Seasons come and go and always correlate some type of recreational eating and drinking. We partake to the point in which we feel uncomfortable and are unhappy with how we look. Then comes the “it’s time to go on a diet” phase. We’re all guilty of this at one point or another, the yo-yo cycle that never seems to end. 

The next mistake is trying some type of fad or drastic diet that is short lived and unmaintainable that eventually fails. Does this speak to you? Do you feel like you want to find the balance to enjoy life but also feel and look great? Do you question if that actually exists? Well let me tell you this, it does.

Coming from being a highly competitive gymnast my whole life all I ever knew was  structure. Once my gymnastics days began to fade towards the end of high school, I found myself displeased with my appearance and struggling with my weight. My anxiety would instigate emotional eating or lack of and would cause a constant battle with myself. After many years of trial and error, and let me tell you there were a lot of mistakes made, I finally found a maintainable lifestyle that works for me and achieves balance. I started focusing on learning about quality of food, what ingredients were used in products, and paying attention to labels. Something sounding so simple yet so many of us neglect to do it. Typically the more ingredients you don’t recognize or are able to pronounce for that matter, the less healthy the product actually is. Artificial sweeteners, sodium and dyes are hidden in most packaged products and can really cause all types of internal disarray. Whole, unprocessed foods is where you want to start.

 The next step is learning what a portion size looks like. Sadly most of the food industry correlates quality of food due to the portion size you receive which is not the case. You can eat a lot more variety if you’re eating one portion of something opposed to the typical American standards which is usually multiple portions. 

I live by the 80/20 rule meaning that 80% of my diet is completely made fresh, non packaged and single ingredients. The rest of the 20% of my diet is for “fun foods” so I still feel human and can allow myself an occasional treat. Making these small changes are the building blocks to a creating a successful eating pattern. 

You can tailor how strict you are with this lifestyle change depending on what your goals are. If you were told the first car you purchase is the only one you’re going to have for your entire life you’d make sure you took impeccable care of it, right ? Well your body is just that. The only vessel you’ll receive that needs to last a lifetime. Invest in your health! 

If you’re looking to better educate yourself on nutrition and maintaining a healthy lifestyle please join me for any/all of my upcoming nutrition workshops! 

Or you can reach me at lauragoldstein105@gmail.com 

Best in health,

NASM Nutritionist Laura Goldstein www.lauragoldsteinwellness.com