YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW

So.....How do you know if Nutrition Coaching is right for you?

I mean, it’s a relevant question. I’ve described in previous blogs what Nutrition Coaching Is – and what it ISN’T.

And there are times when working with a Nutrition Coach may be EXACTLY what you need as a busy mom to start your health and wellness journey, to kick-start or maintain your weight loss efforts, or to manage a condition you’ve been diagnosed with.

But if you've never worked with a coach, or don't even know why it would matter, then how do you know if a Nutrition Coach is the way to go?

These are some of the reasons that working with a Nutrition Coach may be the right choice for you.

You’re tired of starting a new diet all the time. “I’ll start my diet on Monday. I’m going to have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and then I’ll make grilled chicken with steamed vegetables and brown rice for dinner.” By Wednesday you’ve run out of ideas for healthy meals that you AND YOUR FAMILY will eat. By Friday you’ve abandoned the idea and are lucky to eat a single piece of fruit or a vegetable all day long, and the weekend is a free-for-all of junk food and regret. And the cycle starts over again Monday.

You feel defeated when it comes to making healthy food choices. You buy an entire fridge full of vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and a pantry of whole grain options. But the second it comes time to take a healthy lunch with you to work, or grab fast-food at the drive-thru, you hit the drive-thru every time. Or you’re out to dinner and you have the option of getting the salad or grilled chicken dinner, and instead you choose the double bacon cheeseburger and loaded fries.

You don’t even know what’s considered “healthy” anymore and what’s not. Potatoes – good or bad? Bread – good or bad? Milk – good or bad? Cheese – good or bad? Beef, Avocados, Eggs – good or bad? Determining what’s “healthy” or “not healthy” can be like navigating a minefield.

You’re constantly battling thoughts about food. “I want a candy bar – no! Candy is bad!” Or, “I’ll just have a small handful of chips” and before you know it the entire bag is gone. You torture yourself over whether to get the skinny latte or the caramel macchiato (and you REALLY want the macchiato!). There are food triggers all around you that literally set off chemical reactions in the brain that make you crave foods that are not good for you (super high in fat, salt and sugar).

You eat great during the day, but at night become a junk food monster (there’s actually a scientific reason for this!). As a busy mom, you do really well during the structured or busy parts of your day, but as soon as you are home and your guard is down, or there is no built-in regulation to your food options, you go crazy and way overeat. Part of the reason – besides the food triggers and chemical reactions in the brain mentioned above – is something called Decision Fatigue. You only have a limited capacity each day to make “informed” decisions (choosing the red shirt instead of the blue one, getting gas before you go to work or after, picking the ham or roast beef for your sandwich) before you reach your limit and your brain is officially over making decisions. And that’s why you tend to grab the cookies off the counter instead of the grapes from the fridge. Your brain no longer cares and doesn’t want to make another decision so it accepts the first and easiest thing you see.

Fear of failing yet another diet or exercise program. You tried Weight Watchers. You tried NutriSystem. You tried Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian. You joined a gym. You tried hot yoga. You took a Zumba class. You hired a personal trainer. Weight Watchers worked for a while, but you got tired of counting points all the time. NutriSystem got expensive and repetitive. Keto was too restrictive. You’re a busy mom so you never found the time to go to the gym. You had trouble following the Zumba routines and felt awkward. The personal trainer was good, but the workouts never translated to something you could also do at home on your own. And you don’t know why you should bother trying something new again, only to fail again.

Having junk food in your house is just a recipe for disaster. I feel this one personally. If there is junk food in my house, whether it’s me or my husband or my kids, we are going to tear it up! Knowing there are chips in the kitchen is like waving a treat in front of a dog. Candy, cookies, chips, crackers, are all fair game for everyone to ignore the healthy options we have available and go for the junk first. THEN we resign ourselves to eating the healthy stuff.

You feel like you have to go to extremes when it comes to food, and even that eventually fails, too. No sugar. No flour. Only vegetables and lean meats. No processed foods. No gluten or dairy (with the exception of food allergies which I TOTALLY understand). You can only follow this EXACT food plan because it has all your Macros planned out to the ounce, but doesn’t take into account your personal food preferences (love broccoli, hate avocadoes). Then you have to figure out substitutions (which leads to Decision Fatigue) or you just have to follow the plan anyway and eat foods you don’t really like (which isn’t enjoyable and you don’t want to do it anymore).

You’ve been told to follow a certain eating style by a medical professional, but don’t know what to do. If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (or Pre-Diabetes), changing the way you eat affects your blood sugar. Following the DASH Diet manages high blood pressure. The Mediterranean Diet helps with certain autoimmune diseases, heart disease, and certain cancers. But where do you even start? How strict are the guidelines you’re supposed to follow? What about social situations, eating out, or when you’re stuck at a ball game with a crummy concession stand (HELLO all my sports moms out there!!!)?

You’re beginning to have health concerns (mental health, hormones, digestive issues, energy levels, immune system, mood swings) that proper nutrition can help alleviate the symptoms. All these studies are coming out showing the connection between nutrition and a myriad of health concerns, some of which you’ve been noticing yourself – fatigue, getting sick more often, mood is back and forth. Overall, you just don’t feel great. Nothing specifically WRONG, just not feeling your best. And you WANT to feel better, you want to get your energy back, you want better sleep, you want a healthy lifestyle. But once again, where do you start? Are you deficient in any vitamins or minerals? Are you getting enough protein? Are you eating the RIGHT kinds of carbs (and yes, there are “right” and “wrong” carbs, sort of)?

All of these reasons (and MORE) are why it might be time for you to consider working with a Nutrition Coach. A Nutrition Coach can help guide you through the ups and downs of improving your diet, creating healthy eating habits, and getting the most from the foods you eat while offering guidance, planning, support, and accountability.

Book a FREE Consultation Call to see what Nutrition Coaching can do for you, and break the cycle of bad eating habits, confusion, and failed weight loss attempts.