on support –– We aren’t all trained chefs, and thankfully we don’t need to be. However, if you would like to acquire some additional culinary skills, we can add some practical sessions to complement your coaching program. Some possibilities include:
- Practical cooking or food preparation tips because you have avoided the kitchen like the plague.
- A clean out session – rid all the non-nutritious food-like products from your pantry and refrigerator.
- A trip to the grocery store to practice shopping based on meal planning that you have done.
- Some other aspect of cooking or eating that you want to address.
**Spoiler Alert! I am a no-nonsense person. Good nutritional guidance does not change with the weather, the latest social media post, or news headline. It isn’t based on what your friend thinks is the only way to eat right. If you are looking for the latest fad or a quick fix, I am not the person to work with you. I do read as much scientific literature as I can to be aware of any new evidence-based nutritional information or new associations between food and health that are discovered. And if for any reason I feel that you would benefit more from working with a registered dietician, I will certainly make that recommendation to you.