Nutrition Notes: Week 12

Nothing groundbreaking to report with Michael's nutrition plan this week.
In fact, that's why we've tried to use the last few blogs more for educational components and ideas, because Michael's nutrition has continued to be pretty spot on. He's simply stayed consistent with his frequency, balance, portion control, and quality food choices. There's really not much more we could ask from him. He has allowed himself a "throwout" meal each week, but even from our review of those, they haven't even been that bad.

His quick progress with that part of his program has been just as, if not more, impressive as his weight loss and overall physical improvements. I know it's been mentioned before, but making good, and consistent, nutritional changes that actually become part of a lifestyle can be sooo difficult. In review of some of the other contestants blogs it is easy to see that a common challenge is that aspect, and it often is for the majority of our clients. Sure, getting workouts in and pushing through them on certain days is hard, but changing nutritional habits often goes so much deeper into our psyche and our physiology. It's a process of changing habits that may have been ingrained from childhood, battling the emotional connections and responses we often have and get from food, as well as struggling through various social and environmental influences.

Physiologically, food can be an addictive substance for people, just as any other drug. The food we eat and how we eat it affects us at our core, releasing or inhibiting hormones. It has the power to make us feel terrible or it can act in many ways like a drug to make us feel great, only to force a crash and make us feel bad again. Research has shown how various forms of carbohydrates, and things like chocolate actually release chemicals in our body similar to opiates.

Therefore we get used to connecting with food as a source of pleasure and comfort, often without ever realizing it. When you look at all of these aspects, it's easy to see how multifaceted and complicated it can be to finally "solve" the nutritional problems in your own life. It doesn't have to be that way, though. For us, it starts at the beginning. Identify the source(s) of those nutritional problems as best as possible, breakdown all of the nutritional habits, challenges, and limitations, and then look to fill in the gaps and fix the issues where we can in a step by step fashion.

Our approach with Michael was no different, he just happened to take those steps and get to the top of the mountain faster than most. Not everyone will, or should, move through those steps at the same rate, and that's perfectly fine. We don't expect it to be that way, and we don't expect perfection through that process. What we will do is work with each person at the rate they're most comfortable with and capable of, coaching, supporting, educating, and sometimes challenging (in a good way) them to their own level of success, whatever that may be. As fitness professionals we know that good nutritional changes will accellerate results dramatically, but we also know that as much as we would like to, we can't force those changes to occur for somebody else. We've seen it so many times, that once a client makes that decision and truly commits to improving their nutrition, then we can help them even more, and the accelaration in results will follow.