I get this question ALL the time! The answer is often times, “What food makes you feel your very best?” If you know me at all, you know that I do not subscribe to one size fits all programs. People are different. So are their nutritional needs, taste buds, and caloric intake requirements. What I do know from my own experience is that I never felt worse than when I was eating at fast food places regularly, noshing on fried chicken tenders in a “salad”, or drinking a $7 frothy chocolate mocha frappa-macchiato every day on my way to work, maybe even with a side of donut. Actually, I felt like pure shizzz………only I didn’t KNOW I felt like pure shizzzz until I started to feel better.
How, you ask? I woke up one Sunday morning at 48 years old, certain I was on the heart attack highway getting pulled over at any minute now, and I overhauled my nutrition. I had help in a growing “keto-esque” community that helped me to ditch the processed foods, and all the carby poisons (called BREAD), replaced white sugar with occasional drips of Stevia or Monkfruit, learned about Bulletproof coffee, and the guilt free awesomeness of eating avocado every day.
People have strong feelings when they hear buzz words like “low carb”, “high fat”, “plant-based”, “Keto”, “Paleo”, “Carnivore”… it sounds like crazy talk. Here’s the truth: any structured meal plan “eat this not that”, doesn’t always work perfectly for everyone. The magic sauce is when you can learn about what foods your body responds best to, how much of it you need to eat, and how frequently. Sure, I could give you a list of foods and say “only eat this”. But, I don’t believe you’d be happy about that, nor would you enjoy it. In fact, you’d probably hate me within 2 days because you’d be hungry, in sugar/carb detox, and basically miserable.
Yes, there is a point to “detox” if you can sustain it. But it doesn’t HAVE to be all that dramatic. Or painful. What if I told you it can actually be FUN to learn how to prepare foods you previously hated like Brussel sprouts because your gam-gam stunk up the whole house while she cooked them until they were mushy and gross. What if I told you that spaghetti squash can be JUST as delicious as whole wheat pasta noodles, when prepared and seasoned properly? Would you believe me if I told you that the best gift of life is a meat smoker that will help you eat better?
What if I told you that when you find the RIGHT foods for your body, the weight melts off you like hot fudge at a summer BBQ (OK, that was a bad example. I apologize.) Seriously, it isn’t rocket science. And you don’t need me to create a list of “healthy” foods for you. But it is an experiment that can take a little time and what you might need me to do is help guide you along, support and encourage you in your efforts, be your cheerleader with a little tough love and a dash of empathy while I show you some tips and tricks, help you source some delicious recipe ideas, and turn you loose on your own journey of self-discovery to find different, creative ways to not only improve your health and wellness overall, drop some serious inches and pants sizes. You might even become a chef of delicious food in your own kitchen.
Stacy, CHC
