Top 5 BIG ROCK Nutrition Advice For Advanced & Beginners, And How To Stay Accountable.
Today I am going to share my top 5 tips for nutrition, tips that if done well & consistently for 30-45 days will bring BIG & EVIDENT RESULTS. I’ll share with you how you can RIGHT NOW put these into action & track progress as well.
Wether your goal is a healthier you & keep a healthier lifestyle - or if you want to lose some weight - You will probably know by now that consistency is key.
BUT, when looking at nutrition advice online its easy to get COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED.
Most clients I start working with have 1001 question that summarise the overwhelm very well. They often start with what diet to choose, what food to eat, what not to eat, is blueberries healthy? Should I drink celery juice, what about protein powder, should I test out intermitted fasting, I have heard that Paleo is good, what about super green and spirulina tablets and so on.
This is what I have found:
But it does not need to be so complicated, I think 1 general consensus from people that are GOOD at healthy nutrition, and have mastered their eating and have a good relationship with food - they keep it simple.
Nutrition is a little bit like this:
If you image a big jar, then you have a pile of large rocks, smaller pebbles and sand. And I want you to put all of these inside the jar. If you start with the sand, there wont be enough space for the rocks and pebbles, if you start with the pebbles you will run into the same problem. But if you start with the ROCKS, then the pebbles will slide in-between them, and finish with the sand that fills up the jar - you can put the lid on and task is completed.
You can in the same way divide nutrition advice into Big rocks: the fundamentals that give you 80% of the resaults, smaller pebbles: more advanced strategies that yeld about 19% of the resaults and then the sand: extremely specific advice that will only yeld about 1% of the resaults.
Problem is that most of us start with the Pebbles and often the Sand, that are extreemly specific advice, that are both hard to do, and do not give us much resaults in the long run.
Here are my top 5 "BIG ROCK" nutrition advice.
#1 Eat whole foods.
As much as possible, avoid eating processed foods. It is 100% preferable to stick with eating whole foods. Nutritionist Khalilah Johnson once said, ‘If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.’ This means in practice, try to make sure about 80% of food you consume is as original in shape and size it grew in nature or does not come with a label - like vegetables, rice, meat etc. And only 20% of those said foods with a lot of preservatives, the once that have lots of ingredient that are difficult to pronounce.
#2 Keep a healthy gut.
Your gut contains a big part of your immune system and digestive system. More recent studies also show it affects your mood and brain activity. So, it’s highly important to keep it healthy. You can do this by eating food that contains probiotics since it can maintain a good balance of healthy bacteria in the gut.
These are typically found in fermented food items such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, sourdough and sometimes, even dark chocolate. So make sure to include 2-3 of those sources in your diet on regular basis.
#3 Avoid drinks with lots of sugar.
The best drink is always water. It has zero calories, zero sugar & zero chemicals. The most natural & healthiest drink you can have. Try drinking 8 eight-ounce glasses of water each day.
Try to avoid drinks such as sodas, sports beverages and even sweet tea contain around your meal times and save them for special occasions only - or around big sports events. You can find out more on sports nutrition and hydration HERE.
Also, did you know that fruit juice, despite the ‘fruit’ in its name, acts the same as sugary soda on your body? Yep, you read it right. This is because in fruit juice they have removed the fiber that controls the release of sugar over time and helps you digest it. So a concentrated fruit juice won’t make you full & just add calories to your diet.
#4 Eat a variety of fruits & vegetables.
Brings me on to the next one, due include fruits and vegetables in your diet. As some say, eat the rainbow! Don’t just eat one type of fruit or one type of vegetable. Try a variety of them & especially those of different colors. This will make it more appealing to see and therefore, eat.
To spice things up a little, you can add these fruits in yogurts & smoothies or you can try roasting veggies or dipping them into small amounts of dressing. You can really get creative.
#5 Less is more.
Often, portion size is a big obstacle for people trying to lose weight, especially for those who like to dine out. Here’s one tip I can give you. Whenever you eat out, make sure to set aside half of your meal immediately. You won’t just overeat, but you’ll also be able to save food for lunch & dinner the next day.
When it comes to eating at home, make use of smaller plates & divide it into portions. Put fruits & veggies on one side and whole grain & protein on the other.
Where to start:
One of my favorite ways to start tracking BIG ROCKS is by using a habit tracker. The one I have been using recently is the app HABIT. It’s available for android and IOS and it’s such a useful & easy-to-navigate tracker app. Best thing about it is it will remind you of the pending tasks at hand, track habits with stats & notes and analyze your habits with charts.
You can Check Out & Download the app, Ill include the link in show notes/description from HERE
If you are ready to set it up, hit download and then make 2 tasks you are going to start tracking from the information above. these tasks could look like this:
Drink 4x 16OZ/500 ml water each day
Choose The Whole Grain Option For Lunch
3 Portion Fruit / Vegetables pr Day
You get to set up your own habits depending on your goals, and remember to start easy with 1-2 things you know you can do, while you are building confidence and stamina in this
If you need help with your BIG ROCK nutrition I invite you to join the 30 day nutrition course I developed with Crossfit Alioth on this topic. Its called On Track with nutrition, and during this course we help you with daily lessons and assignments for 30 days to know better, adjust and build your nutrition up from the ground.
Thank you so much for tuning in, If there is one thing I want to leave you with is this. Start taking tiny small, imperfect action something that takes you max 5 min. But do it now, while you are motivated.
- if you want more quick and dirty tips make sure to subscribe to Building Thriving Lifestyles and follow us on Instagram so you never miss an episode.
