Big Picture Nutrition

There is a plethora of nutritional advice, diets, “expert” guidance, and just about anything you can imagine diet/food related out there in the blogosphere. Not all of them are bad, some are very very good, if you’re lucky enough to find them, but almost all of them have an end game. They have to keep you interested and with the advent of the internet, we are hungry for more, new, relevant information that suits our purpose. We do tend to hear what we want to hear, don’t we? So these experts are left to constantly bring you new, cutting edge information, or to hammer away that their way is the only way. Whatever it takes to maintain their following and, of course, their livelihood.

Let’s me be very honest. The by and large responsibility for nutritional success falls on you. You are nodding your head right now and saying, of course it does. But that responsibility runs much deeper than calculating your calorie count to the tee, or adhering perfectly to whatever the latest keto, soup cleanse, intermittent fasting, whole life 30, pickle juice thing you may be doing. There are certain rules you need to set for yourself to ensure that you succeed, and you are the only one that can carry them out.

Below is the list of practices, thoughts, actions that we believe will help you take responsibility for your success and, in turn, succeed.

Honesty: Be honest with yourself about what you want to accomplish and, more importantly, how you are accomplishing it. We can relegate that handful of M&Ms or that extra slice of pizza to “the that didn’t really happen” pile, but it did. Own it, allow for it, and move on. When you acknowledge everything that you are doing, then you can take steps to counter them and ultimately succeed. Otherwise you are left crying about how perfect you’ve been but didn’t reach your goals, except deep down you know. Which leads us to...

The 80/20 rule: No Matter what plan you’ve put together for yourself you will not likely follow it 100%. Life gets in the way and you have to make room for it. But if you don’t set parameters failure will start whispering in your ear. To offset that you can set up your situation so that you can gauge your nutrition with the “cheats” factored in. Strive to be perfect 80% of the time while allowing yourself some leeway to not be so perfect 20% of the time. Essentially, if you’re eating 3 meals/day, that is 17 perfect meals and 4 less than perfect meals.

Be realistic: We don’t ascribe to or promote any diet/nutritional program with a name. We believe in eating nutrient dense whole foods, with optimal macro nutrient percentages, and an appropriate caloric intake. Even saying that can be daunting. No matter what route you’ve decided to take you have to be realistic with you goals, and ask yourself, “can I stick to my goals, and do I have the ability to sustain this plan?” Which leads us to...

Sustainability: Not only, can you sustain your plan but will it lead to sustainable, long term results? Is what you are doing something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life? Is it an 8 or 12 week program that may work wonders but leave you with no options of how to proceed afterward? The problem with diets, et al. is that they are in some way shape or form restrictive and if you don’t have a plan as to how to proceed afterward you will be right back where you started. Insert screaming, pulling your hair out emoji here. Aim for plans that allow for long term success AND enjoyment.

You are a scientist and your body is a lab: Everything you do will require a period of testing and adjustment. Be ready for it and don’t be afraid of it. The reason there are 5761 diet books out there is because we as humans react quite differently to different input. What works for one may not work as well for another. That’s ok, be willing to try it for a few weeks and then see your results. If its not working the way you planned, make adjustments and try it again. If you are certain that you are on a healthy sustainable plan there its just a matter of adjustment and eventually you will hit on the right combination whether it be portions, macro percentages or timing. You’ll get there but it may take some time. Be ready.

Attitude: If you think that what you are doing isn’t going to work it won’t. As my wife likes to say, attitude determines altitude and it goes to your eating plan as well. There is evidence that have shown a persons attitude toward their success was a great determinant of a more positive outcome

The more conscious and proactive you can be in your way of life the better the results will be and the more enjoyable the results will be. It’s up to you. You got this!

A perfect compliment to good nutrition are good exercise habits. If you already own a Pilates Wheel, Pilates Wheel Digital can help you establish a workout routine.

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