‘You are what you eat’

You’ll hear this phase thrown around a lot in the fitness industry. Although this can seem reductionist to say that, this does not mean what health is going to look the same for everyone.

We live in this world where food is so readily available and easy to take on the go. A strong trend I see in my clients is people basing a large portion of their diet on pre packaged and pre made foods. Despite making life easier, these foods are designed to live on a shelf for a LONG time before their expiry. If you’re eating foods with a long shelf life this makes you wonder why, why are these foods lasting so long? Preservatives and artificial flavourings making this food last has to be digested. If the shelf life of a product is 6 months to a year, how long does this take our bodies to break this down?

If you are reading this and find yourself assessing your diet a good way to measure its effectiveness is to think about your digestion and energy. Are you able to digest your food easily and not find yourself bloated or placing digestive stress on your body? Do you struggle with energy levels despite getting a good amount of sleep?

How to make a change. It’s tough to start to assess everything which has been your food source for a prolonged period of time. I would start with looking at the percentage of food which is coming out of a pre-made packet in your diet. If you are eating alot of prepackaged foods I would strongly encourage you to look at the ingredients list, you’re likely to see a few ingredients which you don’t know. I encourage you to read into what you are consuming, this is not to demonise all pre made foods as there are some good options out there. The first step to getting your diet on track is not to cut carbs or cut out any fats but just assess what you are already habits and see if you can reduce any inflammation and digestive stress from the foods you’re already eating.

Some key tips:

• Read the ingredients on your food!

• Have an equal macronutrient split of foods in each meal. In simplistic terms, protein, carbs, fats (and veg/fruit micronutrients)

• Get your sources of protein and fat from multiple sources. Protein (red and white meats/fish, whey, dairy, beans etc) fats (nuts, oils, avocado, dark chocolate etc)

• Think about your meal timings, do you have really busy days and relaxed evenings (or maybe other way round). Does it make sense to have a really heavy meal before bed and eat small portions all day? You’ve likely heard of pre and post workout meals, this is to optimise performance and this can be utilised to help you feel energised at work or whatever you are doing.