10 Confessions of a Nutritionist

It's been three years since I officially started Always Growing Nutrition. I've learned a lot in the past few years, not only from coaching clients and having hands on experience, but creating nutrition programs for CrossFit affiliates, refining my own practice, reading dozens of books on various topics surrounding nutrition, and working with some amazingly dedicated clients. 

And through all of that, I've realized that there are some preconceived notions about my based on my nutrition expertise. So here are my top ten confessions:

1. I don't prescribe to any specific ideology of eating. I'm not paleo. I'm not keto. I don't practice "clean eating" or any other diet that has a title. I would call my style of eating intuitive, mixed with what I know is best for me, mixed with what makes me happy.
   

2. I'm not the person who is going to be judging what you eat. Really, I don't care what you order when we're out to eat together. Unless you're my client (and frankly, even if you are) I am never going to call you out or pass judgement on you ordering a burger and fries. The only time I ever give my opinion on food in casual settings is if I'm asked to.
   

3. I love beer. If you know me well, you know that I will hardly ever turn down a good beer with friends. As a Colorado native, I'm fully aware of how spoiled I am in our beautiful state with so much good craft beer. I'm the person who goes to other states and is bummed when there aren't breweries lining the streets. Beer has become part of my balance when it comes to enjoying life, and I recognize when I need to take a break from it for goals I have set.
   

4. I have no gripes with coffee. I love coffee and I never encourage anyone to remove it from their diet unless it is negatively effecting them (i.e. making them shakey, moody, or unable to sleep at night). There are two caveats to this. (1) If you are drinking more cream and sugar than you are actual coffee, a positive change can happen there. I drink my coffee black, with cream and/or sugar only being a rare treat. (2) Coffee should not effect your sleep cycle (or have zero effect on you). I recently changed my sleeping habits from erratic to a normal one. Before I could drink coffee and take a 2-hour nap immediately and there was no limit to the amount of coffee I could drink. Now if I drink coffee too late in the day, I'm up all night. Something wasn't quite right before and now I can see those difference.
   

5. Honestly, I eat a good amount of carbs. Just like with beer, balance is everything. So I do eat carbs that many people would label as "bad" carbs. But I do so in combination with and because of my training. Heavy training (either in weight or in volume) equals more carbs to sustain my energy levels and help me recover better.
   

6. I still get sugar cravings, but not like I used to. The sugar cravings that happen in the middle of the afternoon have been gone for years thankfully, but craving sweets in the evening still happens. I find that the more sugar I eat, the more I crave it.
   

7. I believe mindset and positive body image are everything when it comes to nutrition. How you think about yourself is how you treat yourself. Hate your body and you're going to feed it poorly. Love it and you'll nourish it. When this changes, everything surrounding your nutrition will change too.
   

8. I struggle too. I have bad days where I am tired, I am stressed, and the last thing I want to do is cook or eat my veggies. I can go overboard and get off track, but I'm able to realign myself at the next meal.
   

9. I don't buy into the superfoods. I'm not into trying to get the newest, best ingredient in daily. Chia seeds, goji berries, flax, acacia, spirulina, wheat grass, etc. Ain't nobody got time to make sure they're getting that special something day in and day out.
   

10. I don't always take my own advice. Especially when it comes to creating my own health as a priority. I will bend over backwards and do everything possible (eat poorly or miss a meal, lose sleep, skip my workouts, etc) to make sure I'm serving my clients in every way possible. I'm a classic workaholic. But I'm working on it - progress not perfection.