How To Transform Your Meals Starting Today
Everyone thinks that changing the way you eat has to be hard. And it can be hard. If you've ever tried a strict diet, you know that it's tough to change the way you eat when you go from 0 to 60 mph.
What you may not know it that transforming your meals can be a painless and smooth experience. If you're dieting where you're stressed, can't survive eating out, need a scale for everything, or still craving any and all carbs you can get your hands on.. there's a better way. Diet differently.
The key to this is making it simple. Let me say it again, simple!
We'll use lunch as an example. Let's say you're currently hitting the drive thru for a burger, fries, and a soda, because frankly you're busy. You need something fast and cheap, and you can always find this no matter what. You probably eat it while driving and the thought of sitting down to eat seems like nonsense. You may also notice that you don't always feel great afterwards.. cue the stomach ache and brain fog. This is Phase 1. This is where you're currently at, and all you're going to do is make a small change.
You want to improve this meal, so here's how you might roll out Phase 2. All you have to do is pick one thing to do and see how you like it. So maybe instead of the drive thru, you go to a little nicer burger place (one where you're at least sure you're getting some decent meat). Maybe you swap out the regular soda for a diet soda. Maybe you ask for a fruit cup instead of the fries. Maybe instead of eating while you're driving, you wait until you're parked to eat or you take it back to your desk with you. Again, pick one that you feel 100% confident you could do easily, and start there.
Guess what? You're making progress!
It's not perfect, but I never asked you to have the perfect meal.
You're ready to take it a little farther, so now you're starting to prep some food for lunch, but burgers are still your favorite, so burgers it is! You pre-cook some burger patties at home on the weekend so that all you have to do is warm them up at work. You might also be selective about the other parts of your burger. You try out a whole grain bun and some nice cheese (you know, the kind that doesn't come in a packaged slice). You're still getting a soda from the vending machine, but you sit in the office break room a couple days a week. You get to chat with co-workers and it helps you to slow down while you eat. We all know how hard it is to scarf down you're lunch while trying to hold conversation. This is Phase 3, not so bad right?
The last phase is ultimately where you'd like to end up. You have a burger with all the fixings. You even have cheese on it and maybe even the bun too (or half, because who says you have to eat both sides). You also have a nice side salad with mixed greens and your favorite veggies. You get away from your computer to eat lunch and even get out of the office to sit outside and catch some fresh air. You've switched to water to your drink instead of soda.
You see, transforming your meals isn't about "no more burgers for you," It's about changing the way you approach your meal, from what you're eating to how you're eating it and the things that are on the side too.
You can do this with every meal you have and create a pretty great nutrition routine. If you're that person who always eats their breakfast while scrolling through social media, set it down and create a step in the right direction. Focus on your meal and enjoy it. If you're not enjoying it when you pay attention to it, maybe something needs to change.
And it doesn't have to be all the time. Maybe Monday's are really tough for you and your lunch doesn't go as well as you might have hoped, but the other days you do well. That's okay!
Everyone forgets that nutrition and health is really about what you need, what makes you happy, and what you can reasonably do right now. As long as you are honest with yourself, you're doing the best you can.
No idea where to start? You can fill out this form and we can chat about what part of your life you'd like to improve.
Deidre founded Always Growing Nutrition in 2015 with an enthusiasm for health, fitness, and understanding how to optimize the human body. She approaches nutrition from the perspective that each body is unique and this is key to creating nutrition programs that are sustainable for each person to maintain long-term, but also programs that work.
Her passions lie in digestive and hormone health, and she loves working with clients who struggle with balancing these complex systems. She believes that everyone deserves personalized nutrition, to understand how their body works, and to have the support to get answers about their health. She has worked with hundreds of clients to create a body they love with food they love.
When she's not working with clients, you'll find her enjoying everything Colorado has to offer from hiking to camping to craft beers.