[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]
I Will Show You What We Are Not SEEING Because We Are Not LISTENING…
“What should my macro’s be set at?”
“How much sugar is too much?”
“How much fiber should I be getting?”
“How much fat should I be getting?”
“What is the minimum amount of carbs that I can have without getting fat?”
These are just a handful of the questions that I have received over my career and from the surface they seem like legitimate questions worth asking.
In fact I once coached a client that would always ask me these kind of questions. He was a numbers guys and very analytical. He demanded charts, graphs and data to show him what to eat and when. He was obsessed with every calorie and macro nutrient ratio and to be honest it wore me out trying to keep up with his incessant numerical demands.
The Lost Art of Personal Nutrition…
As I continued to meet with my client we ran into the inevitable…
A PLATEAU!
While re-assessing his progress through bodyfat measurements, we noticed to both or our disappointment that the dial was stuck. As I expected, he did not react well to the verdict. In fact he became visibly disturbed and frustrated and later resorted to blaming me for the lack of his progress.
“Griff I have done everything that you have told me to to do. I have tracked calories, macro’s and I have eaten everything that you have told me to eat. Why am I not losing weight? Why am I paying you if you are giving me faulty advice?”
OUCH!
Needless to say I was a bit offended in the moment but then it struck me…
He was right!
I had been enabling my client by telling him “everything that he needed to know”. In reality I had crippled this man because I was not teaching him the most important nutritional practice in the universe.
Are ready for this?
Here it comes…
LISTEN To Your Body & Obey!
That my friends is what I believe is the most important nutritional advice known to mankind.
Sadly we don’t follow it…
Not even close.
My client was the perfect example of failing to abide by this basic and fundamental principle becuase I failed to teach it to him upfront.
So what did I do?
The Game Changer…
I formally apologized to my client for my disservice to him. I apologized for enabling him and then I promised him that things were going to change.
I then forbade him from tracking his food, counting calories or tracking his marcro’s.
To say that he was stunned is an understatement.
For two months I asked him to truly listen to his body. At first he did not have a clue as to what I was talking about. I proceeded to ask him to do the following:
-Listen to your hunger levels throughout the day. When do then come on the strongest? When are they the weakest?
-Listen to your digestion. Is it agreeing with the foods that your are eating or is it disagreeing with gas, bloating, discomfort and low energy?
-Listen to your energy levels….is the current load of food doing it for you or could you use more?
-Do you need to eat more in the morning, mid morning or afternoon?
-What is your body telling you about your food choices? Is it rewarding you with ample energy, vitality and clear thinking?
-How is your food affecting your mood, your sleep and your libido?
-How is your current calorie level working? Do you need more, less?
I proceeded to name about twelve more variables and I will never forget the look on his face when I was done, because he looked like a deer in the headlights. He had obviously never made then connection between his diet and all of these factors.
We Are Indivisible Beings…
We humans really like to put things into boxes. We have a calorie box. We have a macro-nutrient box. We have a sugar box, a fat box, a work box, a play box, carb box, and a million other boxes that we pretend to live in, and ya know what? It works great for the marketing trying to sell you the latest and greatest low-carb diet but it rarely works out in reality. The reality is this…you are an complex energetic being that is INTEGRATED and not separated. You cannot in reality box up any component of nutrition, let alone any other aspect of your life.
As my client gradually came to understand this principle he not only hit his weight loss goal, he CRUSHED it! It was hard for him at first to give up all of the fancy tools but when he finally did the rewards were well worth the price. He later became certified as a nutritionist and has since coached hundreds of his own clients using the same principles of intuitive eating.
Is there at time and a place for calorie counting and macro’s? Of course, but they are simply nothing more than training wheels. The ultimate goal is to listen to your body and obey.
My challenge is simple. Try these basic steps:
Step #1: Start eating REAL foods. I am pretty sure you know what this means.
Step #2: LISTEN to your body. What is it telling you to do? (see some of the aforementioned questions if you need help getting started)
Step #3: Adjust to your bodies needs. Feel like you are getting too many carbs? Take them down. Feel like you are not getting enough energy? Consider increasing your carbs. Listen and then adjust. Listen and then adjust. Get the picture?
This hidden art is what is missing in today’s over-hyped and overly complicated nutrition/diet market and to be honest it is sad because it creates needless confusion and frustration.
I would love to hear your comments hear my friends so PLEASE share your thoughts and your RESULTS! It will help me spread this forgotten nutritional art.
Life is Good!
Your friend,
Griff
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]