21 May A Day in the Diet of an Authentic Nutritionist
As I write this I’m 55 years old – 56 this summer – that sounds like a pretty big number to me, certainly when I was younger I thought 55 was ancient, however now I am here I only feel 25, I certainly never feel as old as my number might suggest, even on a bad day!
A great question to ask yourself is ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?’ If your answer is anything close to your actual age, or God forbid older, then you may be doing something seriously wrong.
10 years younger, or more….
I am no angel when it comes to food, I love a ‘treat’ as much as the next person, but about 90%, if not more, of what I put into my mouth, and onto, my body, is good stuff and I believe that is partly why I only feel 25 years old and am regularly told I look a good ten years or more, younger – I like that!
Longevity is my thing, I have so much I want to achieve, I need a stream of good years in front of me in order to accomplish all my goals, which are, for the most part, to help people to understand their health by better knowing and appreciating their bodies and recognising their often negative mindset around food – it’s quite a task, but I’m up for the challenge, want to join in?
The first important hour
I know you will have heard this a million times, but getting up an hour before everyone else 100% works to kick start your day in a truly positive way. My day starts usually around 6 am, often before my gentle tweeting bird’s alarm clock goes off. I take the usual visit to the loo, drink a glass of room temperature water, and do some meditative, deep breathing to awaken my lungs and ground me for the day ahead – I use a square breathing method, breath in to the count of 4, hold for 4, breath out for 4, hold for 4, and repeat, increasing the number usually up to about 8, I do this for a few minutes. *
When I have time or when I feel particularly stressed I follow my breathing exercise with a guided meditation which helps me to create some space in my mind and allows any tension to drop away. YouTube is a great resource for this.
I am not religious about it, unless things get on top of me, although I have learnt to better manage my stress and emotions, plus the breathing exercise is meditative too.
Journalling and reading
Next, I write my thoughts in the journal that I keep by my bed, it is usually just a one-page brain dump, but it allows me to get everything, good and bad, off my chest and onto paper. It feels good to let it flow, although I don’t allow myself to ramble too much unless I really feel the need.
After that I read for a short while, this morning it was The Million Dollar Blog, I also have 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on the go, and Infinite Possibilities, by Mike Dooley. I rarely read novels as I find these types of books fuel my constant desire to learn, and I can take the lessons into my day with me.
Movement
To finish off my miracle morning routine I do a 4-minute HIIT exercise on my lateral thigh trainer with two dumbbells. It works like this, 20 seconds high intensity, 10-second break, repeated 8 times, I also try to have a stretch and ensure I can still touch my toes to keep my flexibility in check.
Alternatively, I use a single kettlebell and do an exercise that starts with the bell on the floor, feet shoulder-width apart – and being careful with my back – I hold onto the kettle with two hands, raise it above my head and take it back down to the floor again, legs in a squat, back straight, repeat around 80 – 100 times, in sets of 20. I am just starting to learn Wall Pilates for extra strength and tone.
Movement is important for so many reasons, for a start it keeps your lymphatic drainage system moving – it doesn’t have a pump like the heart – and exercising in the morning is believed to help you sleep better.
Mother knows best
Once I am dressed and downstairs in the kitchen I often, although not always, drink one tbsp. of apple cider vinegar – complete with mother* – in a glass of water to give my system a detox and get everything moving – there are so many benefits to taking ACV, but that will have to be another blog!
When the rest of the family is up – my two teenage boys –it is full throttle to get them fed and packed off to school or work with lunches in their bags. We often share a big pot of porridge, soaked overnight in water, with added pumpkin or sunflower seeds and then cooked with a little honey and served with walnut pieces, fresh fruit, oat milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon – delicious.
Alternatively, it’s a banana pancake for the youngest – one mashed banana, mixed with an egg and a handful of blueberries cooked with coconut oil – and a cherry tomato or mushroom omelette popped into a buttered and toasted whole meal bagel, for my eldest. Packing them off with a hearty breakfast is paramount to me – there are no sweet cereals and dairy milk here, we enjoy breakfasts with substance.
Breaking the fast
Sometimes I forgo breakfast and fast until around lunchtime, using the 16:8 method – 16 hours of fasting with an 8-hour eating window – which I break with a mashed banana, passion fruit or blueberries, granola, kefir yoghurt, nuts (including 2 brazil nuts for my thyroid*) and a sprinkle of maca, lacuma, turmeric blend – heavenly and super healthy. I drink herbal tea around breakfast too or make one to take with me to work.
For lunch I often have a Buddha bowl-style meal, made with a mix of ingredients such as kale salad – kale massaged with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and soy sauce – raw cashew nuts, blueberries, herrings, kiwi fruit, avocado, cherry tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon or lime. If I have leftover risotto or potatoes they get thrown in too, in fact, any leftovers can make the base, it is a bit of a free for all and is never the same twice!
Dinner is varied, but I often make a big mixed salad full of colourful fruit and salad vegetables instead of cooked veg – although we do still eat cooked veg of course – I choose organic where I can. We serve this with different dishes, this week we had marinated venison steaks, halloumi burgers, and brown rice spaghetti carbonara. Last week it was mushroom stroganoff with brown rice, cottage pie. and Goan fish curry. Next week it could be beef meatballs in homemade tomato sauce, baked sea bass with sauté potatoes, and vegetarian fajitas made with my own spices and homemade guacamole and salsa.
Drinking and snacking
Snacking is usually fruit and nuts, occasionally I have an Eat Natural bar, or if I’m feeling really naughty I have a chocolate bar, dark if I can. Another treat I love is lashings of butter and thick-cut marmalade on whole meal sourdough toast – bought from Bread Ahead at London’s Borough Market – it’s delicious and the flavonoids in the marmalade shred make it pass as vaguely healthy!
Drinks of choice are usually herbal tea; I’m pretty much a caffeine-free kind of girl, preferring to work off my own steam, rather than using the common drug of choice! However, my go-to treat drink is a Green and Blacks coconut milk hot chocolate which is simply divine and always hits the spot. A glass of red wine or a sneaky G&T might be enjoyed on a night out, but that’s a rarity for me these days.
Clean in and on
On top of what I put ‘in’ my body, you may have noticed I mentioned what I put ‘on’ my body too. This is equally important, as it is understood up to 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into the body. Because of this, I suggest you only use natural or organic products, paraben free is essential, and aluminum free for deodorants – Wild is a great brand of the latter.
So there you have it, not a bad lot, but improvements could always be made I feel. I am pretty certain though that I will never completely give up meat, chocolate, or wine, I just choose to have the best quality and only have them occasionally – works for me anyway.
Feed Good Habits
Kathy Mac
xx
Kathy Mac – author of Feeding Good Habits – 12 weeks to rewire your mind, reset your habits and renew your relationship with food for improved health and sustained weight loss.
*A really good stress buster is to breathe in deeply to the count of 4, hold for 7, and slowly breathe out for 8, repeating as many times as needed.
*The mother in Apple Cider Vinegar is the active ingredient – it is super important to have this.
*Selenium is in extremely short supply in our soils so we often struggle to get enough. It is important for thyroid health amongst other things, however by eating 2 brazil nuts a day you should get the recommended daily amount.