Look here, another nutrition article! It seems that we could talk forever about nutrition and just end up more confused than ever. There are certified nutritionists, clinical dietitians, holistic health specialists, the list goes on and on and on…. What’s the point? How can we form an easy to understanding foundation for nutrition that we can all build on? Where can we find common ground? We heard of the Atkins Diet, Vegan, Carnivore, Paleo, a diet for every day of the week. Let’s make sense out of all this information so we have a foundation to build upon.

Now in full transparency, I am a certified personal trainer. I have restricted calories during my early years as a wrestler. I have been in a caloric surplus with years of bodybuilding. I have grazed during my days as an endurance athlete, as well as eaten carnivore. I have personally experience many different ways to nourish the body during many different styles of training as well as observed many clients over the years and this is where the wealth of my experience comes from. Now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s start with some universal truths.

1. People digest different foods differently. Each person must find foods that align with their goals and genetic make-up
2. The basics of nutrition is When you eat, What you eat and How much you eat.
3. Counting macro- nutrients at least once in your life (90 days) is beneficial
4. Eating should consist of what activity you are trying to sustain that day. Ex: A plate of spaghetti before a long hike might not be in your best interest.
5. Intuitive eating is the end goal! This takes time and you can get there!!
6. The BIGGEST thing about a new routine is forming new habits around food.
7. For the majority of people, EAT BREAKFAST!!!!

Everything nutrition related should be done at a birds eye view. You can make great habitual changes without obsessing over it. Food can most certainly be categorized as much a drug as it can be as medicine. It’s so important to develop a healthy relationship with the way you fuel your body. We want to find out the true meaning of balance through nutrition.

Trigger Warning Incoming: With small exceptions, If your nutritional guru talks about finding ways to “not cheat” on your diet on the weekend, they are more concerned with your short term progress than sustainable living. Our diets should never be restrictive, and we should much rather implement more movement than to look at restricting what we arbitrarily call “cheating on your diet”. If your goal is to have great energy, look better and feel better, you might be better served by focusing on implementing more activities than restricting calories.

Trigger Warning # 2 – Steer clear of professionals who talk excessively about caloric deficit. Your bodies functions, hormone balances and cellular processes do very poorly when you focus your energy for long periods of time on being in a caloric deficit. Will you lose weight if you move more and eat less, most likely yes. However, your hormonal balance, Sleep regulation, metabolism, and mood are also hugely important in determining your overall health. It’s hugely important to created healthy thought patterns with this Lifestyle change. The slogan should be, move more, eat more quality.

In summary, nutrition can be a daunting task to take on. Make sure to take it on from a birds eye view, and to never obsess over it. A true professional will empower you and make this process fun to find and cook new meals. You’ll know it’s working when you are sleeping better, moving more, and have more positive energy. That’s what this is all about!

Originally Published on https://www.ascendperformancetraining.com/blog

Tripp Parks Author, Podcast Host, Gym Owner

My name is Tripp Parks. I am the author of the book "Health Profiling"; I co-own: Ascend Performance Training Center and business solutions, Kalevala Labs Supplements; co-own/host the podcast Health Or High Water. (ISSA Certified: Personal Trainer, Genetic-based Program Design, Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning Specialist, and Elite Trainer)

With over 10 years of experience in the fitness industry. From playing professional football for the Rival Professional Football league, to working in genetics supplementation, personal training, nutrition and much more.

The latest I have been working on is developing the process my partner and I call, "Health Profiling". We are faced with one of the worst health epidemics ever seen before in human history and I wanted to come up with a way to fix it and thats where Health Profiling was born. Health Profiling is basically a new way of looking at health and wellness. The problem is when you go to a personal trainer they are going to solve your problems with workouts; a nutritionist will solve it with diet/supplementation, etc. The problem is no one is putting them together.

Just like when we invest our money, we diversify those funds. The same goes with our health and wellness. Health Profiling is about diversifying our health and wellness to all aspects. I look at everything for someones health journey (genetics, hormones, workouts, sleep, stress, mentality, etc.) that truly makes them healthy.

This all starts with genetics! Using genetic testing we can get a qualitative road map to apply Health Profiling to our daily life's!