What food should you be eating?

The million dollar question.

What should you be eating?  What will suit your body?  Should we all eat the same and follow the same rules?

Great question. It seems few, if any, have the answer.  I don't; that's for sure.


Using my own health and body as an experiment I have been up, down and sleepy all at the same time! Just as I seem to find one answer, another health issue crops up.  Yet there are positives, there do seem to be a few consistent pieces of advice.

Drink water

We all know this one don't we.  Frequently I can be found guilty as not drinking the recommended 2 litres per day.  Yet seldom do you see one diet plan or piece of advice that suggests ignoring water.
So do it.  And see.  

Track your food

A few gurus say just eat.  A few say you can control your weight with your mind.  Whatever you do with your mind, nothing happens without action being taken.  Without tracking your food you are unlikely to be mindful of what is likely to go on in your body.  I always recommend www.myfitnesspal.com to all clients as a great app to pop every single thing that goes into your body on.  You can log weight too! More about that in another post. 

Without tracking you are likely  to eat 'imaginary' or 'invisible' food.  You know, the type that you will away from your hips  - playing make believe that you ever ate that in the first place!

Of course, this is not all about weight loss.  Should you have some symptoms or other, tracking is a fantastic way to keep an eye on what is making you feel really quite lousy.  As an example, I had gone hard and fast keto lately to aim to bring blood sugars down.  It hasn't been working and I have been feeling terrible.  Working with my Dr to see if this is something else or if indeed I need to change my diet, tracking has helped amazingly.

Should you prefer pen and paper, get a jazzy book (small one to fit in your bag) and carry it along with you.

You're welcome :)

Why I could gladly give up on nutrition!

Yes,  you can tell by the title of this blog post I am sick to the back teeth.

Trying to get things right.  The politics of the whole nutritionist verses dietitian does my head in!

Recently there was a show on the BBC called "Clean eatings dirty secrets".  It has hit the headlines all over the place.  The internet is crawling with opinions about this show.  The host was a blogger who interviewed other bloggers and youtubers and then went on to speak to those with PhD in nutrition etc.  There is no comparison in these two types due to the way it was edited.  Which makes me mad!

In actual fact, looking at it from my usual positive angle I will see it like this: anyone who is interested in food in relation to health should all be batting for the same team.

Right?

Doctors infuriate me with their answers of 'take this pill' or 'have this surgery' when both nutritionists and dietitians both believe a lot of health can be improved through diet.  I agree!!!

Anyone who is aware of their body, How it reacts and all in relation to food must, in my opinion, be credited for the fact that they are paying attention to getting to the root cause of the issue and not just putting a sticking plaster over the issue.

A dietitian who I had previously had the utmost respect for (who I watch on YouTube) made a grave error when referring to nutritionists.  She said as they are not regulated, they can say pretty much anything they like.  Now, yes this is true I guess.  Dietitians are regulated by the BDA in the UK and therefore have to play by certain rules.  One of the 'rules' is tell folks not to skip breakfast.  Yet many people believe fasting for several hours works for them.

How can that be? 

Yes, it can be.  If that is what the person believes, then likely that is what will make them feel better. 

Can't go without a coffee in the morning?  Likely you could, but you have the belief it will help.  Yes, me too.  So I enjoy that coffee without guilt of any type!

The truth is that the degree that both dietitians and nutritionists take is exactly the same course!  Yes you heard me.  It has the Same curriculum.  Except, the dietitian course is one year longer as there is much hospital placement work.  This is a truly valuable experience for those who are going to work in the NHS. This is with very sick people who often cannot swallow or digest food as opposed to someone like me who is Celiac and needs to watch certain food intakes due to allergy.  Perhaps that is not the best example to use but I think you can see my thinking. 

Many doctors will not believe in food intolerances.  You try telling someone with a food intolerance that their thinking is total nonsense.  Rubbish.

Where this left me was in a place of feeling worried and angry.  Worried about writing about nutrition anymore.  Angry because I felt my degree (which is crazy hard work) was being ridiculed.

I want to help people.

So do the dietitians.

As do those who believe eating loads of bananas will help, as do those who avoid meat, those who suggest paleo...the list goes on.

Surely, if you try one (any) of these methods and it works for you, the party poppers will come out?

I would love to keep passing on my knowledge and moreover I would love to install the belief in people that they can make a difference in their lives by taking more time and paying more attention to their bodies.

Should I throw in the towel?