Our Nutrition Philosophy
We LOVE to talk about food! There's so many different opinions, diets and options out there... so what 'should' you be eating?
Our food philosophy
Unless you have specific health requirements, we prefer to advocate an everything in moderation approach to nutrition. No deprivation, gimmicks, fast fixes or fads. This is not just to lose/maintain/gain weight, it's so that you will have a healthier relationship with food.
Many diet approaches are unnecessarily complicated, difficult to implement, or boring which makes it difficult to stick to them in the long term. As we've mentioned before, any diet that cuts out calories or food groups will get results, but consistency is what gets you permanent change, so if you can't keep the diet going it's easy to find yourself back where you started.
There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods - just ones that are healthier for us and ones that are less healthy for us. Your day-to-day choices between these options are key to whether you move towards your nutrition goals or away from them, so you need to make things as simple and easy to achieve this as possible.
Some of the key aspects we like to focus on at Grace, Grit & Gratitude include:
- What a true portion size should look like for you (we are all unique, so our portion sizes will be too!)
- Filling up on quality whole foods first and foremost (and having them readily and easily available)
- Consistency by picking a single habit to change and sticking to it until you've nailed it (THEN adding another to layer your habit changes slowly over time)
- Figuring out what 'everything in moderation' looks like
- Learning to listen to your body's cues about food and making healthier choices that make you feed good (feelings of fullness/satisfaction, what doesn't agree with you, what makes you feel good etc.)
Why we don't do set meal plans
We are happy to offer suggestions of meal options like a template, but when it comes to putting them into action, people typically follow meal plans for a short period of time and it becomes too difficult keep going.
Some reasons for this could be:
- Specific meal plans can't cater for every social scenario that may pop up (special occasions, parties, restaurants, cultural foods, date nights, holidays away from home...)
- Too many changes all at once; it's human nature to resist change, and it's difficult to change so many things in one go
- Meal plans can be tricky to maintain in times when you're busy or very stressed out
- They may not cater to cultural/religious/health needs adequately
- Your meal plan may not suit someone else in your household when it comes to their health needs or preferences (family, partner etc.)
Food needs and preferences are different from person to person because we are all unique - and so our individual menus should be too.
This is another reason why we prefer you to look at the way you're already eating and make small adjustments by layering healthier habit changes one at a time, depending on what's working for you and what's not. Flexibility is super important!
Let's get started!
Want some help putting this into action? Join our Online Squad and get access to more than 100 online workouts and slow flow yoga classes, planning tools, private group support, challenges to keep you motivated and more! If you would like some more focused attention, you might like join our next 8-week Find Your Balance Challenge intake (included in the Online Squad membership).
Get social
Head over to the GGG Women's Sustainable Health & FItness Facebook group (or the Grace, Grit & Gratitude VIP group if you're already an Online Squad member) and get involved.
Whether it's just reading through some of the posts, asking questions, supporting others on their journey or finding some new inspiration, it's a great opportunity to get together with other ladies on a similar mission to yourself!
