You cannot change your eating habits until you have this first. What is THIS? It’s awareness.
That may sound kind of generic, but let me explain because there are so many ways that awareness shapes our choices in our diets.
Part One – Awareness of Consumption
First of all, we need to be exceedingly aware of what are are currently eating. If we do not know what we are actually consuming we cannot change it.
For example, I have a client who has been putting on weight and not feeling well with her energy levels and erratic emotions. I had her track on MyFitnessPal for a week and we realized she was consuming over 100g of sugar a day. We would have never known that until she tracked! Now we have her set at a daily limit of 50g of sugar, which are primarily fruit sugars each day and she’s feeling much better.
It’s as simple as wanting to lose weight but not understanding why you can’t. But when you finally start tracking your food you become aware that you are eating 2800 calories a day but you are only burning 2400 calories a day so the excess is being stored as fat. Or not understanding why you never have the energy to do your daily workout but then when you track you realize you are only eating 1500 calories a day but you burn 2400 so no wonder you are tired!
We cannot make changes in our diet or our eating habits until we are aware of what we are eating currently. Period.
Part Two – Awareness of Ingredients & Nutrients
We also need to be aware of what is actually in our food.
One of my favorite things to do as a coach is to help people learn about food and what it does in their bodies. Some foods are loaded with micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) and some are void of it. Some foods are loaded with chemicals. Every ingredient has a different macronutrient profile (carbs, protein, fat) and all of these react differently in our bodies.
It is important to understand what is in every food and every ingredient as this will help us make smart decisions to honor our bodies, our health and our goals.
Sometimes eating foods with higher carb and lower fat content is the right thing to do. Sometimes eating foods loaded with amino acids (protein) is the right thing to do. But we won’t know which foods to choose until we have awareness.
As a coach I teach my clients about foods loaded with antioxidants and phytochemicals to help them have more energy. I teach my clients what foods are high in fiber to help them poop each day. I teach my clients some ingredients that may be harmful for their health and goals so they can be aware of what to avoid.
One of my clients thought she was eating healthy because a lot of foods are marketed as healthy. Things like protein bars, waffles and weird fake sugar ice cream products. We are trying to get to the bottom of her digestive issues so she can feel and look better, so I had her track for a week. When we looked at how many packaged food products she was eating vs real foods, it was easy to see what might be causing her issues. Not only did that require the awareness tracking provides, but now it’s requiring awareness of food ingredients and the body’s response to them.
Part Three – Awareness of Why We Choose What We Choose
Finally, there’s always a reason why we make the choices to eat what we eat. The our eating habits and choices may be cultural, economic, out of hunger, due to time, religion, what we see online or in the media, our personal preferences, convenience, emotions, etc.
It is important to look at every single decision we make and understand why we chose what we chose.
Did you eat eggs for breakfast because you know having a high protein breakfast minimizes cravings each day? Or did you choose to skip breakfast because we felt fat from the night before? Then how did each make you feel? Did the eggs satiate you for a few hours so you could make a healthy lunch choice? Did skipping breakfast leave you ravenous that you got fast food at lunch because you were starving? Then what happened from there? Awareness goes on and on and we cannot truly change the way we eat until we have it.
Or perhaps every night you have been having a glass or two of wine. Well, why? Is it because you are anxious or unhappy and this is your coping mechanism? What if instead you actually labeled how you felt and worked through it rather than brush it under the rug and use wine to numb?
Working through our emotions rather than abusing food and other substances is the long term fix and until we do this, nothing with our eating habits will truly change.
Part Four – Awareness of Our Goals and How to Apply Them to Our Eating Habits
When we begin doing anything it must start with a goal. We may start a new daily workout program because we want leaner arms. That’s a goal. We may do an elimination diet because we want to feel less bloated and have more energy. That’s a goal.
Once we get really clear on our personal fitness goals, we can apply them to our diet. I help my clients do this by getting to know them and their personal fitness goals. Then I help them establish a clean eating meal plan based on that.
The bottom line here is that we are all different in our needs as well as our wants and those things should be honored when approaching our eating habits.
All four of these types of awareness are important and I apply all of them when working with a client in the #Commit2FitCoaching program. #Commit2Fit is more than just “here’s your plan, best of luck!” It’s an opportunity to work with a coach (me) to make real, lasting change.
If you are ready to get into the best physical and mental shape of your life, this program is for you. Learn more and join at commit2fitcoaching.com
Your Coach,
Kyra