First of all I need to make a disclaimer. I never say I am on a "diet" because the word diet has changed from what you eat to: a certain restrictive palate of food you make yourself eat for a certain amount of time. Instead I say I have an "intuitive eating" lifestyle because I never plans on ending this and reverting back to just junk foods. The second disclaimer is that I am NOT a certified nutritionist, nor have certified background in this. Do not follow this as your own diet, this is just me sharing my journey, what I do and how I think it has helped me! Lastly, I find it very interesting the week I decide to write this blog post is actually the same week as the annual NEDA Awareness week. Please, if you ever feel like you are beginning a restrictive, or overall negative eating habit, reach out for guidance from trusted adults or even find support on the NEDA website. That being said, it is perfectly normal and healthy to adjust your eating habits to avoid unhealthy foods, but the key is to remember balance. The Balancing Act.Eating healthy RARELY means following a certain diet for only a certain amount of time. That induces a back-and-forth lifestyle between extreme "healthy" food to terrible "junk" foods. That type of back and forth creates enormous stress on your body and can really mess with you mentally & physically. The best balance is a compromise between foods you need to consume for proper nutrients, while consuming the foods that you actually enjoy eating! There is no doubt eating healthy has to be a balance between consuming the proper nutrients and indulging in foods that make you happy. The key is adapting your palate to a healthy range of sugar-sensitivity so you can enjoy foods just as much, but shift your guilty pleasures from a nightly sundae to a yogurt with berries or a piece of melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate. Avoid the Added Sugars Originally my palate preferred more sugary foods based on the terrible mainstream food industry of America, but overtime I was able to adjust my palate to less and less sugary foods. This way I was still enjoying my food! For example, I have overtime adjusted my sugar cravings from things like pints of sugary ice creams to no-sugar added yogurts with berries, or 90% dark chocolate, or even homemade peanut butter cups. This way I am able to indulge in my desserts, without feeling any restrictions, but still keeping in mind what my body needs. Changing my overall diet to less-sugar based also allows me to indulge in the occasional sugary dessert at a social gathering, because I don't feel guilty since I don't eat it everyday. This change in diet has also really improved my overall mood, self-esteem, energy levels, decreased my joint discomfort, and helped me optimize my performance riding and running! I have avoided eating any really processed foods from boxes/wrappers, and steered clear of "white carbs" like white bread, white pastas, etc. Overall I try to eat only multigrain/complex carbs so they stay in my stomach longer and aren't immediately digested into sugars. For example, multigrain breads with low sugars (highly recommend Dave's Killer Bread) and when I have pasta I like to eat Red Lentil Pasta (I get mine from Trader Joe's) or I ask for whole wheat pastas at restaurants. If I eat something that has processed carbs, like normal pizza I try to add a lot of nutrients of fats and proteins on top so it stays in my stomach longer! Eating too many sugars can induce insulin levels and blood sugar levels to extremely fluctuate sometimes making you feel energetic and then light-heady or drowsy, etc. Don't be scared of fats!One of the most damaging fads in the American food industry was creating the taboo around eating fats. The rise of low-fat foods in the 1900s meant compensating with more and more sugars and chemical ingredients which are really the big toxins. However it is not black-and-white....there are fats to avoid like saturated and trans fats, but ironically by avoiding fats the sugar is usually increased and the sugar actually induces body-fat increase from the refined carbohydrates. Increasing the intake in unsaturated fats, and especially omega-3 fatty acids is very important. Most American diets are much higher on Omega-6s than Omega-3s and making the ideal ratio of 3:1 but some are now saying 1:1 or even more omega 3 to omega 6. The benefits of Omega-3s are enormous, such as reducing risks of heart health, reducing inflammation, improving mental health (still very recent studies on this), reducing symptoms of metabolic syndrome, reducing chances of cancer (still new studies on this), improve bones, sleep and skin. There are a plethora of benefits, proving its essential role in our diets. However, most of the food industry neglects these essential fats (so I sometimes feel like the world is against me eating healthy lol), but in recent years there has been a huge rise in interest of eating healthy. I have lately seen many new food brands that are promoting healthier ingredients which is wonderful to see. My Dos and Don'tsInstead of leading a life within a constraining diet I just set light dos and dont's that I tried to stick with. These are my dos and don'ts and I am only sharing the list to provide inspiration if you want to use some of them! Dos: 1) Try to eat lots of dark green vegetables/other vegetables high in nutrients 2) Incorporate fruits in desserts to serve as a natural sweetener 3) Balance each meal with foods you want to eat and foods you may not love but want to try incorporating more into your diet (like for people that hate veggies--slowly incorporating ones you like more and more into your diet to get accustom to them) 4) Incorporate foods high in fatty-acids into every meal (For example, I put flax-seed meal in my yogurt, and take Omega-3 supplements if I can't find a way to eat them in a meal) 5) Incorporate protein and fats and complex-carbohydrates into each meal so it is more filling and nutritious 6) Induldge in the occasional sugary dessert if you want, because why the heck not!! If its a periodic indulgence I feel way less guilty, and can actually enjoy it! Unfortunately, if its a week-long of splurging my body feels so crappy and I really regret it. 7) Try to incorporate various protein types (legumes, seafood, poultry, red meat, etc.) if your dietary needs allow it. Don'ts: 1) Try to avoid refined carbohydrates (like white bread, white pasta, plain bagels, etc.) because they are processed as sugars 2) Try to avoid automatically going to very sweet desserts all the time (Some times a piece of dark chocolate or yogurt with berries does the trick for me!) Example School Day:Start my morning with-- black coffee with half & half creamer or unsweetened almond milk creamer ~Breakfast before school classes~ Example go-to breakfast (8am)-- Yogurt
Snack (optional, sometimes eaten)
Lunch (1pm)-- Salad (My school has a cafeteria)
**After school I workout or head to the barn** Post-workout Snack (approx 5pm)-- either of the following
Dinner (below is one of my favorite meals ever.)
Dessert
I also just love eating any leftovers I can scrounge up to make a delicious meal! Example Weekend Day:Starting my morning--Coffee with creamer (very necessary) Breakfast I sometimes skip to induce intermittent fasting if I am not hungry; or if I have a big day and am hungry I make the yogurt I shared above or a peanut butter sandwich shown below, which is easier to bring on the go:
Snack (when I'm out all day I pack a snack I can eat, such as when I'm at the barn or the show all day)
Lunch (If I am out all day I sometimes just eat a filling snack like nuts, or I end up eating lunch at like 4pm) I like to eat a Filling Salad full of a variety of veggies, sources of fats & proteins or a sandwich I packed like below:
Dinner (second favorite dinner shown below)
Dessert
I hope you enjoyed reading and learned something new or were inspired by anything I have shared! I look forward to continuing this blog post series. This is one of a series of nutrition related blog posts I plan on writing. Please reach out if you have any topic requests or questions.
Have a wonderful day, Martha Wyatt-Luth
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March 2021
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AuthorMy name is Martha Wyatt-Luth, I have been riding since I could talk but loving horses since I was born. Between being a studious high-school student and riding up to 6 days a week, my days get pretty busy. However, dedicating time to "hobbies" helps me keep going even on the longest days. For example, I love running and I hope to do a marathon one day! |