Where the heck do I start?

Hey Hey Diva friends!

I know. It can be overwhelming. Gluten free, Keto, Low carb, High fat, low fat, macros, portion control....WHERE DO I START?!?!?! What diet is right for me?! How in the world are you supposed to know where to start when there is so much conflicting information out there?!

Well today I'm going to give you 3 mindset shifts that I hope will allow you to being trusting yourself more and listening to your body for the answers....

1) Eat Real Food

Intuitively, we know this is the right answer don't we? Like deep in our CORE we know that a weight watchers lasagna dinner isn't as good for you as a sweet potato with broccoli and beef roast.

In our heart of hearts, we know that our bodies are begging for real food and normally what hinders us from jumping on the bandwagon wholeheartedly is convenience. Right? That meal that's mailed to our door is convenience. McDonald's is convenience. Frozen diet food is convenience. But if we stop and check in with ourselves and step back for a minute....are any of those providing VALUE?

Besides convenience, are those foods worth anything? Do they help build my heart, my lungs, my brain? Do they support my hormones, my moods, my energy? Do they help me prevent cancer, alzheimers, dementia and diabetes? If the answer is no well....then we need to make some changes.

Here is the one question you need to determine if something should go into your mouth:

"Did it come from nature? Or did it come from a factory?"  

If it came from nature, or is a combination of things from nature (aka lara bars as an example - 2-6 whole food ingredients that you could technically make at home) then have at it. If it's from a factory and packed full of sugar, chemicals, preservatives or "other"...well...you know what to do ( or in this case, what NOT to do...)

2) No macro is bad

Macro is short for macronutrient. The main three nutrients that our diet is comprised of: Carbs, Fat, and Protein. Depending on which diet you've been on  in the past, (maybe all of them like me!) you've probably vilified one or all macronutrients at some point. "Don't eat carbs you'll blow up! Don't eat too much protein, don't eat fat ever!".....All of that is garbage.

Your body needs all three macros. Desperately. Let me say that another way. Your body is in dire need of carbohydrates. It's fueled on fat, and it builds and maintains muscles with protein. Don't ever fall prey to a fad that tells you any of the macros are inherently bad.

Here's the catch. You have to follow step #1 in order for step #2 to be true. If you are eating a processed standard American diet then yes - carbs are garbage.

Processed foods are the entire reason we HAVE a diet industry in the first place. With processed foods you HAVE to portion control and calorie count.

If you don't, you'll blow up like a balloon from all the sugar, hydrogenated trans fats, hybridized grains, and so forth...

When you eat real food none of that happens. So stop weighing your carbs, and counting your pistachios....carbs and fat are good for you. Did they come from nature? Or did they come from a box?

3) Think minimums not maximums 

We are SO USED to this restrictive mentality. What's mind-blowing about all of this is how much it resembles a hamster wheel! Processed foods make me crave more processed foods - they light up my brain like a motherboard stimulating appetite, addiction, and belly fat....so in order to control my weight, my appetite and my cravings I must measure, weight, and count my food... I must CONTROL and not go beyond my MAXIMUM......

BUT! When you jump OFF the hamster wheel of dieting and choose real foods that feed your brain, balance your hormones, stabilize your moods, quench your appetite send the proper hunger and full signals....you can then begin to view food as a GIFT. You can begin to view food as something that SERVES you instead of ENSLAVING YOU. You can then being thinking "How much of this does my body need? How can I get more of this into my body?"

Start thinking about #YOUTRITION not deprivation. Believe it or not, many many people I work with are under eaters. They beat themselves up because they are overweight (not understanding the hamster wheel yet) and think they must have no self control. While occasionally it might be a case of "get-off-the-couch- and-get-your-life-together", more often it's simply a case of the wrong foods wreaking havoc on your brain, your metabolism, your hunger, and your appetite. Get those foods out and watch the weight melt off, your moods balance, your energy increase, and your thinking become more clear. Essentially....a light bulb goes off and your body says, THANK YOU!

p.s. Would you like more support, tips, recipes, and monthly events? Join my FREE Facebook group: Stop Dieting and Live Your Life today!! 

I'd love to hear from YOU! When you made a switch to eating real foods what has your experience been like? Share below!

Fall Apple Salad

Welcome to October Diva friends! 

I have to admit that traditionally, I'm not a salad person. So when my MRT food sensitivities test came back with spinach and lettuce as foods to avoid, I wasn't too disappointed. HOWEVER, I am so aware of the many benefits of leafy greens that it felt weird not making more of an effort once the easy-go-to spinach wasn't an option.

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The other day I sat down to plan my weekly meals and decided that this week was going to be a "detox" week. No no, I wasn't going on an "all liquids" diet, or dropping my calories below 1000....All I wanted was to get lots of vegetables in, lower my meat intake (for no particular reason other than to get more easily digestible foods priority and include more beans and lentils) and include a juice every morning. So as I was looking for some recipes to include I stumbled across this Autumn Kale Apple and Quinoa salad, and thought, "That sounds like the perfect fall salad!"

I modified it to use what I have in the house and to avoid my personal food sensitivities and what happened was a DELICIOUS, sweet, crisp fall salad that I am excited to eat for lunch every day this week! OBVIOUSLY I had to share it with YOU!

*Notes* I modified the amounts to make 1 serving every day. I did make the full amount of dressing up front so I could have that prepared all week!

Picture from cookingclasssy.com

Fall Apple Salad 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sprouted quinoa trio
• Bowl of shredded kale
• 1/2 honey crisp apple chopped
• 1-2TBS pistachios
• 1 TBS raisins
• Drizzle of pre-made dressing 

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Prep ahead/personalization notes:

1. While this is something you could make in large amounts on Sunday and pack for work lunches (minus the dressing) I chose to make mine fresh every day. I did however prep a few things to make it easier. For example, I made a large batch of quinoa on Sunday so I could pull from that for snacks and/or this salad throughout the week.
2. I took one bunch of kale and pulled all the leaves off the spine, placed the leaves in a dish in the fridge so I can pull my daily portion out at lunch. I utilized the leftover leaves and spines in my morning green juice.
3. To save half the apple you can wrap it in aluminum foil after you rub the exposed side with lemon or lime juice to stay fresh. Consider having the second half as a snack later in the day. I used half in my morning juice and half in my salad at lunch.
4. Use any nut you enjoy! 
5. Goat cheese is delicious but optional! Make sure you read the ingredients and choose a high quality brand without extra ingredients or preservatives! 

ENJOY!

p.s. Did you try this? Comment below! I'd love yo hear your feedback!