Strategies For Nutrition Success

So, how do we know whether our diet is causing or increasing our stress?

Overall, eating a nourishing balanced diet can support our holistic well-being, give us a healthy immune system and provide the energy needed to cope with stress. So, what is a balanced diet? There are numerous diets out there, some better than others. Worldwide, many health organizations, doctors and dieticians have endorsed the Mediterranean Diet as a healthier way to eat as it has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, certain cancers, and depression.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Let’s review the Mediterranean Diet:

Basically, the Mediterranean diet includes:

• An abundance of plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, which are minimally processed, seasonally fresh, and grown locally
• Olive oil as the principal source of fat
• Cheese and yogurt, consumed daily in low to moderate amounts
• Fish and poultry, consumed in low to moderate amounts a few times a week
• Red meat, consumed infrequently and in small amounts
• Fresh fruit for dessert, with sweets containing added sugars or honey eaten only a few times each week
• Wine consumed in low to moderate amounts, usually with meals.^[4]

Watch the following 3:33 minute video Mediterranean Diet: Everything You Need to Know to learn more.

Omega 3 fatty acids are super healthy!^[5][6][7]

Mindful Eating

Practicing mindful eating is a strategy everyone could use. When we “stress-eat”, we eat mindlessly, not thinking about what or how much we’re eating. How often have you scarfed down some food while doing other things? Mindful eating allows us to make thoughtful food choices, slowing the eating process, and paying more attention to our body’s hunger and fullness cues, perhaps avoiding overeating. his can help us realize we aren’t eating due to physiological hunger but because of psychological chaos that is making us eat as a coping mechanism. Try removing distractions – turn off your phone, TV, and computer while you eat. Eat in a peaceful, uncluttered space. Another idea is to pace yourself while eating. Try for a 20-minute meal. Chew your food slowly and put your fork down between bites. Actually taste and enjoy your meal!

There’s An App For That

There are a multitude of apps that can help you track your food intake, monitor your diet, help with weight loss, keep track of physical activity, assist with special diets like vegetarian, vegan and gluten free, and get individualized advice on how to improve your eating habits.

Here are some apps that have been highly rated, keeping in mind that while some are free to download, they may require a payment to access all of the features. These are listed in no particular order.

Noom is a paid app that prioritizes the psychology of eating, helping people re-envision their eating habits, understand why they eat the way they do and make healthy choices while still eating the foods they enjoy. It tracks your calories and provides a custom health plan.

MyFitnessPal allows you to track food, weight, water intake, and exercise all in one app. It has an extensive food database, and a premium subscription allows for a more detailed breakdown of daily macro and micronutrients.

Foodeducate tracks your food intake and exercise. It tracks the quality of the calories you eat, including protein, fats, carbs and fiber. It also recommends healthy alternatives to unhealthy processed foods as well.

Cronometer helps monitor your food and water intake as well as your macronutrients and even has 82 micronutrient targets. It has the ability to track biometrics like sleep and heart rate and allows for creating your own customized food data base and to save recipes for future reference.

Weight Watchers is a paid app that is worth mentioning. Using a daily points goal, you can choose foods to eat that stay within your given range. In terms of points, foods with a lower point value are lower calorie, higher protein, and more nutrient-dense. It also tracks exercise and has on-demand workouts.

Life Sum has a calorie counter and food tracker, and it allows you to set daily or weekly goals and get statistics about your day to day lifestyle, diet and exercise.

MyPlate Calorie Tracker has an extensive food database and tracks calories and workouts, calculating the total amount of fat burned compared with calories consumed.

Nutrition Facts allows you to search any food item and the app will calculate how many calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates are present in an individual serving of that food.

Food Intolerances app is for those who follow a restrictive diet because of food intolerances, sensitivities or allergies. It shows you a list of harmful ingredients and the healthy alternatives available.

My Diet Coach app gives you personalized diet and workout programs. It includes a daily food diary, macro tracker, and provides info for those on Keto meal plans.