We’ve all used the ‘no time’ excuse before. There are too many tasks to get done in a day that planning, preparing and cooking healthy meals for you and your family gets pushed off to the side. That’s not to say you don’t value eating healthy and making sure you’re well nourished, but sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day.
As a nutritionist, entrepreneur and mother of two, I know first hand the inner struggle and guilt associated with not prioritizing making healthy meals and sitting down to as many meals as possible as a family. Even though I know what to cook, how to choose top-notch nutritious foods at the grocery store and I spew lifestyle tips like they are the gospel itself, it’s still easier to just order a pizza on those days when life isn’t playing nice or fair.
I’m the first to admit it. I’m not perfect, we don’t always eat as healthy as we could nor do I always buy organic fruits and vegetables. My motto is that I am human too, despite being a holistic nutritionist and owning a weight loss company.
Here’s the thing though: when I’m consistent in my diet, ensuring that I am eating balanced meals and snacks throughout my day, I have more energy, can think clearly, be more productive, and yell at my husband and kids a lot less.
Why is that?
Blood sugar causes you to literally feel crazy and out of control. It can make you snap at loved ones and even strangers for no good reason. When you skip breakfast, don’t include fat with your meals or eat less food than your body requires in one day, then your blood sugar levels are constantly trying to adjust for the irregularities in your energy (carbohydrate) intake.
When you start your day without eating breakfast and instead fill up on that large coffee you grab as you do the carpool run, the caffeine in the coffee is quickly elevating your blood sugar levels and then about 60 to 90 minutes later you are starving, and no amount of bread feels like it will satisfy you.
Or perhaps you are ‘trying to be good’ so for lunch you consume a salad with chicken breast and fat free salad dressing. While that is a good choice, there isn’t any fat or fiber included with that meal to help keep you feeling full, so you get a craving around the 3pm mark, just before you are about to pick up the kids. Instead of eating, you have another coffee, which induces another blood sugar spike.
While all of this is happening, you are trying to get work done, be creative, write blog posts or run meetings. Internally, your body is screaming at you and the call for sugary carbs or high-fat foods is sometimes too intense to handle so you give into the craving.
When most of your day is battling the thoughts around food, cravings, guilt around giving into the cravings and fighting fatigue you cannot operate at your best. You are not able to be your best, most productive self and that’s frustrating. Feeling tired all the time is not fun, especially when you have so many things you need to get done.
Are you ready for a switch? Are you ready to stop the blood sugar rollercoaster and get rid of your cravings and fatigue? It’s entirely possible to transform how you think and feel just by implementing a couple of easy nutrition tweaks.
Give this 1-day diet a try. Each meal and snack is balanced, meaning that it includes a healthy fat to keep you feeling full, a protein to give you energy and a fibrous carb to help regulate blood sugar and help you to feel satisfied.
Breakfast: 298 calories + 12.5g fiber
1 cup unsweetened almond milk – 40 calories, 3g fat, 2g carb, 1g fiber, 1g protein
1 cup frozen mixed berries – 70 calories, 0.5g fat, 17g carb, 5g fiber, 1g protein
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder – 120 calories, 2g fat, 3g carb, 1g fiber, 23g protein
1 tbsp chia seeds – 68 calories, 4.5g fat, 6g carb, 5.5g fiber, 2g protein
Morning Snack: 105 calories + 9.5g fiber
1/2 cup plain yoghurt – 65 calories, 10g carb, 7.5g protein
1/3 cup Fiber 1 cereal – 40 calories, 0g fat, 16.5g carb, 9.5g fiber, 1g protein
Lunch: 389 calories + 17g fiber
1 La Tortilla Factory Wrap – 100 calories, 1.5g fat, 24g carb, 8g fiber, 5g protein
2 tbsp of avocado (use as spread) – 60 calories, 5g fat, 3g carb, 2g fiber, 1g protein
3oz of chicken breast cooked, cut into slices – 90 calories, 0.5g fat, 0g carb, 20g protein
Alfalfa sprouts – 7 calories, 0g fat, 0g carb, 1g protein
Tomato (3 slices) – 12 calories, 0g fat, 3g carb, 1g fiber, 0g protein
Cucumber (1/2 cup sliced) – 8 calories, 0g fat, 2g carb, 0g protein
1 cup of low sodium pea soup – 112 calories, 3g fat, 12g carb, 4g fiber, 9g protein
Afternoon snack: 125 calories + 8g fiber
2 Ryvita crackers – 60 calories, 0g fat, 17g carb, 4g fiber, 2g protein
2 tbsp of low fat hummus – 35 calories, 0.5g fat, 5g carb, 1g fiber, 2g protein
1 cup raw vegetables – approx 30 calories and 3g fiber
Dinner: 385 calories + 8g fiber
4oz extra lean turkey burger – 130 calories, 1.5g fat, 0g carb, 27g protein
1/2 small whole grain (or gluten-free) bun (topped with mustard and veggies) – 110 calories, 1g fat, 21g carb, 4g fiber, 5g protein
Small salad with 1 tbsp of low-fat ranch dressing – 40 calories for the salad, 2g fiber + 45 calories, 3.5g fat, 4g carb, 0g protein
1/2 cup of baked sweet potato – 60 calories, 0g fat, 13g carb, 2g fiber, 1g protein
After dinner snack: 127 calories + 4g fiber
1 small apple – 77 calories, 0g fat, 20g carb, 4g fiber, 0.5g protein
1 ½ tsp of almond butter – 50 calories, 4.5g fat, 1.5g carb, 1.5g protein
Total calories for the day: 1438
Total fiber grams for the day: 67 grams
1 Comment
I always enjoy your article, Lori Kennedy. You have a gift for discussing such inspirational topics in truthful yet amusing ways. Your articles help us realize that our problems are typical, and we can solve them in constructive ways. Thank you and keep these good articles coming.