Perfection: The Moving Target

I’m glad I am not the only one who gets sucked into the black hole of the internet when it comes to nutritional advice. It’s hard to keep up with what the latest “right” way to eat is… It feels like every day there is another bombardment of the latest research/findings about what food is going to make us look 10 years younger or live an extra 30 years. Then  a week later  a new study shows that the food item is going to kill us. Take everything you read with a pinch of salt (preferably lo-salt…gotta watch that sodium intake. )

I spent a lot of time yesterday thinking more about the difference between a ‘perfect’ and a ‘normal’ diet. I’m not talking about the stereotypical Western diet of fast food day in/day out. I’ve never met anyone who eats like that for any significant period of time so I don’t personally consider that ‘normal’.

Normal to me means,

• eating every few hours- the body needs fuel spread throughout the waking hours.
• eating a balanced and varied diet including ALL food groups- yes, that includes foods eaten purely for pleasure sometimes. I don’t believe that any one food eaten on occasion is going to cause major damage and I don’t want to have to prepare all my meals myself or go out to a restaurant on my birthday and just order a salad because it’s the only “safe” thing on the menu. I’ve spent the last 14 years doing that and it’s been pretty miserable. I might have kids one day and whilst i want them to develop a healthy attitude towards food and their bodies, I also want them to to eat without guilt and enjoy and try all kinds of foods. What’s childhood without baking cupcakes for a sleepover or toasting marshmallows on a bonfire?
• listening to my hunger cues- so what if it’s 30 minutes before I usually eat lunch? If my body is asking for food, why deny it?
• real food- this is something I struggle with and my current diet consists of a lot of ‘imitation’ products. What I am striving for is truly honouring my body- if it wants mashed potato one night, I want to eat mashed potato. Not a mashed  cauliflower called ‘mashed potato. It’s still cauliflower. Knowing my body, I think I can safely say that about 95% of my cravings are pretty healthy, but if I want a creamy buttery cheesy heap of mashed potato one night then I would hope that I can eat it, knowing that my cravings for things like that are few and far between so when cravings DO hit, it’s okay to honour them. I’m all for healthier substitutions sometimes, but occasionally the ‘real deal’ is needed. Everything in moderation, right?
• eating cake on my birthday, dessert on Thanksgiving, the homemade cookie that my friend made when I visited… I don’t often have the opportunity regularly to eat things like this and don’t generally crave it, but I DO love food and if a freshly baked brownie comes my way and looks delicious, why would I deny myself? If my overall diet is healthy and balanced, there is definitely room for indulgences on occasion.

What’s your definition of ‘a ‘normal’ diet?

I found this online:

Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it — not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint on you food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is three meals a day, most of the time, but it can also be choosing to munch along. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful when they are fresh. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. It is overeating at times; feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. It is also undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.
In short, normal eating is flexible and moderate. It varies in response to your emotions, your schedule, your hunger and your proximity to food.
Ellyn Satter, 1987

I guess it comes down to trusting yourself. Trusting that your body will tell you what it needs and when- sometimes that’s an apple with peanut butter and sometimes it’s a grilled cheese sandwich. As Angie said, “As a dietitian, I find that many people are in one of two extremes…either, they don’t care at all what they eat and eat lots of junk…or they obsess too much and end up stressing themselves out way too much. I believe somewhere in the middle is ideal.” I agree 100%.

I have a hard time differentiating between what my body actually wants and what my brain is telling me is ‘okay’ to eat. Sometimes I really do want a banana bread Lara bar. Sometimes I actually really want some real banana bread. There is definitely some middle ground to be found between indulging every craving and finding healthier alternatives, but I think  that overall, going by a 90/10 rule is what works for me. 90% wholesome, 10% fun.

A “perfect” diet is the one that makes you feel your own personal best.

There is a lot of discussion going on about ending “fat talk”- I’d like to see an end to “eating guilt” talk. ..

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No pictures of last night’s dinner- was a “fall back” meal that quite a few of you suggested. Let’s just say there was cereal and Greek yogurt involved

For breakfast this morning I had a hot date…

Who could resist?

I took Coco’s advice and cooked 1/2 cup of oats with 1 cup liquid (1/2 milk, 1/2 water), added a bunch of blueberries and the protein powder. Cocoa warned me that it might need extra liquid but I opted for the gummy texture. I was AMAZED how much this powder thickened my bowl right up. I don’t know what I was expecting, but certainly not this.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance- we all know the best tasting foods are the least photogenic and this was pretty good. The texture was a little grainy- if I was making it again, I’d dissolve the powder in water first then add it to the cooked oats.

Loved:

• rich and creamy in a delicious, “wait, this is breakfast?” type way
• how thick it got
• the vanilla taste was perfect- not too sweet and definitely not artificial tasting
• It’s sweetened with stevia so perfect for me (trying to cut down on artificial sweeteners but need to avoid too much refined sugar right now)

Nutritional info and ingredients are here. 

Would I buy it? I’m not convinced. I love the nutritionals and ingredient list, and of course, the picture of Jay. I’m looking forward to trying the chocolate flavour and would love to try some of their other powders. If you’d like to try it for yourself, the discount still stands (until TOMORROW).

I was finished earlier than expected at the doctor, so went for a walk and found a really great health store. It was small and they didn’t have a huge selection, but a few things I hadn’t seen before. I was interested in the protein powders and they had a pea protein that I have been looking for. It’s unflavoured so I’m not sure yet, but they were so nice to me and gave me a sample that was for the staff to try! Then I hit up the hard-core body-building store to check out the buff guys their collection of protein powder. After an hour of flirting shamelessly discussing the different powders, ended up buying a big tub of vanilla whey protein…let the fun begin! I don’t drink smoothies, but am open to any other ideas if you have them!

I was confused after my appointment and wasn’t sure what to make for lunch so made a plateful of everything! Spinach, spaghetti squash (emphasis being on the word ‘squash’  ), mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, sprouts and red pepper hummus.

 

Hugh Jass, indeed. I used K’s tip and microwaved the squash for a few minutes before cutting- made a big difference! This salad contained most of my favourite foods but was kind of ‘blah’ tasting. At least it was pretty!

I am spending the afternoon googling after my doctor’s appointment (seriously, why don’t they give you enough information?!).

HUGE congratulations to Susan who NAILED her first triathlon! You go girl!

Hope everyone’s Monday is off to a great start