Tag: Macronutrients

The Cost Of Not Investing

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Eggs, raw cheese, grapefruit, honey, half & half, coffee. Simple and effective.

Feeling crappy is more affordable.

Swinging through the fast-food joint is way more convenient than preparing real food at home.

Turning a blind eye to symptoms of dysfunction is easier than dealing with the root cause of why you feel tired, bloated,  suffer from reactions to certain foods, experience digestive issues, have a low libido, etc.

I get asked about my coaching rates pretty frequently.

However, the conversion rate of those inquiries into clients is pretty low.

Why? Because people aren’t willing to invest in themselves. It’s too expensive.

Private, one-to-one nutrition support and guidance is not worth feeling good, losing excess body fat, achieving performance goals, or reaching a better state of health and wellness.

Buying high-quality, organic, whole foods that require actual cooking, and top-of-the-line supplements fall into the same category. Feeling crappy is simply more affordable.

And if you are suffering from any sort of ill health or chronic condition, not to fear! There’s a ton of prescription medications that’ll fix you right up. They’re definitely more “affordable” than real food.

But here’s the thing, if you desire to change how you feel, it requires that you change what’s on your plate.

Personally, I choose to buy the highest quality foods I can get my hands on because they make me feel good. And the foods you consume should make you feel good!

If your cells aren’t singing after you eat (because remember, the foods we consume are the raw materials that build every cell, tissue, and organ and activate their supporting functions in our bodies), you’re not eating real food.

Do you want your body to be constructed from Doritos? Or nutrient-dense, whole foods that supply ample nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that your body needs to thrive?

Foods that are produced with regenerative farming practices, pasture-raised, grass-fed, non-GMO, organic, and otherwise thoughtfully produced matter. They are more nutrient-dense than their counterparts and provide more bio-available vitamins and minerals. More bang for your buck, so to speak.

I’m worth the investment. And so are you. Our health and well-being are worthy of the greatest care regardless of the price tag.

If you’re on the fence about investing in your health, consider the cost of not…

Allergies, autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel, leaky gut, mood disorders, cognitive decline, diabetes and metabolic dysfunction, heart disease, cancer…. what will those cost you?

Protein is Priority

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An average egg contains about 6 grams of protein.

I’m a protein forward practitioner. When I help my clients fine-tune their macronutrient ratios, protein is always the nutrient we target first and takes priority. We easily get enough fat and carbohydrates in our diets. Protein is another story.

If you’re unsure how much protein you should be consuming, and why, here’s a generalized summary of why protein is so important and how to determine your requirements.

First and foremost, proteins are the precursor to nearly every chemical process (think enzymes, antibodies, and peptide hormones which affect the endocrine system) and the building blocks for all tissues, organs, nerves, and muscles in the body.

Proteins and essential for digestion and detoxification. Proteins in the foods you consume actually trigger chemical reactions in your body to tell your digestive system what is needed to break down the foods you eat. If you’re consuming too little protein or not eating protein with every meal (or snack), your digestive system won’t operate optimally and you risk maximizing nutrient absorption.

Proteins improve satiety and increase thermogenesis. That means you’ll feel satisfied longer and you’ll burn more calories simply by eating more protein.

They rebuild tissues and are imperative for muscle growth and repair. Even if you’re not trying to “bulk up,” building muscle and staying strong later in life is vital. Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) is attributed to injuries in the elderly due to instability and weakness of the muscles and thus causing falls and other accidents.

Generally, you should aim to consume .75 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Bodybuilders and those really pushing to increase muscle mass for sport may increase higher, up to 1.2 grams per pound. If you’re trying to lose weight or are an athlete, protein requirements should be adjusted to meet individual factors. If overweight, generally, I’d recommend your protein intake, in grams, be roughly equal to your goal weight.

Customization is based on age, gender, activity level, caloric intake, digestive function, and goals.

The best complete sources of protein that contain all nine essential amino acids come from nutrient-dense whole foods: meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy products if tolerated by the individual. Whey protein is a supplement that should be used secondary to whole foods but a great option to bridge the gap when transitioning to higher protein intake.

Vegetable proteins from nuts, seeds, and vegetables count towards total protein consumption but do not contain all nine essential amino acids so make sure you’re eating a diverse array of foods for good overall health and adequate protein.

If getting enough protein is a challenge, this is my area of expertise. Reach out and we can create a plan to ensure you’re getting enough to meet (or meat, HA!) your needs.

Burn It Down Part 2

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Contemplating collective confusion.

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