I’ve been asked a lot of questions regarding nutrition in the past. But I was recently asked “What are 3 things everyone should be doing with nutrition?”
I don’t reply to many questions with, “I’ll have to think about that”. But I did to this one.
Why was I so stumped? Because the question wasn’t the same as what was really being asked.
Question: “What are 3 things…”
What’s really being asked: You know hundreds and even thousands of facts regarding nutrition. Of all of those, you can only tell me 3. What are they?
What is essential?
What cannot be overlooked, and takes priority over the other areas that time and effort could be put into?
1. Log food in a tracking app.
We can eat organic superfood all day, but at the end of that day, the quantity of calories you consume determines your body composition more than anything else. The type of food we eat is important, but too much or too little of anything is still too much or too little.
A food-tracking app like MyFitnessPal will show you where your calories are coming from and break them down so you can see what exactly is going in your body. 95% of all mysteries regarding weight-gain/loss end here.
Why food tracking first?
Someone who is seeing progress in lowering body fat percentage and increasing vitality, is going to have more drive to continue eating healthy and keep healthy habits long-term.
2. Drink More Water.
No, drink more than that.
I would bet money that at least 80% of people who see me for nutrition coaching say “I drink a lot of water”. They aren’t lying… the problem is that most of them don’t know what the bare minimum amount of water to drink each day is.
Most people think of drinking (4) 16-oz bottles (64 oz) as a lot of water.
Are your ready for this?
Men are recommended to drink at least 125 oz per day.
Women are recommended to drink least 91 oz per day.
If you drink this much water you will feel better than you do now. No matter what, you will feel better. Peeing may become a part-time job as you get adjusted, but moving from a state of chronic dehydration to adequate hydration does wonders for energy, recovery, brain fog, credit score…etc.
Again, people who experience the above, are more likely to keep healthy habits, long-term.
But what about “let thirst guide water intake?” I definitely recommend following this rule. The only catch is: you can only follow this rule after you have reached 91-125oz of water that day.
3. Eat for disease prevention.
If you eat to live a long healthy life, the body you want will come with it.
This statement does not work the other way around.
There are many a bodybuilder and cardio junkie who have taken their dirt-naps early. Having abs did not make them healthy. A body you are proud of is no good to you if make yourself sick getting there. The body you want is also faster to reach and maintain if you increase your health.
So how do you eat for disease prevention?
I recommend the following reads for learning how to do this.
Why We Get Fat: Gary Taubes
The Case Against Sugar: Gary Taubes
The Zone: Barry Sears
The Paleo Diet: Loren Cordain
Take the elements that work for you, apply them, and don’t get too caught up in the “one and only” right way to do nutrition. Because trust me- there is no right way, but following these three guidelines will keep you on the right track while you are discovering what’s right for you.
If you want to skip the reading and get right to the action now. Book a phone call with me and you’ll have a plan have action steps to start changing your food, health, and body composition this week.
If you want to make serious changes and results that will last but cant right now. Register for our August Nutrition Challenge.
We only have 10 spots for the challenge, so register early.
