Let me be frank for a second….I sucked as a dietitian this past year. Don’t get me wrong – I gave great advice! But did I practice what I preach?
Image by Upvote
I ate like garbage for a variety of reasons: stress, anxiety, supporting local businesses in the pandemic (but choosing the wrong foods), too lazy to cook. Regardless of the reason, the fact of the matter is that I chose to eat poorly. And now I’m reaping what I sow. Body aches? Yup. Fatigue? You betcha. Moody? My husband says no, but that’s because he’s smart ?
All joking aside, I know better. But just because I know better doesn’t mean I do better. It does mean, though, that I may understand the consequences of these decisions more-so than someone who didn’t go to school for nutrition. Yet somehow, that didn’t stop me from over-indulging, and I found myself in a cycle that was difficult to break. But it’s the start to a new year, so what better time than now to do a little nutrition experimenting?!
As a dietitian, I’m always being asked which “diet” is best. And my answer is usually the same…
- If you look for a quick fix, you’ll get a short-lived result
- Focus on quality instead of quantity
- Look to nourish your body – not just count some numbers
- Plain and simple….
…diets don’t work.
But there are plenty of clinical studies on different dietary habits and their effects on cardiovascular health, metabolic conditions, various cancers, etc. There is also, however, a paucity of literature on more of the subjective information – does it improve energy? Is it easy to plan for? What are the pros and cons? Does it give you gas?
Photo by brick tamland
With these questions in mind, I’m going to take 2021 to follow different eating styles for a month at a time to answer these questions. Each one-month trial will be followed by a wash-out period so each eating style is not affected by the previous one. This wash-out period will consist of simply following the Standard American Diet (SAD), so it’s sure to make me feel miserable and looking forward to a change. I’ll write about my experiences during this time as well as background information regarding each eating style. Maybe I’ll even throw in a few educational nuggets for fun.
Until next time….
…eat food, not food products!
Every. Damn. Word. ??
I consider my eating habits pretty balanced and clean (gluten and dairy free) to combat the SE of having Hashimotos. October I ate not so gluten free meatloaf (made by my husband) , and then it was all downhill from there. All that hard work and rest, gone, with just a single bite of meatloaf. So of course, I chose to indulge in the foods I once loved but didn’t necessarily miss. Now here I am, going through detox with no energy and feeling the effects of sugar, processed foods and everything not for Hashi’s. Just crap!
So here’s to a reset! Thank you for sharing your blog matters, many of us can relate! ?
This is great! Will be interesting to follow your journey!
Totally interested in reading more of what you have to say! I’m interested in losing weight and just feeling better all around. Thanks for posting this. Look forward to reading more.
I’m curious which “eating style” you decided to try first! I’ll be eager to read about your month by month experiences!
It is time for a change! Lookin forward to your advice and maybe some simple recipes?
That was me, Carl
Great job. Enjoyed the reading. Will you share your plan before starting a plan so your readers could join if they want to?
Yes, that’s my goal! Just had a little bit of a late start this month!
Following