Im with ya! We’re human – we’re not perfect, so why do we think our diets need to be? It’s unrealistic.
For many of my clients, eating healthy wasn’t something that was taught when they were young, in fact, the same goes for me – back in the hay day, we just weren’t aware of the relationship between what we ate and how it affected our health.
Of course, we know and understand much more now – but does that mean we do much better now? – not necessarily. Firstly, food and eating are one of our most cherished activities! We love it! And FOOD IS DELICIOUS! So it is understandable a tad difficult to try and eat healthy 100% of the time, even though we know that eating the not-so-healthy foods can cause us to become unwell over time. I’ve noticed that some people go full hog into a diet, aiming to be perfect and healthy and do all the thangz…. BUT, along comes a friend’s birthday or a family gathering, the wine starts flowing and all of a sudden, they are face-diving into the cobb loaf whilst downing tequilas! What happened here do you think? They were way too strict on their diet, trying to do it perfectly and then when they indulge on a night out, they feel so guilty afterwards that they throw in the towel and say ‘It’s too hard or ‘It’s not sustainable.
The way I coach my clients is the way I have tried and proven myself. An 80/20 approach is MORE than enough when it comes to how you eat.
80 percent of the time, we aim to eat the best we can. That could be Monday to Friday for you or it mean 80% of your plate at every sitting.
I like to gently measure my overall week. As I work Monday to Friday, I aim to eat very well on those days (80%) and then on my weekends (20%) I feel no guilt in having other foods that won’t necessarily add to my health.
If I have a dinner or event to go to on say, a Thursday evening – I go! And I have fun and eat whatever is on offer to me. I just make a mental note to not go too nuts on the weekend.
I generally aim to have Sunday night’s meal a homecooked healthy and yummy meal so that I am already a step ahead for my coming week. That might look like roasted pesto salmon, with creamy cauli mash and steamed veggies! I mean its delicious – so Im super happy to eat this PLUS it’s completely health-giving!
I am NEVER too rigid on myself. Its an 80/20 approach without monitoring every single meal.
There is one little trick I like to use…. enter ‘The Green Smoothie’!
The Green Smoothie is the BEST way to get in a tonne of healthy nutrients and minerals in one hit! I like to JAM PACK my green smoothie with a combination of;
Green plants – Spinach, Kale, Rocket, Parsley or Mint
Plant-based carbs – Zucchini, Cucumber, Green beans, broccoli
One piece of fruit – Apple, Pear, Mango, banana
Healthy fats – Avocado, Udo’s oil, Nuts and Seeds, Coconut oil
Protein – High Quality, non-gmo, organic vegan vanilla protein powder (This can usually make it all taste nice and vanilla-yyyy
Liquid – Water with some nut milk, or coconut water/milk Bobs your uncle! You whip this bad boy up in a blender first thing in the morning. I absolutely crave these smoothies and they are an actual truckload of goodness hitting the gut right off the bat! This beautiful creation will set you up for the entire day! You’ll usually hear me saying to my clients, If you can get the green smoothie in first thing, everything you eat after that is a BONUS. Honestly, this can be really helpful for those who haven’t really had much experience with eating a diet rich in wholefoods. It’s one meal/drink at the start of your day and you feel so good after it! The live enzymes that come from the wholefood goodness load up your gut so that anything you eat after this has a much better chance of being digested easily and absorbed into the bloodstream! You are feeding your gut basically, and giving your friendly gut bacteria the tools they need to fight off non-foods and digest larger and more starchy meals. If you are stuck for smoothie recipes or wholefood easy-to-make meals then I can recommend my Rise and Shine ebook available for pretty cheap in the site shop! Otherwise, use my notes above and whip up your own tasty smoothie and see how you feel! It’s the easiest and fastest way to get a huge hit of healthy food in your body without eating healthy food all day long
Comments