Structured Dieting

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I like to think of my recommended way of eating as a structured diet –  not restrictive, not fully intuitive – but more in a way you understand and trust how quantities and nutrients of food affect your body. You can monitor your eating pattern and make changes when necessary. You have certain nutrients amounts you want to meet everyday. 

Here’s what it looks like:

  • We remove the labels of food being bad/guilty/unhealthy and allow ourselves to indulge in our cravings so we ditch the addiction-like behavior that comes with restrictive dieting. When restricting foods, either literally or emotionally (by labeling it as bad/guilty/unhealthy), it creates real or perceived deprivation, triggering a primal drive to eat – that addictive must have feeling.
  • We focus on meal frequency, portion guidance, and marco/micro nutrient must-haves. This sets us up for more of a structured eating pattern while still encouraging us to tune into our bodies more and us eating when we are hungry. What this means: we live in a world of multitasking, it can be difficult to do what seems like such an obvious thing such as EAT WHEN WE ARE HUNGRY.  But we usually eat because the clock tells us to do so, which is great to have consistency and structure. But this approach is very “one size fits all,” and we should look into our own lives and find structure that works for us.
  • We use food as fuel & nourishment and don’t fear eating. Not as easy as it sounds for emotional eaters, but don’t think of looking at food as nourishment versus a way to soothe and slowly work on changing your mindset.
  • We use a little structure in frequency and macro–balanced eating to balance the concepts of clean plates, emotional eating, and being too busy.
  • We get back to the basics and eat for real physiological reasons. Let’s not be afraid of hunger because hunger is not the enemy.

I recommend finding the right meal frequency that works for you combined portion guidance and let intuition & quality food do the rest!

Vanessa Lennick, Registered Dietitan at Proximal50 Life Center is committed to help clients find nutrition plans that work for their goals, lifestyle, and preferences – there is no one-size-fits-all diet! Contact Vanessa at vanessa.lennick@proximal50.com to schedule a free consult – in-person or virtually!