On a client call this morning, I noticed some contraction during our conversation when macros came up.
Ironic since a larger portion of my coaching is somewhat centered around guidance on macronutrient intake.
I am a nutrition professional. But I am finding, at an increasingly sharp rate, that I feel a pull to disassociate myself from the field. I don’t want to further the collective confusion around what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, which “diet” to follow, or any other variation of dietary BS.
Every day my Instagram feed is overflowing with contradictory information and nutrition professionals talking shit about this dietary approach or than consumption preference. For context, I do follow a very large number of nutrition professionals and while a lot of them share my passion for nutrient-dense, whole foods, I also get a lot of mixed signals too. Everyone means well, don’t get me wrong. But like any topic, there’s a wide range of differing opinions.
(Don’t forget: just because I consider myself a leader in the field of nutrition, it doesn’t mean I’m not susceptible to second-guessing whether or not I should reduce my intake of high oxalate foods, for example.)
To piggyback my above comment about not wanting to create more collective confusion, if you do follow me online, you’ll notice that I’m no longer sharing food-related photos, stories, or posts.
The reason is simple. I’ve come to realize that I, unintentionally, might be portraying an unrealistic standard in terms of how I choose to feed myself. I am extremely privileged that I get to eat how I choose to and more than ever, I know that is not possible or even desirable for others.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have extraordinarily high standards when it comes to food sourcing and quality. (I’ve heard the correlation made that most people care more about the quality of gas they put in their car than they do about the foods they consume for THEIR fuel which is sad but true.) But I don’t expect everyone to have the same standards I do. Not everyone wants to invest in premium gasoline and that’s cool.
I guess where I’m going with this is… I know in my immediate circle, I’ve made people feel bad about their choices. And I don’t want anyone to feel bad. I tend to be overly assertive in my delivery about how much I care about others’ health and well-being and I’m trying to reel that in.
As a byproduct, I’m electing to restrain from offering unsolicited advice, commentary, and content online that could contribute to the potential for more misunderstanding.
Anyway, all of this has created a lot of uncertainty for me in terms of how I wish to coach moving forward. I started with reconfiguring my coaching packages. And while I’m satisfied with the offerings at the moment, I’m still feeling a bit of an edge in terms of how to proceed.
I will say that two of the things I am really proud of in my one-to-one work with my clients are encouraging food sovereignty and asserting that macro tracking is used as a guide but not a stringent regime that lends to obsessive behavior.
My clients take regular breaks from tracking macronutrients and I encourage them to work to develop their intuition when it comes to dialing in ratios related to how they feel based on energy expenditure, activity level, menstrual cycles, sleep, etc.
It’s not all black and white; and the best person to determine what an individual needs is the INDIVIDUAL. However, it’s not common that someone has been taught to attune to their nutritional needs.
My intention in sharing this is to help me process what I’m feeling so I can find resolution and remind you that the people you seek for healing are doing deep healing work of their own. What I know above all else is that I do feel called to do this work so it’s been a challenge to navigate this swell of emotions that have surfaced the past month.
If my nutrition philosophy feels like a safe place for you in reaching your own health and wellness goals, I’d be happy to discuss ways we can work together to help you achieve them. (You can review my services and the activation (investment) for each offering on my Functional Nutrition page.)
If you’re looking for general health and nutrition recommendations, I have a private Facebook group, HY PERFORMANCE, you can join.
If you follow me on social media, please enjoy photographs of my garden, ducks and chickens, my granddaughter, and other random tidbits of my life that do not revolve around food and eating.
xo, Hyla
hylaridenour.com 