Food for Thought

By Raquel "Rocky" Herron, BS, NASM-CPT

Over the past couple of months, I have discussed various topics including New Year's resolutions, motivation, and common fitness myths. Now it's time for a short talk about nutrition. Before I begin, please note that I am NOT registered dietitian, nor am I a certified nutritionist. The beliefs I have regarding food are my own personal beliefs, but I know I'm not alone, as many fitness professionals feel the same about food. While I would love to go into detail with regard to food and nutrition, I actually do want my readers to finish this article so I'm merely going to skim the surface of a vast and interesting topic.

Simplicity. It's a beautiful word when it comes to food. Keep it simple! I'm talking about simple, natural, whole foods. When I say natural foods, I'm referring to foods that you can pick, hunt, gather, and grow. Apples, bananas, avocados, walnuts, broccoli, whole milk, coconut oil, pastured butter, free-range chicken and grass-fed beef are all examples of simple, natural foods. It's important to stay away from processed foods as much as possible, and by processed I mean foods that you cannot replicate in your own kitchen such as heavily processed baked goods. Don't rely on pseudo or false foods for your nutrition, such as boxed "diet" food or fat-free "healthy" protein cookies. Often times these so called "healthy" foods have fat removed only to have sugar used as a substitute. Try to eat foods in their most natural state, an apple instead of an apple cereal bar or full-fat Greek yogurt instead of chemically enhanced diet yogurt. Look for products that have five ingredients or less. A key tip for eating healthy is to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, as that's where all the fresh fruits, veggies, and meats are found. 

Now that you have an idea about what to eat, let’s talk about how much to eat. Portion control is not a fun topic and I cringe as I sit here and write this. The truth is we all want to have our cake and eat it too, but we have to be mindful of our food choices and portions. Our nutritional needs are largely based on our gender and our lifestyles. Highly active people require more calories than sedentary people.  However, you cannot out-exercise a poor diet! Many people assume that if they exercise that they can eat anything they want, but that's not the case for most people. One of my favorite ways to explain portion size is the hand. Your protein serving should be the size of your palm, your carbohydrate (starch) portion the size of one cupped hand, your vegetable serving the size of two cupped hands, and your healthy fat serving the size of your thumb. I understand that this might be over or under for some individuals, but it provides a basic portion control system. I believe this way simplifies portion control and eliminates the need for measuring or weighing food. 

Personal Trainer Raquel "Rocky" Herron