NUTRITION

PHILOSOPHY

Nutrition can be a very personal and confusing topic.

Nutrition advice in the media has gotten out of hand. Every magazine you walk by promises abs by summer. Every celebrity claims they lose weight with a magical morning smoothie. For every article or study you find saying one diet is good, you will find just as many saying it is bad. The sheer amount of data available makes nutrition overwhelming for most people and often leads to people stopping before they even start.

The truth is this...Everyone's body will react differently to different nutritional approaches. There is no "one-size-fits-all" diet and there is no magic pill or smoothie. What works for some won't work for others. However, there are nutritional strategies that most experts agree on. We like to use 3 simple rules from Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food"

The most important part of a healthy diet is the quality of your food. Real foods lay the foundation for health and fitness because they are nutrient dense. Real foods contain the protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals necessary for optimal health. Real foods include meat, fish, eggs, dairy, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and properly prepared legumes and grains. The closer that food is to its natural state the better, and whenever possible you should try to source food with free-range, grass-fed, wild-caught, and/or organic labels. In the event that these distinctions are not available, real foods without these labels are still better than processed foods.

Real foods are minimally processed and expire quickly. They are free of man made substances like highly refined oils, fats, and sugars. If it has ingredients you cannot pronounce, it is very likely not real food.

*Refined sugar and processed foods are part of the modern diet that are generally accepted as detrimental to your health. Refined sugar is made by processing foods to extract pure sugar, which is then added back into foods to make them sweeter (hence, refined sugar is often referred to as "added sugar"). Refined sugar is highly addictive and can cause the body to react the way it would react to certain narcotics and stimulants, causing a chemical dependency. Processed foods can be defined as those altered by human intervention such that their inherent nutritious value is significantly reduced. Processing consists of the practices that occur outside of a residential kitchen where nutrients are stripped, anti-nutrients (chemicals, preservatives, sugars) are added, and industrial methods are used (e.g., solvent extraction). Excess consumption of refined sugar and processed foods is linked to chronic diseases such as obesity, metabolic disease, and diabetes. Eliminating these foods from your diet should be a top priority. The easiest way to avoid over consumption of refined sugar and processed foods is to eat real foods.

NOT TOO MUCH

Another important aspect of a healthy diet is your overall intake of food. The quantity of food you eat needs to be able to support your goals and activity level, but not be so much that it leads to unnecessary weight gain. Depending on sex, age, goals, activity level, and genetics the recommended amount of food can vary greatly between individuals. For example, a fifty year old male trying to lose 30 lbs will have different needs than a twenty-five year old female trying to perform her best in a sport. It is also important to have a balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) at each meal. If all this sounds a little confusing our coaches can help you determine your daily requirements, create a plan to help you meet your goals, and check in with you to keep you accountable along the way.

The good news is the general population can benefit greatly from a simple type of food measuring using just their own hand. Most people should eat 3-5 meals a day, 3 meals for smaller females and 5 meals for larger males. Generally, at each meal protein portions should be lean (chicken, fish, turkey) and the size of your palm, starchy carbohydrate sources (rice, potatoes, beans) can be the size of your fist (plus as many vegetables as you can fit on the plate), and fat (olive oil, nuts, avocado) the size of your thumb. If you are trying to lose weight and you are eating a protein source higher in fat (steak, eggs) do not add the fat to your plate. Some individuals may need more personalized macronutrient distributions, but this is a good starting point for most.

MOSTLY PLANTS

Plant foods are dense in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) while being relatively low in overall calories, giving you great "bang for your buck". It is almost impossible to overeat fruits and vegetables which is why most "diets" allow unrestricted consumption of them, especially vegetables. The human body requires dozens of essential (must be obtained through food) nutrients to thrive. While the amino acids in protein are essential, most people miss the mark on the vitamins and minerals they need to obtain from plants. We recommend trying new fruits and vegetables regularly to add variety and excitement to your diet. Keep it fun by challenging yourself to try a new vegetable every week, learn new recipes that make use of plants you don't often eat, or attempting to eat as many different colors of plants as you can everyday. The wider variety of plant material you can eat the better as each fruit or vegetable comes packed with its own unique blend of nutrients.