Check in with your Health: Eat

Eat. To live. To nourish. To perform.

Part one in a four part series dedicated to feeling and performing your best moving into the colder months and the holiday season

Eat.

This is extremely simple. We all need to eat. It is a part of our instinct for survival and something that has become very social and cultural for humans over time. But with the passing of time and increase in technology we have seen what we eat, and just as importantly, how we eat change very dramatically. This is not a call to action to run outside and hunt livestock and start picking berries and gathering up mushrooms. What I would like to suggest is that we practice stepping back and looking at our eating habits from a 10,000 foot view.

Some things to look for and ask yourself…

1. Am I adequately hydrated? If not how can I improve on this?
   • Our bodies need water to survive. Literally every cell, tissue and organ in our body need water to function. We should be drinking about half our bodyweight in ounces of water a day! (example: 180lb individual should drink about 90oz of water. More is exercising regularly)
2. Am I eating my veggies and fruits? Am I getting micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) in throughout the day?
   • I am not suggesting throwing back fistfulls of vitamins and supplements. I am saying eat a gosh darn piece of kale (or broccoli or grapes or sweet potatoes…whatever!) We need the micronutrients from the food we eat to keep our bodies functioning optimally. Quite honestly you don’t need crazy amounts either. But make sure you’re eating about 500-800g of fruits and veggies a day.
3. Am I getting enough fiber? How is my digestion?
   • This ties in with eating real foods. Whole foods are wonderful sources of fiber and help keep our digestions and hormone balance regular. Generally we need about 40-50g of fiber a day, and if you are eating enough fruits and veggies this will not be an issue.
4. Am I eating enough protein? What is enough protein?
   • My first suggestion is to see how much protein you are eating. Track your protein for a day or two in an app like MyFitnessPal and see how much you are actually eating. You might be shocked at how little it is. Macronutrients are quantified (not weight) in grams. In general we need about .75-1 times our bodyweight in protein to be getting adequate amounts.
5. How are you eating?
   • What I mean is look at how you are interacting with your meals. Do you eat in the car or at work? Are you on the phone or watching TV? Are you stressed out and distracted while you’re trying to eat? Are you chewing your food properly? Do you put your fork down in between bites and enjoying your food? Or are you hunched over, prison eating at every meal?
   • We should not mindlessly eat and we should not eat like stray dogs… Be mindful of how you are eating. The simple version: the digestion process begins with our brains. We see and smell food and it signals our mouth to start salivating. That saliva tells our stomachs to start creating enzymes to breakdown our food. After that food is broken down our intestines pull the nutrients from it to fuel our bodies. If you’re shoveling food and not enjoying it you may not be digesting it properly and therefore not getting all of the nourishment you are meant to from the foods you eat.
6. Why are you eating the foods you are eating?
   • Weird question right? I’m asking you to step back and assess yourself. What are your goals? Are you eating to look good, feel good or perform well? How is your health? Do you eat certain foods because you think they’re healthy but feel bloated and miserable afterwards? Are you avoiding foods because you think they are the devil (aka gluten or dairy) but aren’t actually sure if you have any food sensitivities?
   • Also think of this from a mental/emotional viewpoint. In your already hectic life do you have the mental/ emotional capacity to stress all day about tracking, weighing and moderating foods? Are you spending a fortune every week on organic salads and then dreading every meal you sit down to?
   • Do you have a set of food “rules” that are some secret squirrel combination of every weird, new diet fad you have read on the cover of trash magazines waiting in line at the grocery store (weirdly accurate example, right?). A good starting point is to eat whole foods, that make you feel good. If a food does not make you feel good maybe consider limiting it from your diet. This is a great starting point in eating for sustainability and happiness.

Have you made it this far? (thank you if you have) Has this list of questions created more questions for you? Do you feel overwhelmed on where to start? Here’s the thing food is simple. It is an energy source we have given to much emotional power. Marketing and ease of access have made it hard for us to sort through the foods we have available to us and differentiate the okay from the not so okay.

A good rule of thumb, if it can’t sit on your counter or in your fridge for more than a day or so you probably don’t need to be eating it. Think lettuce vs potato chips or blueberries vs tastykakes….

If you need help reach out to Michaela for some guidance at Michaela@rivathletics.com or learn a little more about the nutrition coaching options available at RIV https://rivathletics.com/about-riv-athletics/nutrition/

Categorised in: Blog, Nutrition