Knowing your Limitations Part 1: Food

Good Tuesday to you Internets!

Ok ok, I know. Don’t disown me though! I’ve come to the realization that my blogging is a very fickle mistress in my life, which is often spurred by spontaneous motivation.

So, today I would like to write part 1 of a 3/4 part blog about something that is often overlooked in the health and fitness industry of knowing your limitations, this blog will be focused on diet (note: I am not a dietician, just a health nut who reads a lot).

 If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know how angry I get over the “perfectionist idealism” that is sometimes pushed by our community’s health advocates. 

It doesn’t take long to see this unhealthy mindset at work when we see flawless fitness models paraded around on Oxygen Magazine, Facebook, or Pinterest with the slogan “lose 15 pounds in a week”, or “weakness is a choice” written in big bold letters underneath them. What I am talking about here is a focus on the external benefits of a seemingly healthy lifestyle and a “I’m better than you” attitude, which is masked as “fitness motivation”, when the goal is really to provoke and promote feelings of anxiety and inadequacy in the consumer so they will… well consume the product of interest (e.g., magazine, website, diet pill)*. 

We should be supporting one another, not alienating people

Because of this over-arching marketing mindset, teaching people how to acknowledge and work with their own personal limitations gets pushed to the side. We are not perfect creatures and you know what, that’s alright. It’s the job duty of people who specialize in helping people improve their lives to guide others around these barriers to help them achieve success. That is the impetus of this blog post!

*Note: Some people may see this as me hating on the hard work of others (i.e., the shredded children). That is not it at all, I’m talking about the “I am better than you because I lift heavy things” attitude that is spewed by the mouths of those that were once, just an “average” person like you and I.

Part 1: Dietary Limitations

I’m going to write about the acknowledgement of our dietary limitations first as (in my opinion) eating is more important than being physically active in terms of overall health.  Don’t get me wrong, achieving the recommended amounts of physical activity per week is VERY VERY important, but if you’re going to pick a battle, I would start with diet.

Now, when I talk about “dietary limitations” I’m not talking about being allergic to gluten or dairy, what I’m talking about is acknowledging what you are willing and able to change in your diet to help you improve your health. What I'm talking about is the number 1 reason I hear people cannot change their eating habits-their income.

     This is extremely important when making dietary changes. Most of us work (or should) work on a weekly food budget. If your budget is say, $60 for the week, this can be a limitation when trying to achieve the “idealized diet” that is pushed by the “health” and fitness industry.

What is the ideal diet, well to be honest internet, I have no fucking idea. Watch Dr Oz or read a popular magazine to get a dose of the “I have no idea what to eat” phenomena.

I’m not a dietician, but generally, a good rule to follow is if you can see what the food is (then this is a good place to start. For example, is Coca-Cola a naturally occurring substance… no it isn’t- so don’t consume it. How about that Kraft dinner dust…nope that does not happen naturally, there are no Kraft dinner trees. An apple however, that was not constructed by chemicals, so you should be good to go.

Now it gets complicated when you add dietary restrictions in (i.e., gluten intolerance) chemical warfare paranoia into the mix (i.e., holy shit the pesticides are going to kill me), and cost management.

So pick your battles, what can you afford while eating real food. Some tips I would suggest are

• Eat produce that is in season: Go to those vegetable stands (I know they don’t take debit but it’ll save you money), or look for fruit and vegetables in season in the market.

• Eat cheaper produce/meats: Avocados are fricken expensive, so I’ll buy them when they are on the “lower” price point. Mushrooms are cheap, so are onions, apples, and bananas. Also look for sale meat and fish (not hot dogs).

• Buy produce that can be used in everything: Don’t buy blueberries if you’re only going to eat them in a fruit salad on Monday. Plan your meals around foods that can multi-task. For example, avocados can be used in Mexican, sammiches, and pasta. Spinach can be used in pretty much anything.

• Buy frozen produce: Some people say that frozen stuff retains more nutrients, I just find frozen fruit way more convenient (e.g., for shakes) and cheaper. Also, if stuff is on sale you can always buy a shit load then freeze it.

• Don’t give into the hype: So Dr. Oz said blueberries and the oil of the fishes are "superfoods". I’m not disagreeing that certain produce hold certain chemical properties to them that are good for you, but don’t give into the hype. Food is food, as long as it’s natural (see above) then you should be ok. Yes, there is a huge concern about genetically modified food and pesticides at the moment, but unless you have the money to by organic, grow your own produce (which gets affected by our air and water anyway), or single handedly take down the food industry, just try and eat food you can tell what it is (even if it has fish DNA in it).

• Don’t take supplements unless a medical professional suggests it: Again, if Mr.Bro-lifts-a-lot says this type of protein will get you jacked, I would think twice. A lot of people don’t know that any supplement is not regulated at the moment, so that Whey protein could be half ground up glass, a quarter steroids, and some protein for all you know. I know a lot of people that supplement, some of them swear by it, but in my opinion nothing beats real food.

• Eat the appropriate amount of food: This is often the hardest part (or maybe it's just for me). Once one learns how much their body actually needs to sustain itself, buying food becomes a lot cheaper. This topic is took long to explain in one blog, but there are a lot of resources on the interwebs to help you in this regard. 

I think I'll leave it there for now. I'll pick this topic back up on the next few blogs. If you have any suggestions on limitations that you have faced that you would like me to discuss leave a comment below (if you comment more I'll write more)!

Stay Strong

~Byn