K.I.S.S. Nutrition
Nutrition has become the pinnacle of the marketing world and a controversy in the health and wellness industry. It changes often and often without any notice. The spectrum of what is considered clean eating is so great that most feel too overwhelmed to dive in or they’ve tried so many short term, fad diets that nothing works now. We’ve seen a swing in the 1990’s from the belief that saturated fat causes heart disease to the present where diets like Keto have taken the industry by storm. We’ve seen diets that cut meat like Veganism to diets that are only meat like the Carnivore diet. We’ve seen 30 day “cleanses” from large corporate supplement companies that promise that all your dreams will come true in 30 days if you just take their supplements. We have esteemed medical doctors recommending diet pills and appetite suppressants to help catalyze the dieting process. But as we’ve witnessed in our unhealthy society, when we capitalize the health industry, the basics are always left out… because health is the enemy of the capitalism of the medical system.
Nutrition has become the pinnacle of the marketing world and a controversy in the health and wellness industry. It changes often and often without any notice. The spectrum of what is considered clean eating is so great that most feel too overwhelmed to dive in or they’ve tried so many short term, fad diets that nothing works now. We’ve seen a swing in the 1990’s from the belief that saturated fat causes heart disease to the present where diets like Keto have taken the industry by storm. We’ve seen diets that cut meat like Veganism to diets that are only meat like the Carnivore diet. We’ve seen 30 day “cleanses” from large corporate supplement companies that promise that all your dreams will come true in 30 days if you just take their supplements. We have esteemed medical doctors recommending diet pills and appetite suppressants to help catalyze the dieting process. But as we’ve witnessed in our unhealthy society, when we capitalize the health industry, the basics are always left out… because health is the enemy of the capitalism of the medical system.
So let’s un-capitalize your health. Let’s simplify the journey. We begin by answering these questions …
So let’s un-capitalize your health. Let’s simplify the journey. We begin by answering these questions …
What is good nutrition?
What is good nutrition?
How can we get it?
How can we get it?
Why do we need it?
Why do we need it?
The concept of eating a meal has a whole lot of emotion and history behind it. We share meals for love, for kindness and care, and for progress. Meals can have memories and trauma surrounding them. But, at the end of the day, we must separate daily food intake and the social-cultural attachments of meals. Food is energy and nutrient dense food is needed for the cellular processes your body performs to help you perform daily. From chewing to digestion to utilizing to excretion. When we look purely at intake, the rules are fairly simple. Our cells and systems function on processes. These processes require nutrient and energetic input, a metabolic cycle, and an output. For the most part, we are all born with the same metabolic energy cycles. So why do we develop food intolerances and allergies? Why do we develop obesity? Type II diabetes? High cholesterol? Hypertension?
The concept of eating a meal has a whole lot of emotion and history behind it. We share meals for love, for kindness and care, and for progress. Meals can have memories and trauma surrounding them. But, at the end of the day, we must separate daily food intake and the social-cultural attachments of meals. Food is energy and nutrient dense food is needed for the cellular processes your body performs to help you perform daily. From chewing to digestion to utilizing to excretion. When we look purely at intake, the rules are fairly simple. Our cells and systems function on processes. These processes require nutrient and energetic input, a metabolic cycle, and an output. For the most part, we are all born with the same metabolic energy cycles. So why do we develop food intolerances and allergies? Why do we develop obesity? Type II diabetes? High cholesterol? Hypertension?
Part of the disease causing mechanisms are caused by neglecting the system that provides you with energy. We fill our sports cars with regular fuel and ask them to perform like a sports car. The rules are simple… give the processes of the body the fuel they need and they will perform.
Part of the disease causing mechanisms are caused by neglecting the system that provides you with energy. We fill our sports cars with regular fuel and ask them to perform like a sports car. The rules are simple… give the processes of the body the fuel they need and they will perform.
If we all knew how much energy our cells needed to run, which type of nutrient we need to help the systems run efficiently, and clean our pipes periodically… our preventable disease rate would be a whole lot lower.
If we all knew how much energy our cells needed to run, which type of nutrient we need to help the systems run efficiently, and clean our pipes periodically… our preventable disease rate would be a whole lot lower.
What does daily, energy producing fuel look like? It looks like eating nutrient dense food, with lots of color, meats raised as animals should be, and drinking plenty of water to keep the fluids flowin’. It looks like moderation, it looks like balance, it looks like listening to your signals. For each individual, this is an entirely different experience based on all the OTHER factors: genetics, exercise, stress, sleep, sunlight, time, seasons, etc. You could literally build a separate diet profile for each of these related health factors. And then, we wind up where we are today, with a very health-confused culture, wondering why they can’t understand nutritional information and why what they know isn’t working for their body’s anymore.
What does daily, energy producing fuel look like? It looks like eating nutrient dense food, with lots of color, meats raised as animals should be, and drinking plenty of water to keep the fluids flowin’. It looks like moderation, it looks like balance, it looks like listening to your signals. For each individual, this is an entirely different experience based on all the OTHER factors: genetics, exercise, stress, sleep, sunlight, time, seasons, etc. You could literally build a separate diet profile for each of these related health factors. And then, we wind up where we are today, with a very health-confused culture, wondering why they can’t understand nutritional information and why what they know isn’t working for their body’s anymore.
What health doesn’t look like is counting calories, counting macros, fad weight loss diets that are unsustainable (yes, Keto is unsustainable), a cupboard full of supplements, calorie restriction, food group restriction before allergy testing, and definitely doesn’t look like instant gratification. Daily eating is fueling the system. It’s intuitive. It’s energizing and intentional. It’s the ability to keep consistency and balance in the internal system. It feels like daily bowel movements, sustained energy, no bloating or gas, no chronic pain, clear thought processes, and excellent sleep.
What health doesn’t look like is counting calories, counting macros, fad weight loss diets that are unsustainable (yes, Keto is unsustainable), a cupboard full of supplements, calorie restriction, food group restriction before allergy testing, and definitely doesn’t look like instant gratification. Daily eating is fueling the system. It’s intuitive. It’s energizing and intentional. It’s the ability to keep consistency and balance in the internal system. It feels like daily bowel movements, sustained energy, no bloating or gas, no chronic pain, clear thought processes, and excellent sleep.
Healthy nutrition is Intuitive eating and it looks like this:
Healthy nutrition is Intuitive eating and it looks like this:
- Starting your morning with 16-32 oz tepid water with lemon to kick start the system
- Eating a balanced breakfast: veggies, protein, complex carbs
- Drinking water between meals
- When the hunger signal beeps, drink 8 oz of water
- If you are still hungry, we eat another well balanced meal: protein, vegetables, complex carbs
- We eat while the sun is highest in the sky and not when it’s still rising or falling
- Meals should be small. Try using a small plate or Tupperware
- Try having snacks per-prepared for grab-and-go
- Higher sugar items like bananas, pineapple, onions should be before 3 pm
Nutrition comes easily to the cells when the nutrient dense food is chewed well, in a calm environment, without being interrupted by liquid, and burned appropriately on the back end through exercise. Should there be difficulty accomplishing energy goals, weight loss goals, chronic pain healing, brain fog healing, or gym gains...taking these simple intuitive eating recommendations and modify based on the goal is the way to approach it with sustainability and success. Meaning, drink more water, eat more vegetables, change your ratio of carbohydrates and fat, change your eating timing during the day and your portion sizes, and calm your eating environment.
Nutrition comes easily to the cells when the nutrient dense food is chewed well, in a calm environment, without being interrupted by liquid, and burned appropriately on the back end through exercise. Should there be difficulty accomplishing energy goals, weight loss goals, chronic pain healing, brain fog healing, or gym gains...taking these simple intuitive eating recommendations and modify based on the goal is the way to approach it with sustainability and success. Meaning, drink more water, eat more vegetables, change your ratio of carbohydrates and fat, change your eating timing during the day and your portion sizes, and calm your eating environment.
Here are some simple tips for daily eating:
Here are some simple tips for daily eating:
- Plate distribution is ½ vegetables, ¼ protein, ¼ complex carbohydrates
- Fruit choices should be low sugar fruits
- Packaged products should have <5 ingredients. All ingredients must be whole foods, available for purchase at a grocery store
- Eat on a small plate with a small spoon or fork for smaller bites
- Eat from the ground: fruits and vegetables, animals that only eat from the ground
- Water intake should be ½ your body weight in ounces + electrolytes
- Drink water before you eat a snack - most often we are dehydrated
Being well is a journey. Being nutritionally healthy planning, practice, and variability. It takes listening to your body and responding with the appropriate corrections to the signals. And it take grace and balance as the pendulum of life swings through center to one extreme or the other.
Being well is a journey. Being nutritionally healthy planning, practice, and variability. It takes listening to your body and responding with the appropriate corrections to the signals. And it take grace and balance as the pendulum of life swings through center to one extreme or the other.