Having trouble with your diet?
Trying to get a head start on that Summer beach body?
Maybe you’re just ready for change and have started exercising and eating healthy?
Or maybe you’ve tried everything and none of it is working?!
Here’s 5 reasons why things might not be working…
1. POOR NUTRITION = POOR MOOD
Shakes, supplements, and meal replacements can help out for a few weeks. Strenuous exercise can help to take off a couple of kilos. Starving yourself might work in the short term… But none of these things are SUSTAINABLE! They often lack the nutrients and minerals your body needs to stay energised and happy!
If you want boundless, youthful energy, a healthy body inside and out, and to keep the weight off… then what you need is not a diet…it’s a way of life! Here’s the thing: a diet never lasts; nutrition is forever!
There has been a heap of studies, and maybe you’ve seen the latest Netflix documentary ‘Secrets of the Blue Zones’. The ancients knew how to look after themselves… Maybe they didn’t have all the cures for diseases and medical treatments we have nowadays, but their natural way of living helped them to live longer, healthier lives, all things considered.
Still to this day, cultures like the Chinese, Mediterranean, and Scandinavian all have much higher life expectancies than the western world. Studies have put this down to their diets.
Things like olive oil, antioxidant-rich foods, an abundance of colourful fruits and vegetables, and most importantly – an ABSENCE of highly processed ‘food’ – all contribute to a healthier gut microbiome, healthier organs, and more of what the Chinese call ‘Qi’ – which translates roughly to ‘vital energy’, or vitality.
Just spend 5 minutes searching online for reasons why processed foods are bad for you, and you’ll begin to see why meal replacements and supplements are doing no favours for your inner self. They may help to shed a few centimetres from your stomach in the short term, but your health is not improving.
There is only one way to lose weight – and that is by consuming less energy than what you burn each day. This is called a ‘Caloric Deficit’. The thing that most diets neglect, and what a lot of people forget, is that if you’re consuming less calories, then it’s likely you’ll be intaking fewer vitamins, and minerals that your INSIDES need. As I’m sure we all know – food is energy. Without food, our organs and brain lack the energy to do their job… and with this in mind, starving ourselves to be thin is doing no favours for our insides, our energy, or our mood! Plus, when we eat less, we slow our metabolism down and then when we resume eating – it can’t keep up and ‘VOILA!’ the weight piles straight back on! (Sound familiar?)
This is where holistic nutrition comes in to play. If you’re eating less, then it’s important to monitor what you’re consuming, and make every calorie contain as many nutrients as possible.
A calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie. 100 calories of pasta is not the same as 100 calories of salad. For your energy and weight, they do the same job… but under the hood the salad is jam packed full of vitamins and minerals that the pasta simply cannot compete with.
Cutting calories without a holistic approach can lead to malnutrition, giving rise to poor mood, tiredness, and struggling organs, which I’m sure you can see will lead you to quit the diet.
If you need help with calorie planning, meal planning, or just want some tips to ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need, please don’t hesitate to contact @nutrxau on facebook or Instagram messenger and I’ll be happy to help!
2. DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT IT?
There is a lot of psychology that goes into marketing a product. If it’s boasting rapid weight loss and a quick fix for your life, there’s a chance it’s not long-term healthy. If the marketing team is telling you that you need to be skinnier, then WHY are they telling you this? Social media has a lot to answer for in making all of us desire to be skinnier, healthier, fitter, richer, smarter, more skilled, and more popular. I urge you not to get sucked into the imagery, especially if they’re trying to sell you something.
If we aren’t really feeling deep down inside that we want to change, or if we’re motivated by others, or by competition, or by doing it for someone else, then there’s reasonably going to be some internal resistance! The ultimate question is, DO YOU NEED TO DIET?
Women typically have a higher body fat percentage; believe it or not, around 20-30% is considered HEALTHY, while healthy men can be between 8-15%, but all of it depends on the person, our genes, and our environment too. Striving for sub-10% body fat may be admirable, but is it healthy? Is it functional?
Our body fat, especially on the stomach and lower abdomen is there to PROTECT our organs. In women this area is higher in fat because it protects the reproductive organs as well.
As a man, I cannot speak to the experience of a girl growing up surrounded by images telling her she is not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not curvy enough, etc. For men it’s the opposite. The imagery tells us we need to be bigger, stronger, more muscular, etc. While the industry sells girls on weight loss shakes, the same people are selling the boys bulking powders.
Either way, these companies do not take into account our health: because health is hard to sell. Health isn’t a product that comes on the shelf. Health is a lifestyle. It’s a series of choices we make each day. Its living more naturally, more in synchronicity with nature and the shifting seasons. Its harmony with the environment, the ecosystem, and the food chain that we were once a part of, but now exploit to the detriment of the natural world.
The ancients understood this. The Mediterranean cultures, the Chinese, the Scandinavians, all STILL understand the importance of a home-cooked meal and some light exercise each day.
If you’re not really feeling like you need to make a change, or you feel like you’re doing it for someone else… then no wonder you’re not sticking to it! Change must come from within… We have to mean it and want it in order for it to last.
If you are adamant about losing weight, I can give you some tips that will help you on your journey, please reach out to me on facebook or Instagram @nutrxau and I’ll be happy to provide some more detailed and personal advice, but the question remains – WHY?! Is it just so you can look like the models on the internet or TV? Is it because you feel like you’re not enough? Maybe it’s time to take a deeper look inside and find out if you are truly unhappy, or if that idea has been planted there by someone else…
3. IMPATIENCE
When trying to lose weight, often we just don’t stick it out long enough. After 2, 3 or 4 weeks seeing no results, we tend to think things aren’t working and either try something else or give up entirely. The key is (I know you’re gonna hate me for this): PATIENCE!
Spring is the time for sowing, not reaping. Nature, through its infinite wisdom, has a way of guiding us …if only we look and learn. Springtime is the time for birth in the animal kingdom. It is the time for flowers to bloom and greenery to sprout! But it is not the time for farmers to harvest. Crops are planted in Spring, ready for the sunny days of Summer, and the humid thunderstorms that follow, to nourish the plants before being harvested in Autumn ahead of the Winter hibernation. While this is less extreme and obvious in Australia, and especially in the 21st Century with climate control, year-round availability of food, and urban sprawl detaching us from the farmland, it still rings true.
Spring is the time to plant the seeds of good health. We can’t plant the seeds and harvest the fruit on the same day. Our worst enemy is often our biggest teacher. We must sow the seeds of holistic good health, of seasonal eating, and be patient, so that we may reap the rewards in the future. By starting small, with changes that are sustainable, we can begin to shift in the right direction through compounding effort. There is an amazing book entitled ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear, that goes into the psychology of getting rid of a ‘bad’ habit or forming a new one. I cannot recommend this book enough if you want to understand the power of small, consistent changes and how to implement them in your life. If you get nothing else from this blog, at least take a look at this book.
But I suppose what I’m trying to say is that if you want to lose 5kgs by Summer, it’s not impossible. But I’m not here to sell you a product for that. I’m here to say, “Keep going”. From little things, big things grow. From small consistent habits, a life can begin to transform, but it takes time to see the results.
4. WHAT ARE WE WORKING WITH?
Another reason a lot of diets fail comes down to not understanding what we’re working with, or where exactly we are trying to get to.
Before undertaking anything new, it is important to know where we are starting from! It’s great to have a map of your destination, but without knowing where you’re starting from, how do you know which way to head?
So, where are you in your health journey? Why are you looking at this blog? Perhaps you have some interest in Chinese Medicine? Perhaps you are looking for a change in the kitchen, or in your diet? Perhaps you’ve been struggling with health issues, or weight, or energy, and you’ve just absolutely had enough?! Or maybe you’re just curious?
It is not as important to know what you seek, but it is fantastic to have openness – to be willing to look, to learn, to be curious, and to try!
Springtime is perfect for this… It is the time when creatures come out from their Winter hibernation to find the world has changed since Autumn. It is the time when plants arise from their slumber and begin to sprout their first new leaves. It is the time to seek out new things or knowledge to take with us, and the time when farmers begin to plant their crops in hopes for a bountiful harvest next year. Spring is the time for movement, for growth, and for rebirth.
Knowing where we are, where we come from, helps us to establish precisely what it is we would like to improve. Knowing our history with food, our attitudes towards education, our energy and aptitude in the kitchen, and our underlying health conditions gives us a platform to launch from – to spring into a new life abundant with peace and harmony, with happiness and youthful vibrance!
Have you got a food allergy? Do you just LOVE sweet foods? Do you struggle with discipline and habits, or are you able to make change, but not stick to it? Perhaps you have all the right motivation, but just lack the knowledge of how? It is critical to understand where you are before you can begin.
5. WHERE ARE WE GOING?
The other important piece of information is where are you trying to get to?
Are you looking to lose weight? How much? Are you looking to improve your life expectancy? Do you want to have more energy? Want to look better in the mirror? Want to pack on some muscle? How can anyone help you, or better yet, how can you help yourself get ‘there’ without knowing where you’re trying to go? All of these goals have different ways to get there, and what works for some, won’t work for others.
If you’re looking for a quick fix to all your health problems, then this blog will be of little use to you. If, however, you’re looking to embolden your life with an abundance of joyous energy and youthful vitality, maybe shedding a few kilos along the way, and are ready to make ACTUAL, LASTING change that will become a part of WHO YOU ARE, then welcome to the table nutrx-ster!
That being said, who am I?!
My name is Andy and I have created nutrx to provide year-round nutritional guidance through meal plans, recipes, and education based on the Ancient Chinese 5-element principles. I come from a typical Western family in Australia, where we ate reasonably healthy foods with very basic ingredients. The standard dinner at home was meat and veg, or a Spaghetti Bolognese, and we’d eat take-out once or twice a week, spending our days somewhat active and consuming supermarket snacks.
In my early twenties, I struggled with fast-food addiction, alcoholism, over-consuming coffee, and skipping meals altogether, which led to severe weight gain and depression. I was so lethargic I was frequently late to work, spent my evenings bingeing TV, and my weekends moping around my apartment with the body of a 50-year-old man, even though I was only 25! I was tired, sore, unattractive, and unpleasant to be around.
One day, while mucking about in the park, I slipped a disc in my spine and was in all kinds of agony for weeks! This was a huge wakeup call for me. I needed to get my shit together and start looking after myself. I began exercising, started eating 3 square meals a day, and began researching different eating styles. I met a very special friend who got me into Eastern nutrition and recommended to me a book entitled ‘Healing with Whole Foods’ by Dr. Paul Pritchard. This was the beginning of an obsession that some 5 years later has become a passion of mine – to help people to feel better in and about themselves through the power of food!
Nutrx is the next step in my journey. It is the beginning of reaching out, of sharing what I’ve learned from both personal research and formal education, and it is the beginning of giving back! Like the trees to the sprouts of Spring, I aim to provide shelter, nourishment, and the tools for you to build your own nutritional journey.
The Chinese have 5 core elements that make up our bodies, and that represent the 5 seasons of nature, all harmoniously interlinked with each other. Much the same, I have identified 5 core values that enable nutrx to remain focused and clear on my journey toward a more harmonious life with food:
I believe education is EMPOWERMENT, and with knowledge comes the ability and confidence to be creative. CREATIVITY in the kitchen leads to fun, healthy, connected, and energised families, ultimately eating more NOURISHING meals, rather than opting for take-out or quick-fix fad diets! In order to be nourishing, we must prepare meals with NATURAL wholefoods, ideally locally-sourced and organic if possible. These natural foods are of course abundantly available to us in Mother Nature in a timely manner that aligns with the seasons, rotating our meals to keep things FRESH and exciting throughout the year.
This shifting eating style also allows us time to learn more about each of the ingredients we utilise, feeding our minds as well as our bodies. These 5 values, much like the 5 Chinese elements, all engage one another to create a harmonious, wholistic approach to food, ensuring longer, happier lives all year round!
So, while Spring is the season of new beginnings, I encourage you to come along with me on this journey, try something new, and be ready to breathe new life into your kitchen and yourself!
Let me know where you’re coming from, and how I can help!