6 Things to Share because I couldn't decide on one!
Hello, Friend! Happy Tuesday!
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A little different format for us today! I am sitting here trying to think about what topic or idea to write about today and a whole bunch of things came to mind, so why not write little tidbits about them all?!
These two Alex Hormozi Posts that made me say DANG.
In case you don’t know, Alex Hormozi is like THE ENTREPRENEUR. He’s the founder of Acquisition.com and the author of $100M Offers, which I highly recommend reading if you’re in the business/entrepreneurial space.
Anyway, the posts:
Of course my mind went directly to nutritional approaches after reading this one. If you can’t see yourself sustainably eating a certain way pretty much forever, slowly back away from that diet!
A few years back I did Keto for a month because I was curious, felt like it would be educational for me as a nutrition coach to have some experience with, and, at that time, knew less about it so wanted to see how it would impact me and my body composition.
I found out REAL QUICK that I could NOT do that forever, and that living with very few carbs was NOT for me. That was that.
Certainly this is just one example, but doing those short term diets or food restrictions (like that friend of mine who continues to mention that they’ll just do a month of no sugar and no drinking AGAIN to lose a few pounds…) that you have to keep returning to every quarter because your “regular” food plan isn’t cutting it for your goals… yeah, that approach isn’t it.
This brings me to my next DANG moment:
Aren’t these two just perfectly related?!
I’d argue that the reason why people gravitate towards those months of no sugar/alcohol or Keto is that it FEELS hard… like it feels like you’re trying hard so it must be working.
But, why are we so resistant to figuring out what our regular old food intake can look like (drink water, eat fruits, veggies, and protein, move regularly, etc.) and then doing that consistently, forever to maintain the results we’re looking for?
Consistent, not complex.
I’m having a hard time phrasing this one without it sounding potentially offensive…. but, why do we tend to completely give up on our nutrition and fitness efforts when life happens?
Listen, I totally know that life happens sometimes and that impacts our ability to spend time/effort on our fitness and nutrition. So, don’t get me wrong about that. But it makes me sad when people feel like they have to totally put their efforts on hold when certain things come up.
Maybe we do have to put temporary pauses on things every once in a while. But to totally throw our efforts and the things we care about out the window because something happens? I just don’t think the response has to be that extreme.
Admittedly, maybe this is privilege talking… maybe I’ve never had to deal with something so extreme that it’s thrown off everything else in my life. I admit that fully might be the case.
Regardless of my exact experience here, I continue to fall back on the “dials” approach to things as opposed to the on/off switch. Most of the time, we don’t have to turn our efforts fully on or off, and instead can increase or decrease the intensity or time spent on the efforts as needed. We can always do SOMETHING. You can likely drink your water even if the rest of your meals have to come from McDonalds. You can likely do 10 pushups and 10 air squats while caring for a sick child. That kind of thing.
If you think I’m totally wrong here, I honestly would love to hear from you so I can learn more about the experiences of others and how things go for you when life happens. For real. Email me at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com and share your experience.
It’s unreal how rainy dreary weather can impact mood and motivation.
I imagine we all know that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a real thing, but gosh, when those dark and rainy days happen and you actually FEEL more lethargic, less motivated, or just generally more down, that hits hard!
We’ve gotten about 6 inches of rain and going on about 60 or so hours or gray-ness around here, and it’s been hard for me to do much of anything, or at least I haven’t wanted to do much of anything.
My workout included running yesterday, so I skipped that, and literally went to Stop and Shop so that I could get some steps in. (More on what I got there below!) I’m not sure if this is a thing at all stores, but at my local S+S there’s a little sign inside the door that tells you how many loops around the store equals a mile! So, FYI, getting steps in over there isn’t frowned upon! Anyway, I got about 4000 steps while browsing the aisles and getting some ingredients!
To this point, I rarely skip workouts, am happy I at least got some steps yesterday, and have a plan to get mine in today even though it’s still raining.
Bottom line, if weather impacts you, you are NOT alone. Do what you can, go to S+S if you have to, and, seriously, talk to someone professional if it gets really bad.
I’m pumped to be running nutrition challenges for 3 gyms over the next few months!
A little personal/business news here! But I’m really excited about this! I love working with different groups or organizations to figure out appropriate approaches to health and nutrition for their clientele—that don’t revolve around restriction or unsustainable practices.
Each of these challenges will serve different demographics, will be set up specifically to serve those populations, and have different offerings attached to them. Again, highlighting the idea that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to our health and fitness!
This is something I’m really passionate and excited about so if you are part of a gym, group, or workplace that can benefit from guidance and support around nutrition, I’d love to talk with you!
Reminder: Include strength/resistance training in your fitness routine!
Yes, some of us want the muscles and a jacked physical appearance, but let’s not forget the MANY OTHER BENEFITS to strength training than “just” the muscles.
Check out this post for more details on those other benefits.
And if you need help including strength training in your routine, I’m here for you! And if you don’t want to get visibly jacked, that’s okay too… you don’t have to and can still do resistance training in a thoughtful manner!
I made this recipe yesterday… oh my goodness!
Still wondering what I got at Stop and Shop yesterday??
Ingredients to make these Scotcheroos from Half Baked Harvest! (I skipped adding the Bourbon!)
These kinds of treats are right up my alley… chocolately, crispy, butterscotch-y, delicious!
In case you don’t already know this about me, yes, I include treats in my food plan and consume some sugar.
In my experience, I do not believe it’s in our “real life” best interests to restrict anything completely (unless you’re allergic or have chosen to move away from an addictive substance).
As opposed to restriction, I believe that learning how to moderate your intake of things that are “less healthy” or more calorically dense, like these treats, is critical.
To me, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a piece of cake or cookie at my own birthday party is incredibly sad. I’ve also tried to give up sugar before and the amount of anxiety and negative thoughts I had for the duration of that time were far more detrimental to my mental health then the amount of managed sugar I include now.
With this all being said, I understand my total food intake pretty well. I know that I’m in a reasonable range of sugar intake, and also that I hit my protein goals, include fruits and veggies, and generally eat to speak to my goals on a regular basis.
So, if including a managed treat sometimes is something you do, I highly recommend making these. Take a few extra steps at the store for me when you’re getting the ingredients ; )
Thanks for listening to my random thoughts on this dreary Tuesday!
Have thoughts or comments to share on anything I wrote about here? Have requests of topics you’d like to read more about? Post in the comments or email me at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com!
As always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Sara