When it comes to health and wellness, we often talk about food as it pertains to exactly what we are putting into our bodies. Whether that be foods high in fiber or protein; low in saturated fats or simple carbohydrates; or full of vitamins and nutrients.
Dieticians, nutritionists, fitness instructors, and even many wellness thought leaders tend to focus their efforts on educating people about what to eat. But, in reality, that’s just one part of the equation.
What you eat is the most important aspect to a certain extent; however, it would be deceitful for us to tell you that it means everything when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.
This is part one of a five part series that centers around the theme of, “It’s Not Just About What You Eat.”
If you haven’t checked out our recent blog about intuitive eating, I recommend that you take a look at that first before continuing on here.
I don’t want to be redundant here on the topic for those who have read it already, but I think the concept of intuitive eating is extremely valuable for those looking to achieve balance between being healthy and fueling their body and also with enjoying their favorite foods and indulging in these things.
Chocolate cake is not all that great for you, unfortunately. Bummer, I know, right?
However, that does not mean you should never eat chocolate cake! What a sad world that would be if that was the case…
In theory, you could eat chocolate cake every day and, as long as you're in a calorie deficit, you could lose weight. However, you'd be very likely to feel sluggish, fatigued, and quickly develop a heightened dependency on sugar. And, after a while, you'd likely become pretty sick of chocolate cake. If you'd like to know more about exactly how this can be possible, check out this video by Jordan Syatt on Youtube where he eats a Big Mac every day for a month and loses 7 pounds. (Disclaimer: we do not recommend trying this)
Every day we are faced with a multitude of choices when it comes to what we put into our bodies. On Monday you may have a day of smoothies, juices, salads, and grain bowls. On Friday, there may be catering in the office from the local Italian restaurant and then you have a glass or two of wine after dinner. We make these food choices day by day, and even meal by meal.
To say that Monday was a “good” eating day and Friday was a “bad” eating day can be a really harmful way to look at these choices. Stigmatizing certain foods or being overly concerned with the macronutrients and calories in them can be extremely draining. This can cause certain anxieties related to food and wellness that can severely detriment your mental health.
While we do post a lot of content regarding food that's "fueling" and "healthy," we never intend for you to take that as us "blessing" these foods or banishing others that may not fit certain criteria.
At 6AM Health, we want to create a culture around food that is concerned less with “what” you eat and more with other factors: the when, where, with who, and how.
We’ve found that these factors can have a huge impact on the equation of achieving a healthy lifestyle that is grounded in balance.
We know a healthy lifestyle doesn’t just happen overnight, it takes time, persistence, and grit. It's not a direct path either, there's always bumps, hurdles, detours, and even u-turns. This is especially true if you are someone who has never really given these things much thought.
There is a lot of talk out there surrounding the topic of what we eat, and we're hoping to help clear things up for you by bringing to light some of the other factors that make a major difference when it comes to deciding what, where, when, with who, and how to eat.
We’d like to help make these choices easier for you by sharing with you all our beliefs about health and the means of living in a way that both treats your body right and, by the same token, fuels your soul.
Check back next week for part two of this series where we will be getting into one of the other major factors of eating: when you eat.
Let us know what you think so far and what your experiences have been with some of these major factors surrounding eating!