YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Are you confused about what to eat? Do you have trouble choosing foods to buy and eat that are both healthy and delicious? My goal is to provide you with accurate up-to-date information on the latest nutritional interventions and supply you with the tools to enhance your health as well as boost your athletic and mental performance.

Do calories matter? Yes. Does what time in the day you eat matter? Yes. Does the composition of your food/meals matter? FOR SURE! Do your “macro ratios” matter? Yep.

In order for us to enhance your performance we first need to address your overall health. And health starts with what you put in your body. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Loading up on all those processed foods is not going to help you stay focused in class, on the field or in the weight room. Every animal (yes that includes us humans) has a biologically appropriate diet. Humans appear to thrive on a diet that is more nutrient dense than that of our great ape cousins. In the wild, humans existed for hundreds of thousands of years on a diet that included lots of animal products, plus roots, tubers, leafy material, and seasonally available vegetables, fruits or honey. Varied food sources provide a more nutrient-rich diet, which is what you need. 

CALORIES:

What is a Calorie(kilocalorie) anyway? A kilocalorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius.  Generally speaking, if you take in more calories than your body needs, the extra energy will be stored as fat, glycogen, or glucose. Likewise, if you take in fewer calories than needed, your body will release its energy stores. It seems simple, but animals are way more complicated than that.

I do not recommend counting calories. First of all, it’s impossible to know exactly how many calories you’re getting from a specific food, let alone precisely what your body will do with those calories. It is far more important to choose foods that promote the release of hunger-suppressing hormones that help keep you satisfied and make it easier to achieve a healthy weight. HEALTH always comes first!  As stated earlier, it is paramount to focus on minimally-processed foods that contain high-quality protein, natural fats, and nutrient-dense carbohydrates. Rather than counting calories, make all you’re your calories count by eating nourishing meals.

 Protein is the most important of the three macronutrients we eat. Not getting enough protein will affect your health and body composition. Proteins are the primary building blocks of our bodies. They're used to make muscles, tendons, organs, skin, enzymes, hormones, nerves as well as various other molecules in our bodies. Proteins consist of smaller molecules called amino acids, your body makes some of these amino acids, but you must obtain others known as essential amino acids from the food you eat. When it comes to consuming protein, it's not just about quantity it's also about quality.

Animal protein provides all essential amino acids in the right ratios for you to make full use of them. However, if you do not eat animal foods, getting all the protein and essential amino acids your body needs is significantly more challenging.

FATS

Carbohydrates, namely sugars, starches, and non-starch polysaccharides are major energy sources in the human diet that support metabolism. Food of any plant origin such as fruits, vegetables, edible seeds, grains, legumes, and whole grains are reliable sources. But you don’t need a lot of carbs to get a reasonable level of vitamins and minerals.   Non-starchy veggies like spinach and asparagus provide a range of vitamins and minerals that are typically harder to find in animal-based foods. The nutritional quality of carbohydrates strongly depends on the type, nature or source of the carbohydrate, interaction with other food, their structure, and processing methods that affect their physical and chemical characteristics.