In our last basic nutrition tips article we talked about using the simple tool of savoring to not only enjoy the holidays, but also help you better stay sane while finding sustainability with your daily nutrition. This also allows you to include the things you love without feeling like you are going off the rails.

The many health benefits (mental and physical) of savoring are something we encourage you to continue to foster, but we also would like to give you TWO simple and more definitive habits for how you make up your meals in the new year. Whether you are looking to kick off the new year with a better relationship with food, shed some extra pounds, or perhaps improve how you feel and perform.

TRY THESE 2 PRACTICES IN THE NEW YEAR TO MAKE THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR DAILY DIET…

Whether you choose to load up at breakfast time because you wake up with a big appetite or you’re ready to eat the most after a long day during dinner with the family, pick one meal where you can pack with lots of protein and fiber.

Protein, in particular, is a critical nutrient because your body doesn’t really have a storage mechanism for it like carbohydrate or fat. After a long period of not having any, your body will want some more to keep humming along. Remember that our bodies are big bags of protein and almost every single process in the body requires proteins in some way. You will also want to make sure you get enough fiber for gut (and overall) health, usually to the tune of 10-15g per 1000 calories you consume or 28+ grams as a minimum. Fiber can be absolutely essential for overall health and well being and can protect us from many diseases and causes of death.

PROTEIN: We want to make sure we get enough TOTAL protein in the long haul and using a daily goal with a single meal to really go for it and get the most can help. Protein (especially essential amino acids) are that one nutrient your body cannot make by itself and is “essential” for life and optimal health. Eating protein at each meal can also help control hunger and regulate appetite better. While getting enough doses of protein can be helpful, it is not nearly as important as getting enough total protein since your body spends many hours trying to process and absorb what you have had in previous meals already. Don’t obsess about evenly spaced 3-5 hour windows if you don’t get enough to begin with. It doesn’t just vanish in minutes, needing to then be replaced. Therefore, you can really find a specific meal that allows you to really get a great deal more than others. We like to shoot for 30-60 grams in that meal depending on your total requirements to set you up well to get enough overall.

FIBER: Fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains can contain lots of fiber. We will focus mostly on fruits and vegetables along with their unique plant nutrients with lots of fiber for this goal since you get that and much more. Fiber is another important nutrient not just for GI and overall health, but it can also help you feel fuller longer and control appetite just like protein. Lots of colorful fruits and vegetables can be key here. These tend to not only have lots of fiber, but also a lot of water to maintain better hydration status whether cooked or raw. The only exception may be dehydrated fruits and vegetables that don’t have any water content though still have fiber. Dehydrated fruit can also be easy to overconsume calories with, while it is still great, it may be less optimal than whole fruit.

Though I mentioned that I personally enjoy breakfast as an excellent time to get the most protein and fiber in for the day to assure I reach enough total amounts of both, maybe you don’t have a huge appetite for protein or fiber early in the day. That’s Okay! Even though the longest window without protein for most people is while they are sleeping, thereby making breakfasts a good time to get a big dose, the total amount you get matters more.

Keep it simple and just pick the meal that you are hungriest for or find it most practical to make your plate focusing on large quantities of both protein and fiber. Aim for 30-60g of protein and perhaps as much as 10g of fiber.

After our most recent article on savoring, the many benefits of slowing down and being present during meal time and beyond may be obvious. However, the act of simply slowing down around meals can’t be overemphasized for it’s impact on digestion and absorption of the nutrients you body is trying to use.

When you rush at a meal or all the way through it, your brain and body don’t get the opportunity to catch up to the fact that it is indeed time to “rest and digest”. The enzymes your body produces to better break down foods and the hormones your body uses to register hunger and fullness don’t get their time to shine either. What results is lots of GI distress, lack of properly digested food and their nutrients, and often times either continued hunger or being overly stuffed. None of these are good and can easily be solved by using some slowing down tools. Try to take a few moments to relax and breath before you begin to eat rather than rushing in or multi-tasking, put down your fork or spoon between bites, eat with someone so you can talk and slow each other down, schedule a time for yourself to take your meals if you tend to be busy or at work. This needs to be an active practice as we find most people struggle with this significantly.

While getting enough protein and fiber are critical, so is slowing down enough to digest and absorb it along with the other nutrients you will be eating. We recommend creating at least a 15-30min window for a meal. You can always o longer but shorter probably isn’t great. In the end, it needs to be what allows you to “rest and digest”.

What’s more, when you start to take additional moments to slow down in life generally speaking, only good comes. There are so many things in life that are so much better when taken slow and enjoyed. If you can cultivate this practice using a time as important as meal time to make it stick, it’s a win on many levels.

Remember that while it can be really easy to get swept up in very restrictive but also complex “new year, new you” diet plans, the reality is that for most of you, adding these two simple practices into your day will likely allow you to reach a majority of your fitness and wellness goals related to nutrition. These two habits aren’t necessarily all it takes to have everything you want, but they go a LONG way in getting you there. Impactful small daily actions like these as well as the underlying areas of optimal nutrition they foster related to proper nutrient status, appetite, digestion, and relationships with food are what it is all about.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Pack 1 meal each day with enough protein and fiber to help you get the nutrients you need, control appetite, and make a big dent in the total amount you require daily.

2. Eating evenly spaced meals with equal amounts can be a great strategy for getting all the nutrients you need, but the total amount is what matters most for protein and also fiber, so it is okay to eat your biggest meal when hungriest or not at all if you don’t have the appetite. This is partly why 1 packed meal can help if you don’t tend to get enough.

3. Getting enough doesn’t always mean a TON of food. We can show you how to boost the protein and fiber in your meals.

4. Slow down to better digest and also absorb the nutrients you are eating. Your body needs to be able to “rest and digest” and this habit carries over to other areas of overall wellness.

5. Restrictive, complicated, or diet plans you won’t stick to will not hold a candle to these two habits.

Give this simple 2 habit nutrition plan and go and see if it is something that is easy enough for you to stick to. You may notice some big results from these two small but very impactful habits.

We have officially opened spots in our nutrition and health coaching program for the new year, so if you or someone you know has been thinking about it, now is the time! We love to write these articles to help with as much free information as we can , but sometimes working with a coach is that missing piece to get things going and create lasting change.

Sign up here for a consult to reserve a spot:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=20706020&appointmentType=17238949