Veggies for breakfast?

Veggies for breakfast?

Forget all the rules you've heard about nutrition.

Do you ever feel like there are a million voices telling you exactly what to eat and how to exercise? Navigating nutrition in our current environment can be tricky, let alone doing it with a disabled body. I don't see my body being represented in ads for the latest trending weight loss program. Who do you trust to give you good information?

I'm a dietitian/nutritionist with over 25 years of experience, and I can tell you the answers are more simple than it seems.

The truth: No matter what kind of body you have, your body needs nutrients. Every reaction, nerve impulse, movement, and cellular activity requires vitamins and minerals. (As I write this I am supposed to be preparing my lecture for the college class I'm teaching tonight)!

Research includes thousands of people, all with different bodies, backgrounds, weight, age, etc. Nutrition recommendations are based on research. However, every body is unique. Nutrition isn't a one size fits all thing. That's why working with a nutritionist can help! We take what science tells us, plus what you, with your lived experience tells us, and put it together in a way that makes sense for you.

You can make a difference, and feel a difference, one step at a time.

Start with something you can commit to doing each day. For example, I decided I would commit to eating a vegetable with breakfast. Sound weird? Yes, probably. But it's something I focus on. Now I eat veggies with most of my breakfasts. I don't ask myself if I want a vegetable, I ask myself "what veggie will I have with breakfast?"

To make it even easier, I don't ask myself any questions, I just reach for the snack pack of carrots in my fridge.

The fewer decisions you have to make, the easier it will be. When we're trying something new, decision fatigue makes us stop doing it. Making decisions takes energy. When we're feeling great and things are going well, we have the energy to do the new thing. When we're tired, hurting, overwhelmed, or exhausted, doing the new thing usually won't happen.

Here's an example: I'm a mom of three kids. When they were little, brushing their teeth was a whole chore. It was met with complaining and wiggling and crying, but I persevered because brushing their teeth was important. I bet as a child I was the same way. Because I've had the habit of brushing my teeth every single day since forever ago, it doesn't (usually) matter if I'm tired, hurting, overwhelmed, etc, I'll still brush my teeth.

That's difference a habit can make. But you can't have a habit until you start doing it.

So.... What's one new thing you can do this week?