You Are Very Emotional About Your Eating

I read this quote on Instagram.

I, then, was thinking, such a huge truth has been said in this powerful quote.

In my personal experiences and as part of working with my customers, what I have seen is that earning good health comes 70% from the diet and only 30% or less from the workouts.

Why/How do I say that?

As humans, we have far less control over our feelings and emotions.

Whenever we go through lows, stress, and negative feeling, we tend to eat than do anything else unless we have transformed completely (mastery over our urge to eat!) and live a different lifestyle from the masses!

Eating finds such a special place in our lives which we don't realize, most of the time.

For those who are obese or overweight, just ask them, how many times they are eating in a day, what they are eating, and whether have they ever understood what causes them to eat.

I bet, most may not have answers. Because eating is such an unconscious process for many.

Why more weightage for diet while less weightage for exercise, you may ask.

For example, you may be able to help someone lose weight with just the diet changes(well, except it may not be a very healthy weight loss)

At the same time, you cannot lose weight just by exercising, but you kept eating in a very wrong way.

I have stayed mostly in a good weight zone all my life, except on a few occasions where I gained and lost weight quickly.

Let me share some examples.

When I used to run ultramarathons in the year 2017 and 2018, despite clocking high weekly running mileage, I had a big tummy and weighed heavy because I was not eating right. My assumption was that my health was in good shape just because I ran so many kilometers every week.

I was eating mostly carb-rich meals and deficient in my protein intake, despite working out in the gym for two days a week and running so much mileage.

Once I fixed those issues of moderating on carbs and upping my protein intake a bit, along with a good routine with strength workouts, I was not only in good shape and my body composition totally changed me, making me much healthier. I had more energy, no-drowsy afternoons, and quality sleep.

Later, in the year 2020 again, due to covid and getting arrested at home for about 6 months, I inadvertently gained weight. This time, the issue was different. I was going through stress a bit along with eating more while I was burning fewer calories due to no running, though I used to work out a bit. My waist size increased by 2 inches and I gained almost 5+ kg

I again had to fix my diet alone to bring myself to my original weight of 68 kg and be in good shape with my waist going almost to 31 inches.

Why am I sharing these?

Because diet and nutrition is the single most thing that you can work on more to get into great shape and the best health while you just sustain with minimal and moderate physical activities.

Now, let's take a look at what challenges people are having when it comes to getting into a proper nutritious diet. There are several mindset issues around it and let's explore a bit and see what can be done to address them. I am referring to weight loss more in this article, but the idea is applicable to all wellness transformation goals.

A diet plan for weight loss is expensive.

Not at all. Yes, some of the protein food sources cost a bit extra than carbohydrate food sources. But that need not stop you from achieving wellness goals.

- If you are going for two movies in a month, cut it to one movie a month and spend that money on good health.

- If you are spending 2X on subscription to OTT channels, cut it down to 1X

Likewise, you can always create room for your health and health-related expenses by cutting down non-value-adding expenses from your budget!

Cooking a variety of food is cumbersome.

Not at all. You need not change your diet drastically. If you can just incorporate 3 to 4 meals per week, it can be a good start to see your weight loss.

The idea should be to get used to cooking the right type of food that helps you lose or sustain weight and make them part of your lifestyle.

Only special foods can help with weight loss

Not at all. Most people are eating majorly available food sources in the market and still achieving weight loss. The idea is to moderate well with what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat.

The calorie density of the food should go down as you move from breakfast to dinner. Breakfast and lunch can be made of calorie-dense foods while what you eat post-lunch, should be made of light calories (vegetables, fruits, and some lighter grains).

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So, what's the takeaway?

You need to understand the criticality of how much diet can play a role in your weight loss or wellness transformations. Making diet changes is not easy for many because people are very emotional about their food intake.

Bring good moderation between diet (70%) and exercise (30%), you can live not only long but healthier and fitter.

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I am an experienced health and wellness coach helping individuals with running, fitness, nutrition, weight management, and type-2 diabetes reversal.

Do you want to transform your health and wellness? DM me for a free consultation.

Here's my LinkedIn profile - Ganesh Kuduva