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?
Looking to mix up your breakfast? Try these awesome 5 Ingredient Bagels
by Skinny Taste. With 150 calories and 10 grams of protein each they make the perfect breakfast. I love adding an egg and spinach on mine!
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