Have you ever struggled to maintain a nutrition plan?  Have you ever wondered exactly what you should eat for your body type and activity level?  I had the same questions, so I decided to take action and hire a nutrition coach.

Here are 5 reasons why I hired a nutrition coach, even though I’m healthy.  

Reason 1:  Undo the mindset of using fitness to “out workout” bad nutrition habits.

Without an extremely regimented workout plan, I struggle with maintaining my weight exactly where I want it to be. Even more so, I struggle to keep my body composition exactly where I want it to be.  

Working out twice a day isn’t sustainable, heck barely once a days is do-able, especially as we get older and our bodies don’t have the same ability to recover.  

But also, who has time for that? Hello? Work, life events, travel, family..?

Knowing that eating out is something I love and didn’t want to give up, I would simply workout enough so I could eat what I wanted.  Usually twice a day. The only problem is, that’s not realistic most of the time these days.

Once I came to the scary realization that I wasn’t going to be able to “out work-out” the sometimes crappy food I ate (hello sweet potato fries), I knew I needed to make a change.  

I specifically wanted to know what to eat on days when I couldn’t train or when I was traveling.

Reason 2:  Getting a second opinion on eating habits.

I have a busy life, I work around 50 hours a week, I try to get to the gym or yoga 5 days a week. When you add traffic, errands, and spending time with family and friends, it leaves little time to think about nutrition.

I know how to eat for the most part, but I also love me some wine, dairy-free dessert, but even more so, I know I have a tendency to over-eat.  

These small incremental nutritional errors sneak up on me.

What if in the future I have literally NO time to work out?  My thought is, I may not always have time to exercise, but I do always have to eat.  If I’m able to learn and create healthy habits now, it will set me up for the days I have even less time to think about it.  

Who better to teach me these sustainable habits than a nutrition coach.

Reason 3:  Um, a social life? How to navigate eating out.

It’s kind of crazy how much our social lives revolve around food and drinks.

Like I mentioned, I eat fairly healthy most of the time, however, I am not consistent.  I will be great Monday through Friday but then the weekends are completely unplanned. What inevitably happens is that we order out or go out to eat with friends.  

Restaurants serve food that is much higher in fat, calories, sodium, and sugar.  I mean it makes sense they want their food to taste good so people come back. But this largely works against someone who wants to maintain their weight and overall health.

My nutrition coach gives me pointers on what to eat when I’m out, how to navigate the restaurant menus, as well as, how to estimate the macros I’ve consumed based on a picture.

Reason 4: Get past fad diets.

Paleo, dairy-free, gluten-free, low carb, keto, flexitarian, blah blah blah.  Is there something to each of these? Yes, they all have great benefits, but are they realistic to follow forever?  I mean, c’mon… Donuts… I had a terrible reaction to eating high fat/protein, low carb or Keto.  These diets are typically short lived or difficult to maintain for the long-term.  

I still follow a clean eating nutrition plan, meaning real food, rather than food in can or a package at least 90% of the time.  But how much of each macronutrient should I eat? Are the online calculators estimating my needs correctly?

The plan my coach has me on is not about any specific type of food exclusion.  It is based on hitting specific macronutrient goals – protein, carbohydrate, and fat, eating whole foods, and eating smaller portions spread throughout the day at timed intervals when possible. There is no low carb or avoidance behavior. If it fits the macro goals (and therefore calorie budget), its all good.

Reason 5:  Sugar. It’s a slippery slope.

Sugar is a tricky thing.  Sugar is addictive, which is why you are taking a big challenge when you eat one chocolate wafer cookie in a blue package (you know the one), you instantly want more (among other chemically engineered reasons).  

I’ve typically chosen to avoid any dessert or indulgence for fear of it sparking a catalyst back into poor eating habits.  Then, one day, of course, cake/donut/cookie/etc draws me in. I don’t see the scales tip right away, so I feel like, “Oh, it’s ok for me to have dessert once in a while!”  

Somehow, then it’s ok for me eat my dairy free ice cream (just a few bites at night) or a cookie (it’s just one).  Mere weeks later, I’ll notice my clothes aren’t fitting well and the weight crept back on.

Finding the balance of enjoying an indulgence and maintaining your proper nutrition isn’t an easy task.  That’s where the coach comes in. She can help you to stay on track when you’ve veered off course. It’s another source of accountability outside yourself.

What does a nutrition coach do exactly?

After filling out a questionnaire about my food choices, lifestyle, fitness routine, habits, weight, goals, etc.  She devised a macronutrient plan for me to hit on a daily basis. She checks in with me three times a day, she reviews what I ate, gives me praise when I do well, advice on what to eat even when I can’t prepare my own meals or while traveling, and adjusts the plan as needed.  She has also given me some mind-blowing news about the mistakes I was making weighing food and what I’m actually eating.

More to come on that in the next post.

Long story, short…

I decided to enlist the help of someone who knows what they are doing to find out once and for all, how to eat for my body and body composition goals.

If you are wondering what you should be eating for your body, daily lifestyle, your fitness routine (or lack thereof), etc. consider hiring a health coach to give you the perspective and guidance to make the right decisions.

There are so many questions when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. Take the guesswork out of your food and take comfort knowing you are doing the right thing for your health once and for all.