How Do I Know If I’m Actually Eating Healthy

Many of my friends, family and clients tell me they are healthy eaters, some tell me they eat like crap, but let’s talk about healthy eating. When someone tells me they are a healthy eater I don’t necessarily tell them they aren’t eating healthy unless they explicitly ask me for nutrition coaching advice, but I will ask them what they eat regularly. Healthy eating seems to be relative. Some healthcare providers will say the keto diet is healthy, others will say you should never eat a keto diet. Some will say going vegan or vegetarian is the healthiest diet and others will say meat and eggs all the way. It depends on who you’re talking to to determine what healthy eating is.

So I’m going to talk about what I think is a healthy way of eating, obviously I am biased, but I do find that this way of eating works the best for the most people I talk to in my personal life and work with in my professional life.

1. Balanced macronutrient intake

2. Cut out processed foods

3. Limiting or eliminating refined sugar

4. Water: Drinking half your bodyweight in ounces

5. Avoiding foods or ingredients you are allergic or sensitive to

6. Additional supplements as needed

I don’t think one diet fits all. Some people swear by a ketogenic diet, some people love intermittent fasting, and some people swear by going gluten free for all.

Balanced macronutrient intake

Macronutrients are the big type of nutrients that we need to maintain life these are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The best way to find out how much of these nutrients you need to eat would be working with a Registered Dietitian to figure out how many calories you need to eat and then base your macronutrients on that number of calories to keep 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 30% fats. Those are the standard recommendations. 

Cut out processed foods for healthier eating

One of the best ways someone can eat healthier is to cut out processed foods and eat more fresh, whole foods. Processed foods are convenient but they often have extras: extra salt, extra sugar, preservatives that are there to maintain the shelf life of the food but don’t add anything except extras to your dietary needs. One type of processed food that has really flourished and popped up everywhere is the “plant-based” label and when I see this I cringe. Plant-based when it’s not flat out a whole vegetable or fruit, is just another way to say heavily processed. Plant-based is nice and all for people who want to avoid meat and posibly animal products, but the food is most definitely processed. You’ll likely eat fewer calories and have a more balanced meal when you make the meal yourself from whole foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish and other meats.

Limit or eliminate refined sugar for improved health

Sugar does a number on our bodies. Some people may be able to, and need, some refined sugar but most of the general population could limit or eliminate sugar intake. Sugar fuels inflammation and most of the women I work with have been dealing with pain for so long that they now have chronic inflammation. Eating too much sugar will fuel that inflammation and contribute to longstanding pain. Sugar is hidden in so many things, too so to go along with tip number 2 of cutting out processed foods for making your own meals and snacks with whole foods will help you limit and eliminate refined sugar intake. Sugars that my husband and I still cook with include raw honey, pure maple syrup, coconut sugar and natural sugars occurring in fruits. 

Water intake for healthier eating

Water is so good for our bodies. Not only does it make up most of our bodies it also has no sugar, calories or nutrients in it. Sometimes water has added salt, flavors, etc so be aware of what’s in any bottled water or local water you’re drinking. Most people don’t drink enough water. If you’re thirsty you’re already a little dehydrated. If your urine isn’t pale yellow or clear you’re already a little dehydrated. When in doubt drink more water. Drinking more water even helps people who have urinary incontinence and feel like they always have to pee (don’t believe me go talk to a pelvic floor physical therapist to find out why!). Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces in water. So if you weigh 100 pounds drink 50 ounces, if you weigh 300 pounds drink 150 ounces. You may not hit that goal, but you’ll be better off than just drinking when you think of it. And you’ll actively have to think of drinking more water when you first get into it, so mark a reminder on your phone.

Avoid foods or ingredients you’re allergic to or sensitive to

I know this seems kind of obvious but I know many people who don’t have an immediate life threatening allergic reaction to ingredients but they are sensitive to the ingredients, and they will “cheat” and have some of whatever it is every once in a while. So an example of this could be dairy. Someone who is allergic to or sensitive to dairy where it makes them swell a bit and contributes to chronic inflammation, but they aren’t going to stop breathing when they eat it, so sometimes they’ll cheat and eat some ice cream. Then they are in a flare up for 2 week or so, as an example. It’s most beneficial for them to continue to stay away from dairy because you don’t know what the chronic inflammation is doing to the cells in your body. Your cells rebuild themselves regularly and as we get older and if we have other factors (like chronic inflammation) it can create an error in the cellular makeup so each time the cell rebuilds itself it is a little damaged and over time this could worsen the pain and inflammation. This is just one example, but if you’ve done testing or know you feel unwell when eating or drinking certain foods or ingredients continue to avoid them for better health.

Additional supplements for better health

If we eat a well balanced diet with the proper level of macronutrients and eat whole foods we likely don’t need to add supplements but there are occasions when supplements are needed. You can, and should if you are concerned, get bloodwork or testing done to check levels of vitamins and minerals in your system to see if you have a normal level or if you are low. If there is a disease or injury that makes it so the body doesn’t absorb certain vitamins and minerals well you may need to supplement for those vitamins and minerals to make sure you’re getting enough of them. Adding supplements on your own isn’t advised. Different supplements of vitamins and minerals can interact with medications and you may not know which medications they interact with, so always consult your health care provider to find out which supplements may interact with medications you take.

So let’s recap: What does it mean to eat healthy? Everyone has a slightly or very different meaning for eating healthy. To me eating healthy means having a balanced intake of carbohydrates, fats, proteints, limiting processed foods and replacing with eating and cooking whole foods from fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish and other meats, limiting or eliminating refined sugar, avoiding foods you are allergic or sensitive to and adding supplements only when there has been testing to indicate there is a need due to reduced absorption due to any reason including certain diseases of the body.

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