Tired of Nutrition Noise? Try This Simple Approach 👉

Have you been wanting to take control of your nutrition but don’t know where to start? 

Nutrition is one of those things that can really send you down a rabbit hole. Everyone has something to say. Between the endless amount of fad diets,  all or nothing rules, and “quick fix” claims, its hard to decipher what is real and what is really good marketing.

One thing I know for sure when it comes to nutrition…

the right answer is pretty logical. What you think feels off is probably off, and if it isn’t promoting real food (all real food) it’s probably not the best path forward.

Very simply, we are real people that need real food to fuel our bodies. Real foods are things that are unprocessed and come from natural sources. Plants, animals, etc. 

We live in a world that it is very difficult to find completely unprocessed food. (unless you are the farmer themselves) But you can do your best to keep the processing minimal.

Where do you find these so called unprocessed foods? Mostly on the perimeter of the grocery store. Fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, potatoes, rice, oats. Ok, you will probably find the rice and the oats in the middle but you get the gist. Food that is unpackaged, or has very few ingredients of which you can clearly read and pronounce.

As in everything, we are not looking for perfection here. We are looking to consume mostly whole foods while giving ourselves the freedom to actually stay consistent and realistic. (Insert 80/20 rule… or even 70/30 is 😉) Let yourself have that wiggle room. We need space for fun, busy schedules, and the current world we live in where the processed options highly outweigh the raw. 

But what do I do with all this “whole food?”

It actually may not be as hard or “un-flavorful” as you think to build a balanced plate. Here is a quick guide on how to build a well balanced plate:

1. Pick a protein: meet, fish, eggs

2. Pick a starchy carb: potato, rice, bread, oats 

3. Pick a fat: Dressing, butter, cheese, avocado, oil 

4. Pick a clean filler: Add a big pile of veggies or piece of fruit 

Keep it simple. Add one of each and you have yourself some balance! 

Combine simple stand alone ingredients to create balanced meals easily by thinking of them as separate components. 

An example of a meal that is typically considered “unhealthy” but can be fairly balanced if done correctly:

Cheese burger 🍔 

Beef patty: Protein 
Bun: Starchy carb
Cheese: Fat 

Add some lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion for some flavor and veggies on the side and you have a yummy meal that is fairly well balanced. The bun is most likely the most processed ingredient, and you are incorporating good clean food to accompany it.

If you can think in terms of these four categories you learn how to categorize different food in their associated macro, and are able to eyeball a great meal for your goals. Whether you are a macro tracker or not, making meal choices when going out to eat, or putting together a dish at an event becomes a lot easier. 

Not every meal will be perfect but that’s not what we are looking 😎 

P.S. You can easily google a list of “proteins, carbs, and fats” to help with filling your fridge, and maybe save it to your phone so you can reference when you are out and about 🥗🍳🍎🍞🥩🥦

I hope this helps relieve some pressure you may have on your nutrition. If you have any questions or need some more direction on where to start feel free to send me an email at meggan@thebarfitnesscollective.com. I’d love to help!