The Nutrition Thermostat You Should Follow Through Self-Isolation and Beyond
Kate Irwin • May 4, 2020
It's Not All Or Nothing
Our current state of self-isolation has changed, for many of us, what our days look like. With increased stress due to homeschooling, working from home, being an essential worker, or no longer working, nutrition may seem like it is either not important or is impossible to conquer right now. It’s important to remember that nutrition should never be an all or nothing process. Providing your body with adequate nutrients to sustain yourself while keeping your body healthy and functioning is still important. Proper nutrition has no impact on your risk of getting sick, but staying as healthy as possible puts your body in the best position to help you fight both stress and sickness.
Think about your nutrition as a thermostat, you can either turn up or turn down the dial based on your current situation. Stress, food availability, mental capacity, motivation and social support can fluctuate daily. On days or weeks when everything is aligned you can turn the thermostat up, and when life starts to pile up you can turn the thermostat back down to make things more manageable. Below is the thermostat for nutrition. Take a moment and read through each level. Start at the bottom and see where you feel like you fall on the spectrum.
Level 10 - Nutrition Coaching with body composition goals
Level 9 - Nutrition Coaching learning macros
Level 8 - Following daily macro goals
Level 7 - Follow your daily calorie goals
Level 6 - Limit alcohol to one time per week
Level 5 - Limit sweet foods to a few times a week
Level 4 - Eat protein with every meal
Level 3 - Consume fruit and vegetables daily
Level 2 - Consume fruit or vegetables daily
Level 1 - Drink water each day
If your weekend is less stressful because you don’t have to work or home school then maybe you turn the thermostat up to level 7. When you have more challenging days you can turn your thermostat back down to a level 4. Level 9 and 10 include having someone hold you accountable and should be used when you have more ideal days to focus on your nutrition plan. The key is to not assign guilt with your nutrition. When you start to take the emotion out of your eating and make it more of a decision based on your reality, it becomes easier to adjust the thermostat as you go. If you assign guilt it becomes more likely you will fall completely off the scale and “give up” on healthy eating. Nutrition coaching is most ideally used to help you reach your goals, but it can also be used to help decrease the shame and guilt associated with food and teach you how to work on turning up and down the thermostat as needed.
My current reality is I am home with a toddler and a baby and the predictability of both my sleep at night and my daytime routine is low. I have committed to a minimum of Level 4 every single day. Most days I am able to keep myself at a level 8 but doing that every single day is not realistic for me.
It’s important to not use words like start fresh, start over, or do better tomorrow. It’s not about doing more and better each day, it’s about taking on what you can handle and using the building blocks to reach your goals.
What level is your ideal each day? What do you think you can take on to help you reach your goals and maintain your health?
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Do Hard Things Now, So Life Becomes Easier Later Modern humans default to the easy way but it's not our fault... Throughout human history, we were wired to survive constant hardship - scarcity of food, threats from predators, harsh environments and manual labor for everything. Our DNA evolved for survival in these conditions, not for modern living. Imagine an early human stumbling across a fruit tree. It made sense to gorge - there was no telling when the next meal would come. The human who gorged had a higher chance of survival than the human who only ate a few pieces of fruit. Practicing self-control in an environment of scarcity would have been a death sentence. Likewise, if given a chance to rest instead of walking miles or hunting, rest was the obvious choice. The problem? Our genes haven’t caught up with modern life. Today, food is everywhere. We don’t have to fight to meet our basic needs. Technology does the heavy lifting, cars replace walking, entertainment is on-demand and calorie-dense foods are always within reach. Left unchecked, our instincts will always lean toward easy options like overeating unhealthy foods (that are so easily accessible) or driving to the store instead of walking. In other words, we’re still hardwired to take the path of least resistance. But here’s the catch: Choosing easy now often means a harder life later and choosing hard now often means an easier life later. Most modern humans are overweight, stressed, tired and dealing with chronic health problems because we’re following outdated survival programming that no longer serves us. It’s time to become aware of these defaults. To override them. To consciously choose the hard thing - because doing hard things is what actually makes life easier in the long run. Hard things like: Going to bed on time instead of watching another episode Preparing a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food Moving your body instead of sitting all day Walking or biking to the store instead of driving Managing stress with deep breaths and fresh air instead of pouring a drink Looking at your habits instead of masking symptoms with medication It might feel uncomfortable because it goes against everything your biological programming is urging you to do. But that’s exactly why it matters. Don’t think of it as punishment or sacrifice. Think of it as an investment. Every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, cook instead of order out, or put your phone down to truly rest, you’re building a life that’s easier, richer, and more fulfilling down the road. And remember: Do easy things, and you’ll have a hard life. Do hard things, and you’ll have an easy life. Most of the above information is probably not new to you. That’s because we live in the information age with the internet and now AI - we already know what it is we need to do. The problem however is implementation. This is where having a customized plan and accountability comes in. If you know the hard things you need to do more of but struggle with breaking past your ‘default mode’ then contact us for a complimentary consultation HERE .
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We are back with our second series of 'Pod Calls' available exclusively to our Nova Health Club members. Don't miss these unique sessions to help you level up your health and wellness game! What is a Pod Call? A Pod Call is a live online (webinar like)_ session with a Nova coach, offering support and insights on key health topics like fitness, nutrition, recovery and overall wellness. Why did we create Pod Calls? Our goal is your success and your health goals can not be built on fitness alone. After delivering thousands of personal training sessions, we noticed a disconnect between fitness sessions we were delivering and the other pillars of health (and lifestyle habits that happen outside of the gym). To get the most out of your health and your fitness sessions at Nova we need to link other pillars such as mindset, nutrition, stress and recovery. Training coaches who care about your results will agree that a couple hours of personal training each week is not enough time to workout AND learn everything you need to know about maximizing those workouts... Things like how to eat before or after workouts, what recovery habits should be practiced or the link between stress and working out are all subjects that you need to know on your health and fitness journey. Pod Calls are dedicated sessions where we teach you essential health and fitness insights that we can't often cover during your gym workouts. We hope you take advantage of these expert-led sessions that will enhance your workouts, teach you new concepts about health and bridge the gap between fitness and overall wellness. Upcoming Pod Calls (all times in EST) Mon Jun 2, 2025 (6:00pm) Topic: How To Eat Carbs For Better Energy, Muscle & Fat Loss Coach: Josh Allen Wed Jun 4, 2025 (2:00pm) Topic: Hip Mobility Using the 'CARS' (active session) Coach: Kim Vo Sat Jun 7, 2025 (12:00pm) Topic: Benefits of Single Leg & Arm Training for Overall Strength Coach: Matthew Nadler Tues Jun 10, 2025 (6pm) Topic: Releasing Neck Tension Coach: Zack Fernandez Wed Jun 18, 2025 (1:00pm) Topic: Training The Backside of The Core Coach: Colin Soltesz Thu June 19, 2025 (7:00pm): Topic: Ayurveda for Healthy Ageing Coach: Kayla Hutchinson These calls are free for Nova members and Zoom links for each call can be found in the Nova Mighty Networks platform. If you are not a Nova member and would like to attend any of these please email Info@NovaHealthClub.com for a seat. We look forward to seeing you then!
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