Skip to main content

3 food rules to help you lose weight and feel great


We’ve already talked about the three questions to ask yourself when you’re eating.  Those were all about the mindfulness side of eating. Here are three ways to make sure you’re regulating your blood sugar and nourishing your body--in other words, the physiological side of what goes in your mouth.  Both are incredibly important, and often overlap.  

Do these things and your inflammation levels will go down, your cravings will subside, your hormone levels will regulate, and you might even lose weight!

Number one: Control your carbs.

Carbohydrates are the one macronutrient that we really don’t need.  If we don’t ingest glucose, our bodies will make it.  If we don’t have enough glucose in our bloodstreams, our bodies will learn to run on ketones made from fatty acids.  That said, there are a lot of good things about vegetables and fruits that we can’t deny—they provide fiber and vitamins, and help our bodies detox.  Just try to get most of your carbs from plants for the most nutrient density.

Number two: Prioritize protein.

I feel like a broken record here, but it really is important! Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, and every cell in our body needs it for growth and repair.  The protein leverage hypothesis proposed by scientists even states that our bodies will keep looking for food until our protein needs are met.  Out bodies are smart like that.   Check out my previous post for more info.

This really has been what has made the most difference in my own food journey.  The more protein I eat, the more I feel satiated, comfortable in my body, and free from the constant hunger and food thoughts that used to drive me to overeat.

Number three: Eat only when you’re hungry

I know we just talked about this, and I know it sounds like common sense, but how many of us are still snacking throughout the day, eating mindlessly, and using food to self-soothe?  Find other ways to deal with your stuff.  

For example, I love to snack on almonds when I’m working on the computer.  I call them my “thinking snack.”  Unfortunately, that thinking snack can quickly turn into 1000 calories worth of almonds, which crosses the line from nourishment into indulgence.  Instead, now I make a hot cup of tea or grab a sparkling water to sip on while I work.  I’m not really hungry, so the substitutions work just as well.

Let’s review:  eat a satisfying meal, stop eating until a few hours later, eat another satisfying meal, then stop eating until the next meal.  If you’re not hungry at 7:00 am, don’t eat until you are.  If you think you’re hungry at 8:00 pm, chances are you’re stuck in a habit or you didn’t eat enough nourishing food at dinner.


If you'd like to talk to me about creating a wellness and nutrition plan that works for you, I've got you!  I'm a certified Nutrition Coach who will create a simple, customized meal plan for you and coach you through how to implement it into your busy life.  We also talk about all the pitfalls that make it hard, and help you make it the anchor that keeps you healthy, energized, and sane through the whirlwind of your everyday life.

I'd love to talk to you about the program, so please book a free consultation with me by clicking the Calendly button. I look forward to talking to you!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

meditation on a rose

The universe was trying to tell me something this week.  First, I got a bouquet of beautiful pink roses from my daughter’s boyfriend for no particular reason (who does that? He’s a keeper!) The next day I read about the Heart of the Rose meditation in The Monk who Sold his Ferrari . In this form of meditation you gaze into the heart of a rose for several minutes, soaking in the beauty and clearing your mind of all other distractions. I tried it briefly, but honestly, I wasn't really into it. Later that day, since I apparently didn’t get the message, my coworker gave me a beautiful rose from her garden. So now I had a rose on my desk at work, roses on my table at home, and a book on my counter reminding me to take more time to meditate. I had been on a great streak of meditating ten minutes a day while I was at home all day this summer, but since I went back to work, that was one of the first habits to quietly slip away. The stress of the pandemic sneaks up on you. You think ...

create a new habit in 6 steps

Habits make our lives easier. They make things automatic and free us from the decision fatigue that hits us near the end of the day. However, you probably already know how hard it is to create a new habit. The old ones are so deeply ingrained. It should be simple—there really are only 3 steps involved. Trigger, behavior, reward. With some things it really is that easy. Walk into the bathroom, brush your teeth, enjoy the reward of fresh minty breath. Unfortunately, other habits are not so easy to implement. Habits around food can be the hardest! That’s where we bring in the big guns: habit stacking. Throw every trick you’ve got at it. There are lots of things you can do, but here are some of the most powerful tools I have found for creating better habits around food: 1. Put it in front of your face. If you want to drink more water, fill your water bottle and take it with you everywhere. If you want to eat according to a plan, print it out and post it on your fridge....

I slipped and fell off the wagon!

In an effort to keep the Christmas spirit alive and well this year, I baked all the usual cookies and treats:  buckeyes, fudge, caramels, snowball cookies, chocolate crinkles, ginger snaps... Everyone has a different favorite, of course, so I had to make them all, despite making proclamations that we would not go overboard this year and I was going to narrow down the list of things we would make.  I could try and make gluten-free, sugar-free versions, but what would be the point, really?  My kids wouldn't eat them, I would be stuck looking at them and feeling guilty that I wasted the time and money on them, and would feel obligated to eat them all myself.  Usually we make cookies and keep them in the freezer, doling them out little by little as we make our rounds of holiday parties.  This year, however, there are no parties to go to, and home baked treats are not as well-received as in years past. So...guess who's eating the cookies this year?  Yep, I fell ...