Kylene, what do you eat to stay healthy and fit?

Hi friends! I get a variation of this question a lot - whether it’s specifically in regards to MY eating, or women wanting to know what healthy eating means in general for THEM….

Maybe YOU have tried 20 different diets, you’re gaining weight, your’e tired, your’e frustrated and you simply can’t seem to move the needle. (Check out my recent post on the fad of “plant based” eating HERE.

I get it! Many of my clients begin this way as well and I’ll give the same answer I give to everyone. #YOUtrition. You can learn exactly what I mean in my podcast episode HERE or my previous blogpost HERE.

While I believe in a unique approach to each individual, here are the overarching guidelines that work for EVERYONE…

Healthy Eating Guidelines That work for Everyone

1) Avoid processed foods.

This includes anything with refined sugars, corn syrup, food coloring, or unnatural ingredients. You can simply ask - was it made by God, or made by a factory? If a factory, skip it. (I do still utilize packaged foods but I choose brands that use high quality ingredients. You can ask the question when reading the ingredient label - could I make this at home if I had the time or inclination? If so it may be an ok product. If it’s packed with words you don’t recognize - skip.)

2) Go gluten free 100%.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what your life history is, or what symptoms you are experiencing, for my clients and myself, this is a non-negotiable. You can learn more about WHY in this Youtube video HERE .

3) Go organic.

Unless a certain type of produce is a “safe” crop known not to be sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, or it has a thick skin that you do not eat, go 100% organic. Pesticides are linked to liver toxicity (which can lead to a whole host of disease but can also show up in weight gain and fatigue), cancer, hormone disruption and more….

You may even be doing your best to eat a “heart healthy” diet by starting the day off with a granola bar or oat based cereal like cheerios….but last year the environmental working group found that ONE serving of these cereals (and who measures just one serving?) goes above the “safe” limit of glyphosate for children. And I would argue there IS not safe exposure.

Microscopic particles have been shown to kill beneficial gut flora. Pesticides kill things. It also kills things in your GUT.

4) Dig deeper and get testing.

This includes food sensitivity testing, gut testing and possibly more. Simply addressing these sources of inflammation and lead to unexpected and EASY weight loss.

I personally live a life where probably 80% of the food I eat is purchased by me and made in my home. The other 20% is conscientiously choosing when out to eat without compromising core values (like being gluten free etc….).

Exercise doesn’t have much to do with it

You may be surprised to learn that as a former personal trainer, exercise is not a component of the plans I create for my clients. Now to be clear, I always encourage movement, walking, and if the client is healthy enough, exercise,. But I never lay out a fitness plan and in most cases I’m actually asking them to calm it down a bit to allow for healing.

And guess what - these clients STILL lose weight.

I’ve had clients drop 10 pounds without effort simply by following their food sensitivity test report.

I’ve had other clients from 10 pounds simply by going gluten free. Before they even GET a test result.

I personally choose to lift HEAVY, but I ONLY work out twice a week. I’m seeing amazing results. So while it would be tempting to double this amount, I listen to my body and even on weeks where we have tried 3 sessions, it doesn’t seem to give my body enough recovery time and I simply don’t feel as strong. This way I have lots of recovery time and I can not only CRUSH it every time, but I can regularly increase my weights.

Dig Deeper

If you do some of the basics and feel like you have “tried everything” but still can’t see results, that’s where a coach like me can come in and help you dig deeper!

Food sensitivity testing is certainly one of the most popular tests I run. However, I choose to run my business in a way where I never offer one test alone because I want my clients to leave with RESULTS. So while yes, many can simply follow a food sensitivity test and see some benefit, OFTEN where there are food sensitivities, there are also other imbalances in the gut so I like to pair it wit ha comprehensive stool test.

This allows me to see how we can REALLY make progress by healing the gut, removing stressors (stressors can be parasites, bacteria, food sensitivities etc….) and adding in needs ( things like minerals or vitamins your body needs).

Think Liver

Where there is weight gain and/or weight loss resistance, there is probably some liver stress, or what you might think of as a sluggish liver. Our bodies are bombarded by stressors daily and our liver does a phenomenal job but it needs two things:

1) A whole host of nutrients to function optimally

2) A break from toxins or else it can get bogged down

So for example, if you are eating a food daily that your body is sensitive too, and wearing perfume that is full of chemicals, experience a lot of mental emotional stress, and have some hormone imbalances, then your liver has a high work load!

Everything we are exposed to must go through the liver to be broken down and made non-toxic. This requires an enormous amount of energy and nutrition. In fact, your liver STORES extra nutrients for a rainy day. But if we aren’t eating a healthy diet, and instead we eat a nutrient POOR and inflammatory diet, in addition to living in the modern world, then we are setting our liver up for failure. Literally.

Fatty liver is something that is difficult to diagnose unless you actually get some imaging done for another reason. Bloodwork alone doesn't necessarily tell you that a fatty liver is developing.

If you experience fatigue regularly, weight loss resistance, pain in your right side, digestive issues, etc… your liver may need some support!

Are YOU ready to invest in YOUR health??

Interested in learning if working together one on one is the right fit for YOU? You can schedule a free functional health assessment call at the link below. This call allows me to understand your goals, your vision for health, what you have tried and determine if I am the right fit to help achieve those goals! If not, no worries, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction by the end of the call!