More times than not I find with my clients, although they are intelligent, well-read, degrees up the yin-yang, working at the Googles of the world, are flummoxed when it comes to feeding themselves and their families. Honestly, I completely understand their quandary when the nutritional information is contradictory and so well-marketed that you truly “believe” you are eating healthy. Sorry dude…that yogurt you just ate was loaded with a huge dose of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and tons of other things that aren’t actually food. Just because those chocolate sandwich cookies came from Whole Foods and are organic doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Even I, a trained health coach, can get hung out to dry if I’m not reading my ingredient labels.
A sea-change is coming in our community and in our world where people are finally looking up from their forks and saying “Is this lunch actually making me sick?”.
- Serious diseases such as Cancer, ADHD, Autism even Depression are all being linked to poor diet.
- Other conditions such as migraines, allergies, PMS, IBS are also linked to poor diet.
- Over 65% of Americas are obese and the percentage is growing worldwide.
- Americans eat an average of over 155 pounds of sugar a year compared to only 12 pounds a hundred years ago.
- 90% of people with Celiac Sprue go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
So what’s for dinner? Oh and I’m in a hurry, I can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods, I can’t give up my afternoon mocha latte, I hate green vegetables, I have 3 kids and hey wait a minute…I shouldn’t eat french fries? I can’t live under these conditions!
OK. I understand. I’m gonna make it super simple:
- Eat mostly foods from plants and fruits.
- Eat more unprocessed whole grains.
- Add beans, legumes and nuts into your daily diet.
- Eat high quality, grass-feed, organic animal and fish products.
- Avoid refined, processed foods that come in cans, boxes and bags even if they are organic.
- Avoid foods that are fried, made of sugar or enriched white flour (yes that includes donuts).
Usually my rule of thumb is that if it has an ingredient list I don’t eat it. If I do buy something in a package usually the ingredients are a maximum for 3-4 and all recognizable. For example, my favorite sprouted corn tortillas: sprouted corn, water, sea salt and lime. Yep, I can eat that cuz I know what it is. Don’t even get me started on the ingredients list on a Cheerio’s box!
Again, what’s for dinner?
Well, start small and start with one thing. Try to introduce one new food into your weekly repertoire and prepare it a a couple of different ways. If you haven’t been introduced to the mouth-watering, loveliness of Kale start there. It can be sautéed, lightly steamed,added to soups and stews and even to your morning smoothie. It goes with just about everything. I highly recommend purchasing Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday cookbook or perusing her blog for inspiration. Stay tuned to our blog as we also start posting RockStar Recipes. I made her Kale, Coconut and Farro Salad and it blew my mind. Her recipes are super simple, fast, natural and delicious. Next, start really looking at the food you are putting into your mouth. Do you know what it is made out of? Obviously, an apple is easy but what about that “Power Bar”? Will that food make you feel ill, bloated, head-achy, spacey, wired and itchy? Will it make your kids wired, spacey, hyper and itchy?
Making changes in your daily diet is probably one of the hardest things to do simply because we don’t pay attention to what we put in our mouths or we don’t think it’s even important. Over time it does make a difference. If you want to be healthy, full of energy, vibrant, glowing and really be present in your life, start with what goes in your mouth. This also goes for your kids and your family.
Does that help? No? You’re still confused and unsure? Well give me a call for a free initial health consultation and we can take it one step at a time together.
Your Rockstar Life! 