Food! It's fuel, it's fun, and it's necessary to track if you want to get to your goal!
Often my clients come to me with questions about how to eat to support their health goals. How we eat is so individual, it comes down to habits, cultural practices, and our individual preferences around taste, texture, and a myriad of other food-related sensations.
I am a macro coach, but I do firmly believe that basing your diet around mostly whole foods, not only will fit your macros but your health. My approach to coaching clients using macros is to help them understand basic nutrition principles, and what foods fall under fats, carbs, and protein...and go from there! My client's know what they like to eat, and what works for them. I respect that! My aim is to collaborate with you.
If you hate broccoli, you don't need to eat broccoli, but I will certainly give you the tools to understand that broccoli, is a fibrous vegetable and is low-calorie dense, but nutrient-dense (meaning, it's a low-calorie food, with a lot of good vitamins and minerals in it) and what other foods are also low calorie and nutrient-dense, so you can put together meals that suit you.
I'm pretty practical in my approach to macro coaching. I recognize that most of my clients who are seeking out my help, already know they should "eat better", but eating well with consistency can be an obstacle. We live busy and demanding lives, and getting everyone's needs met at the kitchen table can be incredibly daunting, and I would argue, impractical, initially.
It's helpful to recognize that when we change, it impacts the people around us--positively, or negatively (or a perception of negativity).
I see dietary change impacting not only my clients, but their families and the people they tend to eat with. I always encourage my clients to start with themselves--yes, that may mean initially you are genuinely preparing two different meals. One that suits your needs and goals, and one that suits how your family unit is already eating. Over time, things evolve. Either the people who are impacted get involved and possibly engage in their own dietary evolution, or, it becomes an issue that has to be negotatied at home. I really encourage the women I coach to ask their families to reflect on how these dietary changes may positively impact the entire household, and let their family members have a "light blub" moment of their own when they can recognize they will gain something positive from this, too!
Here is a great resource that can help you and your family identify some foods you'd like to include in your diet in the upcoming week. As silly as it sounds, taking this step to actively create a list of foods you want to include this week, makes it so much more likely that there will be follow through!
Use the PDF to identify foods from the Green, Yellow, and Red Foods list, and then use the graphic below to fill in your desires! I've also included a colorful food spectrum chart so you can remind yourself of all the wonderful choices you have!
Taking this step to create your foods list with your macros in mind, will really help you start to gain traction. Shifting your diet as you engage in change will be the most consistent part of your journey. Movement is fun, and so is food, but I will tell you will 100% honesty that food is the bigger driver of your outcomes. So, invest your time here.
Knowing what works for you, is great. But if you feel stuck in your own habits and feel like no matter what you do, you always end up defaulting back to convience foods, please drop me a free consultation and we can chat! I am confident that I can help you achieve your dietary strategy, even with time and money constraints. I fully recognize that my clients are managaing a lot--kids, careers, relationships--but that doesn't mean your nutrition strategy is unattainable. Start with taking steps towards including more whole foods in your diet. And drop me a line :) I'm here to help!
Have a wonderful rest of your day, and please include any questions or comments you have below!
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