My 3 Daily Nutrition Goals…
My French garden heaven en Bretagne March 2019
Before I had a big WHY? I really didn’t think much about nutrition. I figured I was eating well enough. Vegetables were always a part of my plate, I enjoyed food and didn’t seem to have any allergies. It wasn’t until part way through my cancer (NH Lymphoma) journey that my big WHY appeared. The wake-up call of a cancer diagnosis is comprehensive to say the least. Suddenly, I found myself taking stock of every aspect of my life and wondering if there was anything at all that I could do to slow down the ticking time bomb.
If you were to ask my doctor at Cleveland Clinic- she would have told you that “No”, in fact “there is nothing you can do to change the situation in your body”. Something in my gut knew that just couldn’t possibly be true… and indeed, so much research has been done since then to help us understand how critical nutrition is to our health and wellness.
Not long after hearing those fateful (and frankly- WRONG) words, I decided to go to a health and wellness retreat over the weekend that some friends of mine were organizing. We listened to a lot of lectures and did a lot of journal writing to help us reflect on all the information we were hearing. It was not easy stuff …it was downright depressing actually… I kept thinking…”No sugar, no legumes, no grains, only grass-fed, organic, wild-caught…So what is there left to eat?!?” It seemed like a giant list of no-no foods that were bad for you in one way or another. Perhaps my WHY was so big and looming that I was willing to do almost anything to help eradicate the cancer in my body.
The first thing to go was the sugar (sigh) This was 10 years ago and it seemed like all of a sudden everyone was talking about sugar. I had always had a sweet tooth of sorts. Not every day but also, I wasn’t overly conscious of my eating until this time of my of my life, so I am also not a good judge of how much or little sugar I was eating. My biggest memory from that weekend is the rollercoaster ride I was having emotionally about food. Information kept rolling over me — and every time I could feel myself getting pissed off. WHAT WAS I GOING TO EAT?! But something amazing happened…as I was writing and reflecting about my life from my rocking chair as a 95 year old woman with my grandchildren surrounding me…I realized that I not only wanted to live a long life- I wanted to expand my healthy window as wide and as long as I could possibly make it.
It has been a journey…I sometimes will have a little sugar in a piece of birthday cake or an ice cream cone. Sometimes I like to have a piece of pizza or some other indulgent thing, but what has been more true from that time to this is the feeling of hope that overcame me. It has motivated me to continuously find healthy ways to make almost anything. With that as the driving inspiration I have realized recently that there are a couple daily nutrition goals that inspire my eating on a daily basis.
Get enough greens. I shoot for 3-6 cups a day. I know that sounds like a lot. But I sneak them into things in such a delicious and comforting way.
Protein (1 gram per lb I weigh).
Enough water.
Greens, water and protein powder in a morning smoothie is the only way I can hit that mark. Most days I don’t successfully hit that number- but it is always my goal. Protein builds and maintains muscle. When I snack - I try to make it a protein snack. Front-loading the day with high quality nutrition takes the pressure off for the rest of the day. Not only are you already physically satiated - you are mentally satiated too. You know what I mean, that feeling of knowing you fed your body well and it isn’t in a crave/crash cycle that can feel very stressful.
See some of my recipes that will help you find a yummy path forward with high quality nutrition to feed your heart, mind and spirit. There are so many ways to explore taste, texture and ethnic recipes to expand your palette.
Embrace your food adventure and remember to make changes slowly one at a time. No need to rush and try to do everything at once. Enjoy the food journey. I am always here to talk with you about any questions you might have. Please let me know what is working for you in the comments below!
Love and Health my friends,
Linda
