Better than 80/20 - Supplements

Hello again!

Welcome to the first of three posts wherein I detail what I’ve been doing differently that has me feeling better than I have in years. As promised last time, today’s installment: supplements.

I call myself a nutritionist. So why am I starting off talking about pills, and not food? Well, things started getting a little better when I cleaned up my diet, but what has really made a difference—a huge one—is my new supplement regimen. (And yes, the word we want for this is regimen. Not regiment, which is a military unit, and not regime, which is a political entity [usually a dictatorship], as in, “the Pinochet regime.” [Okay, actually, that last one can be used in the same context, but it’s weird. Don’t do it.] Regimen. Regimen. But none of my intelligent readers is saying “regiment” or “regime” in comments and on forums like the great grammatically unwashed, right? Right. The same way you never talk about how “your” not “loosing” weight.)

I am eating a bit differently than I was back when I posted about 80/20 being a step up from where I was, but in my somewhat educated opinion, I think the supplements are having the biggest impact. Well, no, not exactly. I think the changes to my diet and movement are having a big impact on my body, while the supplements are working their magic in my head.

So back to the pills: Sure, real, whole, unprocessed foods are generally the way we want to go, but when you’re already doing pretty well in that area and you feel like things are still a little off, it’s entirely possible that your healthy diet is falling short somewhere. This is especially true in 2014 America, where we’re chronically stressed, chronically worried, chronically sleep-deficient, and chronically joy-deficient. Sometimes our bodies—and even more so, our minds—need a little somethin’-somethin’ that even the best diet either isn’t providing at all, or isn’t providing enough of.  

When this is the case, there is no shame in supplementation. No shame. Better to admit that you need a little help than to resign yourself to feeling less-than-optimal because you think your sauerkraut, bone broth, and cod liver oil “should” be getting you all the way there. News flash: sometimes they don’t.

Being that the way I’ve been feeling for a few weeks now is like night and day from where I was a while back, clearly my body—and mind!—are now getting something—probably multiple somethings—that they were desperate for.

The Down & Dirty: Part 3

Did I bare my soul enough in parts one and two of this series? My apologies for the sob stories and wallow-fests those turned out to be, but I wanted to set the stage appropriately for what’s to come. And you’ll be happy to know—assuming you’re still here reading, which is iffy thanks to those semi-pathetic ramblings—that from here on out, it’s about the good stuff. And the reason I can better appreciate the good stuff now is because I experienced the bad. So all was not for naught. If having firsthand experience with some pretty awful feelings has given me a desire to more deeply study and more fully understand human physiology, then I can only be grateful. (Easier to do in hindsight!) I’d like to think that having “been there” also makes me a better and more empathetic practitioner.

So yeah, about being a practitioner. Now that I know what I know, I want to share it with people. Does that make me sound preachy? Do I sound like a born again something-or-other who goes around knocking on doors, hocking books, and inviting people to my church of the rejected “Eat Less Move More” movement? I don’t mean to. But in a way, I can see where preachers and proselytizers are coming from. When you feel like you have THE ANSWER (or at least an answer, and a pretty darn good one, at that), you can’t help wanting to share it with everyone you see. (In my defense, the difference between me and the doorbell-ringers is that I don’t come uninvited.)

Here’s why it’s hard for me to keep what I’ve learned to myself:

Just Testing You!

Wasn't it hilarious in my last post when I went out of my way to mention my writing aspirations and then proceeded to publish a post with so many typos? I guess that was the inevitable result of waiting until late at night to jot off a post, and being so happy at doing some impromptu writing that I may have jumped the gun a little. In my defense, I’d already put in a full day with the Twilight Zone my day job at the cube farm, and instead of crashing on the couch when I got home, there was all the kombucha wizardry, plus the homemade pesto experiment (result: disappointment) and the homemade turkey meatballs (result: success!). 

In answer to the question you might rightfully be asking, yes, I did proofread it before hitting “publish.” Apparently my pesto making skills aren’t the only things that need a little honing. (I have attempted homemade pesto three times now, and while they’ve all been edible, they weren’t what I’d call “company worthy.” And certainly not better than what I can buy in a jar. I’m not giving up, though. There’s far too much insanely beautiful and fresh basil at the farmers’ markets this time of year. Maybe it’s the lack of pine nuts? I can justify buying expensive olive oil, but pine nuts are…well, those little morsels are pricey! [Also, weigh in: is it farmer’s markets, or farmers’ markets? I lean toward the latter, since there are usually multiple farmers present.])

Anyway, the errors have been corrected. At least, the glaring ones. There are probably a couple I’ve missed even now, but I went back and fixed the ugliest ones. So for the three of you who subscribe by email (since the emails seem to go out immediately, without any time for me to snatch them back from the interwebs), you can rest assured that my counting skills are up to par, and my yield was, in fact, seven bottles of kombucha, rather than six.

And as long as I’m here, I might as well put a little more goodness out into the universe and share some incredible links with you.

Why the name Tuit Nutrition? Why not something more edgy and wellness-related, like Thrive Nutrition, or Vital Force Nutrition? Glad you asked!

When I was little, my mother carried around a wooden circle, about the size of a half dollar. (Do they still make those?) One side was printed with four simple letters and looked like this:

The other side had an explanation of what those four letters amounted to, and it looked like this:

As a lifelong procrastinator, myself, I have never forgotten the meaning behind that little trinket—even if I didn’t always take it to heart. So often, we put things off until our schedules are less hectic, we have more time, or we “feel ready.” We say over and over that we’ll get to them when we “get around to it.” And so often, we don’t get around to them. We get sidetracked, distracted, or are just plain unmotivated. We’ll fold laundry, make beds, even vacuum the house before we do things we feel unprepared for. Heaven knows we’ll watch endless streams of mindless TV or read friends’ latest news online until our eyes burn from the glare of the screen—anything to give us a reason not to do something we know we should, but can’t quite psych ourselves up for.

What’s missing? What is the piece, that if it fell into place, would give us that “oomph” – that little nudge that we need to get started—and of course, to keep going? If you ask me, there’s more than one piece, but they can come wrapped up in one nice, convenient package. Let’s think of it like going on a road trip. We’ve got a destination—somewhere we want to go. We’ll have a route planned out beforehand—which roads we’ll take, where we’ll stop for the night. We’ll have a reason for going there—to visit friends or family, see a famous attraction, or just to get away for a while on the open road. Reasons can be as important as traveling for a sibling’s wedding or as simple as escaping the big city for a weekend. All along the way, we’ll have markers—road signs, billboards—that tell us whether we’re still on the right path. We’ll have gas stations to fill up on fuel when we’re running low, need to stop inside and grab a healthy snack—yes, it can be done!—and, if nature calls, use a clean restroom (we hope!). And we’ll have state troopers patrolling here and there to make sure we drive safely and stay under the speed limit. How does all this translate to nutrition coaching?

Destination = Goal:  We need someplace we want to go. It could be as simple as dropping a few pounds for a big event, or as life-altering as waking up without the chronic pain you’ve been living with for decades, or even turning the tide on your diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis. The legal beagles tell me I’m not allowed to say nutrition will “cure” anything, but I promise you it can certainly go a loooong way toward helping! (And without the funky side effects of modern pharmaceutical drugs. Ever read the fine print on the back of the magazine ads or listen to the super-speedy voice rattling off a mile a minute at the end of the commercials? Sounds like the drugs are worse than the diseases!)

Reason = Motivation:  Why do we want to go there? If we’re gonna get there, we need something driving us from inside. Other people can inspire us and guide us, but ultimately, we have to take action for ourselves and we won’t do that without a strong reason why. Maybe we’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Maybe we’d like to be around long enough to watch our children or grandchildren get married, or keep up with them without getting winded. Maybe someone in our life hasn’t been paying attention to nutrition and fitness the way they should be, and seeing them dealing with the consequences has sparked us into action.

Route = Direction:  We need someone to show us the way—a living, breathing GPS who can tell us where to turn, keep us from hitting dead ends, and steer us back to the right road if we miss the on-ramp. Ideally, this direction comes from someone who’s driven the same course him or herself, knows the route well, and can prevent wrong turns before they even happen. Not every nutrition coach needs to have been unhealthy or overweight in the past, but I do  think it tends to make them more empathetic. Having traveled the route themselves, they know where the potholes and confusing intersections are. They know how frustrating it is when you get turned around and maybe end up a mile or two (or ten or twenty!) out of the way. Chances are, they took a couple of unintended detours along their way and can spare you from doing the same.

Markers = Support:  Just like the signs that reassure us we’re still on the right road, we need periodic reminders that we’re making progress. We can do some of this on our own—step on a scale, take our measurements, or try on a pair of jeans that didn’t fit six weeks ago—but health and wellness can improve in subtle ways we might not even notice until someone points them out to us:  our skin is clearer; we’re less forgetful; we didn’t need coffee the second we got to the office; our joints weren’t frozen in pain when we woke up; our PMS wasn’t as bad as usual; we weren’t out of breath at the top of the stairs. (And a lot of those important things can improve while the other markers, like weight and shape, stay the same. So it’s key to have someone who knows what to look for along for the ride.) These markers do more than just remind us we’re on the right road, though. They can feel like little morale boosts along the way—just when we think we’ll never get to the next landmark, there it is, flying by the passenger side window before we know it, and it gives us the push to keep going.

Gas Stations = Tools:  The gas light is on. We’re running on fumes. We’ve got to get some fuel into the car, and we’ve got to get it now. It’s common to run out of steam with eating healthy and exercising. Our modern food landscape certainly doesn’t make it easy to make good choices when tempting junk is all around us, and there are so many things competing for our time that seem more pressing than lacing up our tennis shoes and going for a walk. Just when our gas gauge is flatlining on “E,” a nutrition coach can come along with a couple gallons of gas, like an oasis in a thousand-mile desert. They can give us enough to keep us going until we start running low again, when they’ll be there again, right when we need them. Instead of gasoline, though, nutrition coaches can give us trustworthy information about specific foods and their effects on the body (outside and inside), strategies for resisting temptation, tips for replacing not-so-great foods and habits with better ones, and how to buy good food without having to mortgage away your firstborn. But like occasional infusions of gasoline, these inputs ensure that not only can we keep going, but we’re moving forward, and we will get to our destination.

Cops = Accountability:  We need someone keeping us in line. For those of us who do better with tough love, this is “someone to answer to.” Someone to keep us in line when we’d rather slack off. For those of us who respond better with gentle encouragement and praise, it’s someone who’ll check in on us and celebrate even the small victories. With nutrition, this is someone to give us thumbs up or thumbs down with what we’ve been eating, and how we’ve been sleeping, moving, and relaxing. (Yes, sleep, movement, and relaxation are nutrients!) Let’s not forget that the state troopers—scary as they are—aren’t out there for the sole purpose of intimidating everyone. They’re out there to protect and help us, too. If we get into an accident, those flashing colored lights are a welcome sight. We might not even realize we’re driving erratically until we get pulled over—and we might not realize we haven’t been following a healthy eating plan quite so well until someone sits down with us and asks.

So, why Tuit? Because it’s not easy going it alone. Long road trips get pretty rough when there’s no one with us to pass the time, to keep us laughing, and, of course, to keep us on the right course.

Maybe you’ve spent years saying you’ll get real about your diet when you “get to it.”

Maybe you’ve been meaning to learn about healthier food, but you haven’t “gotten to it” yet.

Maybe you have no idea where to start with cleaning up your lifestyle, but you’d really like to “get to it.”

Maybe there are so many books, movies, and websites about health, weight loss, and wellness—and they say so many different things—that you’re overwhelmed just thinking about making some changes. And if only you had someone to do it with you, to help you along, you’d be excited to “get to it.”

Well, now you have Tuit! Now you have a nutrition and wellness coach who’s driven the course herself and can be your copilot, giving you the directions, tools, support, and the accountability that will get you to your destination. (Your goal and the motivation to get there, you’ll have to find for yourself, but I can help!)

What are you waiting for?  GET TUIT!