Good Nutrition Is Important to Your Self Care Routine

If you are like me you weren’t necessarily raised with the knowledge that food is fuel. You were raised to eat when you were hungry or certain times of the day. When you were full you stop eating. Also that food was pretty much food and all equal. If you wanted to eat powdered sugar mini donuts, a cherry pie and wash it down with Dr. Pepper for lunch that works. Running through the drive through for breakfast or dinner was a quick and easy option. It really didn’t matter.

Now thinking back on my sugar coma inducing lunches that I would eat growing up no wonder I was not able to concentrate in the class after lunch. No wonder I was hitting the vending machine for Shockers or SweetTarts in the afternoon. I was struggling to stay awake and needed another sugar fix. I was dealing with the bodies natural response to processed sugar and simple carbs.

The body NEEDS whole food nutrition in order to provide us with energy, a clear mind, the ability to deal with stress and everything else we ask of it on a daily basis. When we are feeding it with processed foods that take so much energy just to digest we can’t expect to make it through the day without crashing. Or without us snapping at our kids, husband or coworkers. We aren’t giving it what it needs. Plus we aren’t helping our bodies to protect us from illness and disease. We are actually opening the door for it instead.

As busy moms we don’t have time to be sick even with a cold or flu much less anything more serious. We also want to be here for our kids, grandkids and great grandkids. So we have to take care of ourselves NOW by providing our bodies with what it needs to fight and keep up with our crazy lives. That way we are the Best Mom, Best Wife, Best Grandma, Best Sister, and Best Daughter that we can Be.

Tips to Incorporate Healthy Nutrition Into Your Self Care Routine

• Food Journaling for at least a week. Learn how your body is responding to what you’re eating. Write down what, when and how much you’re eating throughout the day. Also include how you feel emotionally, mentally and physically. throughout the day. Being able to find a correlation between how you feel and what you’re eating can help you stick to limiting and increasing certain foods in your nutrition plan.
• Eat Mainly Whole Foods. Whole foods are single ingredient foods. So meat, fruit, vegetables, whole grains (quinoa, millet, oats), dairy, and healthy fats (avocado, EVOO coconut oil, nuts, seeds). Limit foods that have an ingredient list. If they do have a list aim for less than 5 ingredients that are all whole foods and not chemicals. Eat a rainbow of whole foods everyday.
• Create a Meal Plan. When you have a plan it helps you to stay on track. You know what you’re going to eat and when. This helps to reduce the amount you stand in front of the refrigerator or need to grab something at the gas station or drive through.
• Prep Food Ahead. Wash and cut up your fresh fruits and vegetables so they are ready to grab and go. Bake meat to cut or shred for salads or to warm up for dinner later in the week. Prep your salads in airtight containers for the week without dressing. Make your dressing. Cook multiple servings of rice for the week ready to warm up. Cook several servings of oats to warm up for quick breakfast by adding in fresh or thawed frozen fruit. Make up some hard boiled eggs to grab and go. Preportion nuts and seeds to have on hand in the car or your bag. Bake sweet potatoes and roast veggies to warm up for dinners or lunches in the week. You can prep your lunches and dinners for the entire week and portion them into containers even.
• Eat 5-6 Meals a Day. This means you’re eating every 2-4 hours and not a 5 course meal at every sitting. You can do Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner and then possibly another Snack. Your snacks should be less calories into between the other meals.
• Slow Down and Chew. It takes the body 20-30 minutes after we begin to eat for the brain to receive the message that it has been fed. Take your time while you are eating and chew your food well. This will help you to reduce overeating.

Now I completely understand you just don’t have time. Once you’ve been following these tips creating a meal plan and prepping food ahead for a couple weeks you will see that it doesn’t take that much extra time. It will also end up saving you time in the end, reducing your stress, and you’ll be in a better place mentally, emotionally and physically.

Just remember the hardest part is getting started. You’ve got it from there!