How I Changed My Relationship With Food
We live in a world of information. You can Google or buy a book about any subject that you have interest in. And as you know, there is a lot of hype, myths, and misconceptions about dieting, weight loss and what's healthy. But, the information overload leads to confusion about what to eat.
You know about healthy eating, and want to clean up your diet, but sometimes, you don’t have the right information to make informed decisions about what's best for you.
I know how confusing this is because I felt that way too.
I used to feel tired. I used to feel like I needed to count every calorie, even though I worked out seven days a week.
Here's an old spreadsheet I found from 2007. Isn't it ridiculous?!
A trainer I used to work with once told me, "It's (weight loss) all about burning more calories than you take in." Those words stuck with me FOR YEARS, and I became so obsessed with exercising and eating a little as possible.
While this helped me drop pounds, it set me up for an unhealthy mindset and relationship with food and clouded my thinking for years on what "healthy" really means.
I was not eating the right foods (or even enough foods!), and eventually, it caught up with me. Depriving my body of critical vitamins and nutrients led me to feel depleted, fatigued, and made my gut a hot mess!
Thankfully, I no longer subscribe to this lifestyle. I don't believe in diets and deprivation. I've worked hard to figure out what foods work for my unique body. I learned that food is my fuel, not my enemy.
As a health coach, it's my job to share with you what I've learned with you. You need a plan, especially with the busy lifestyle that you lead.
If you desire to ditch the diet mentality,
If you desire to have more energy and focus,
If you desire to have a better sleep,
If you desire to ditch the gas and bloating,
If you want to feel more joy...
...And you are sick and tired of buying book after book searching for the perfect plan, while never getting any real, sustainable results, this is what works:
The "secret" to good health is eating clean foods that purify and energize you.
Think about your health goals and tap into that place of desiring to achieve them. What are they? What's holding you back from achieving them?
As I mentioned, I used to be obsessed with working out and that eventually led me to long-distance endurance sports. While I trained for marathons, I still limited my calories. I thought that if I "burned more than I took in" I could reach my "ideal" weight, and I would lighter and run faster.
In doing that, I destroyed my digestive system, which led to IBS, insomnia, depleted adrenals, Hypoglycemia, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and Leaky Gut Syndrome.
I looked healthy, but I was tired, sleep-deprived and bloated all. the. time.
I felt depressed, anxious, and at times, out of control. I did not connect the dots and realize that the foods that I was eating were not energizing me.
I’m sure you have experienced your own version of this. You know how frustrating and STRESSFUL it feels, right?
It's a vicious cycle.
But then I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and it changed my life. I changed my "diet and deprivation" mentality and understood how digestion works and how it impacts every other system in my body. Now I specialize in digestive health and help people learn how to eat for energy.
After realizing the power of eating the foods that were right for me, I then focused on nourishing my body emotionally, finally learning tools to put myself first. My entire life has changed. Yours can too!
Naomi Nakamura is a Functional Nutrition Health Coach. She helps passionate, ambitious high-achievers who are being dragged down by fatigue, burnout, sugar cravings, poor sleep, unexplained weight issues, and hormonal challenges optimize health, find balance, and upgrade their energy so they can do big things in this world.
Through her weekly show, The Live FAB Live Podcast, programs, coaching, and services, she teaches women how to optimize their diet, support their gut health, reduce their toxic load, and improve their productivity, bringing work + wellness together.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
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