We are excited to share this special guest post from Rebecca the Dietitian! We recognize how much the way you fuel your body influences your exercise results, and are excited to be able to bring you Rebecca’s sound eating advice to help you optimize your health, enjoy eating and get the most out of your workouts. We hope you will check out her post below and look forward to learning more from her. If you are in need of more guidance when it comes to nutrition, her comprehensive course, “Nourished & Fit” teaches you everything you need to know in order to lose weight, increase your energy, and balance your hormones (while enjoying delicious food of course)! Along with the course you will be invited to monthly group calls and a private Facebook community of amazing, supportive women. Please check out this link here to learn more (be sure to use the code ‘JSTV’ for a 30% discount).
So much of the work that I do with women is trying to remove the thoughts and patterns around food and our bodies that are not useful (and often cruel and self-sabotaging). This month I want to talk about eating well because you are amazing.
I imagine that at some point almost every woman has been critical of some part of her appearance. That is a sad statement isn’t it? How many beautiful ladies do you know? Isn’t it a shame to think that they are criticizing themselves so harshly? Many of us think things about ourselves that we would be shocked and horrified if someone else said these things to us out loud. We would surely distance ourselves from someone who would say such terrible things to us. Meanwhile, there we are secretly thinking these awful mean things about ourselves in our heads.
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Most of us have been on some kind of diet or exercise program that we started because we were unhappy with how we looked. It might have worked for a while, but then, after some time, we would get sick of torturing ourselves on the strict plan and give up leaving us right back where we started (or worse). In that case we didn’t change our habits for the right reason- the reason that would keep us on track long-term. The reason that keeps you on track for a lifetime is because you care about your health.
The shift to eating well to nourish yourself because you love yourself helps keep you on track longer and helps you get back on track faster if you fall off the wagon. When you choose healthy food and fitness options because you want to fight disease, provide nutrients that give you energy, and live a long, happy, vital life it’s hard to stop. Even if you go on vacation or take a break from your healthy food plan and eat all the things for a while, if your focus is on caring for yourself you’ll realize quickly that you want to get some veggies, fruits, or other nutrient dense foods back into your body.
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You will start to find balance and lose the all-or-nothing mindset. If you eat something less healthy for breakfast you won’t berate yourself and give-up. Instead you will enjoy every bit of it and then realize that you’re craving a healthy lunch to provide yourself nutrients and give your body energy for the rest of the day.
You’ll start to notice how different foods make you feel and choose healthier options sometimes just because they help you feel amazing. The more you learn about how some options can cause diseases and other options help prevent illness the more you will make healthy choices because you deserve to live the best life possible.
The more we practice a healthy lifestyle as self-care the more we realize that we deserve to be taken care of. We start to see how amazing our bodies truly are and what we are capable of when properly nourished. And hopefully we will become strong enough to start telling those mean, useless, self-critical thoughts to shove it.
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Have you been able to find a healthy balance with your eating habits? What has helped you the most? Please share your best tips with us in the comments below!
Is there something you are struggling with when it comes to nutrition? Do you have a question or topic you’d like Rebecca to discuss? Please post it in the comments below!
I started eating more veggies when i read a Blue Zones book. I lost nearly 10 kg in a few months without trying (not that i was overweight, but on a fuller side). Then i read another book about how good fruits and veggies are. I knew this all along, i just didn’t know what difference it makes. Now 2 years later, i feel amazing, full of energy, and anytime i eat something unhealthy, i notice how body doesn’t like it anymore. The biggest thing though was to allow myself to spend money on things like berries, that tends to be verry expensive. It makes a world of a difference!
I’ve been overweight or obese since 9th grade. I’ve yo-yo dieted very successfully several times, and gained it all back several times. I quit dieting and kept gaining although I have stayed active my whole life. Finally, last year at age 70, I started studying low-carb eating via Diet Doctor YouTube videos. The message made sense to me and I gave it a try. I easily lost 60 pounds in 7 months, and have maintained the loss for 3 months so far. I realize that most doctors and many dietitians still preach the old calories-in, calories-out message while disregarding all of the excellent-quality research that has shown the incredible health benefits of low-carb. I am working with my open-minded nurse-practitioner to maximize my health on low-carb. I want to remain at a healthy weight and continue to play pickleball 3 times a week for many years to come. I’m emphasizing strength training, walking and swimming in my workouts. I love Jessica Smith’s workouts, too.
This is my happy story! (P.S. I never get tired of hearing about the improvement in my appearance and in my pickleball game!)