Happy New Year! YOU get a diet, and YOU get a diet, and YOU get a diet! Everyone gets a diet!
It’s that time of year again. Can you smell it in the air? That’s the smell of inadequacy. That’s the smell of strangers on the internet trying to convince you that you need to avoid, restrict, give up, replace, or modify the foods in your fridge. Because it’s January 1 – didn’t you get the memo? It’s the thing to do.
Well I call bullsh*t on that. Actually, I call W.T.A.F. on that.
W.T.A.F.:
Will Take in Approprite amounts of actual Food.
What if – and hear me out on this – instead of dieting, you learned to eat correctly?
There isn’t a thing wrong with setting goals around your nutrition, health, or even specifically your weight. But here’s the thing: you need to eat. Ideally, you need to eat a lot. If you’re currently feeling sluggish or gaining fat or not losing the fat you want to lose while eating food, it has nothing to do with the specific foods. It’s not because of the carbohydrate in your bagel. It isn’t because of the candy bar you had last Tuesday. It isn’t because of the unsweetened soda you like to drink a few days a week.
It has everything to do with you not having an efficient engine primed for fat burning and muscle growth.
And why don’t you have one? Because you never learned how to fuel like an athlete and support your body’s efforts. Instead you’ve been asking it to continuously perform miracles on less and less food. You’ve probably been restricting calories or nutrients (by reducing the types of foods you’ll allow your body to have) – or both, for years. And then you’re surprised that the system no longer works the way it was designed to work? Well, duh.
I don’t mean to sound harsh. I really don’t. But listen, sometimes a direct wake up call is what’s needed.
Those folks selling you the “Detox Tea” or “Super Shake” or “Apple Cider Vinegar Metabolism Boosters” (what fresh hell is this?!) aren’t being subtle. They are flat out lying to your face on the internet or on TV and then doubling down on it when that stuff doesn’t work. In fact, they count on it not working, because every time one of their insane products doesn’t work, you will come back for a different one. And they’re counting on it, all the way to the bank.
So here’s an idea: how about this year you say W.T.A.F. to all of that? How about you decide that you Will Take in Adequate amounts of actual Food to support your body in reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself?
Do you want to gain muscle? Yeah, you need to eat food. Do you want to lose excess fat? Yeah, you need to eat food. Do you want to hit a new endurance or lifting PR? Yeah, you definitely need to eat food.
What you don’t need is a diet gimmick, special “fat burning” foods (spoiler alert: there is no such thing), or Karen’s multi-level marketing 30-day “metabolism kickstarter cleanse”. (You can just take your money and put it directly in the toilet and cut out the middle man.)
Gimmicks and one-size-fits-all approaches don’t work. You are an individual. You and your neighbor could literally eat the same thing and work out the same way…and you’d still look and feel differently. Nutrition isn’t straight forward and it’s not stagnant. It requires constant adjustment.
If you want to improve your performance or your health or your body composition, you need nutrition guidance that is unique to you.
"I am happy to be working with Kirsten on nutrition. I have always struggled with how to balance nutrition with my running. She has been able to evaluate my needs and prescribe a plan to help me eat right for my level of activity. She is very professional, yet warm and friendly. She has gone the extra mile to make sure I was comfortable with what I was doing. I highly recommend her."
"I don't know where to begin! Kirsten is the BEST resource for learning about the what, where, when, why, and how of living a healthier lifestyle. From your first introduction you will notice how attentive and detail-oriented she is. She asks thoughtful questions to determine the root of any problem you might have and takes the time to lay out a plan specific to your needs. She makes her clients feel important, and if I am experiencing any issues or challenges that could disrupt my plan, she dedicates the time to make the changes I need. I am so thankful to have Kirsten as a part of my healthy lifestyle team!"
If you want to learn to understand how nutrition works & what your body needs, consider 1:1 nutrition coaching. Start your nutrition journey for the last time.