Healthy Eating Tips
My name is Emily Birch (Maughan) and I am recent graduate in Nutritional Science from BYU! It's an awesome major in that it's basically Nutritional Biochemistry--how your body digests and utilizes food! I've learned a lot from my schooling about nutritious eating and why it's important, and even more from my life experiences. I've worked in a nursing home extensively, and have seen some possible effects of poor nutrition. I've also worked at Runner's Corner, an ultra-active, ultra-healthy community of runners and athletes; there, I have seen some of the possible effects of great nutrition! It has been pretty fascinating to me to serve both communities on a giant lifestyle spectrum.
I currently work as an Independent Health and Wellness coach. I work with clients one-on-one to assess their goals and develop a plan to meet them. I am results driven--I want you to achieve your goals and I will work with you relentlessly to achieve them. I specialize in plant based nutrition, intuitive eating, and weight loss.
So.... the healthy eating tips. If you are not looking to lose weight, I don't encourage people to cut anything out of their diet completely. However, there are some simple things you can do to make your current diet healthier.
Healthier in my book means:
- more nutrient-rich
- more mineral-rich
- sufficient fiber
- less overall sodium
- less overall sugar
Here are a couple things you can do:
1. Add veggies to everything! Veggies with your eggs, in your smoothies, as a bed for meats/main dishes, etc. I try to make veggies the biggest component of my main meals. Significantly increasing veggies in your diet (esp. dark green ones) will reduce the inflammation in your body and protect against many diseases and illnesses, especially those that are chronic in nature.
2. Trade refined flours for whole-wheat flours. Examples of refined flours are white breads, bagels, cakes, pretzels, etc. You don't have to get rid of ALL refined flours, but eat more whole-wheat than refined.
3. Make substitutions for those unhealthier foods you can't stop eating. For example, if you are a big candy eater, find something else with natural sugars that you enjoy. Smoothies, fruits, dried fruits, yogurt...
4. Keep your diet plant-based. To some, they think "vegan" when I say plant-based. I just mean make plants the majority of what you consume. Plants include fruits, veggies, wheat, legumes, beans, some starches like potatoes, other grains, etc. Make plant-based foods your focus and you'll be on the path to a healthier future!
5. Try to keep your foods as natural and unprocessed as possible. Most people know that a typical bag of chips is highly processed and offers very little nutrition. But did you know that many yogurts are also super processed with tons of added sugar? Juices, meats, breads, spreads, salad dressings, sauces--they can all be heavily processed. When looking for more natural sources, read the ingredient labels. Choose foods that have the fewest possible ingredients that you can actually pronounce. A super long list of ingredients for a simple food suggests tons of added preservatives and other chemicals you don't necessarily want to fuel your body. With dairy products, I usually stick to full-fat yogurts and plain ol' butter rather than margarine. Low-fat yogurt is LOADED with added sugars, and margarine is heavily processed.
6. Keep lots of variety in your diet. This will allow you to get plenty of nutrients, genetic variety, and expose you to lots of new, yummy foods! I find I don't crave junk as much when I have more variety in my daily/weekly/monthly diet.
If you have any questions, I'd love to help you out!
I currently work as an Independent Health and Wellness coach. I work with clients one-on-one to assess their goals and develop a plan to meet them. I am results driven--I want you to achieve your goals and I will work with you relentlessly to achieve them. I specialize in plant based nutrition, intuitive eating, and weight loss.
So.... the healthy eating tips. If you are not looking to lose weight, I don't encourage people to cut anything out of their diet completely. However, there are some simple things you can do to make your current diet healthier.
Healthier in my book means:
- more nutrient-rich
- more mineral-rich
- sufficient fiber
- less overall sodium
- less overall sugar
Here are a couple things you can do:
1. Add veggies to everything! Veggies with your eggs, in your smoothies, as a bed for meats/main dishes, etc. I try to make veggies the biggest component of my main meals. Significantly increasing veggies in your diet (esp. dark green ones) will reduce the inflammation in your body and protect against many diseases and illnesses, especially those that are chronic in nature.
2. Trade refined flours for whole-wheat flours. Examples of refined flours are white breads, bagels, cakes, pretzels, etc. You don't have to get rid of ALL refined flours, but eat more whole-wheat than refined.
3. Make substitutions for those unhealthier foods you can't stop eating. For example, if you are a big candy eater, find something else with natural sugars that you enjoy. Smoothies, fruits, dried fruits, yogurt...
4. Keep your diet plant-based. To some, they think "vegan" when I say plant-based. I just mean make plants the majority of what you consume. Plants include fruits, veggies, wheat, legumes, beans, some starches like potatoes, other grains, etc. Make plant-based foods your focus and you'll be on the path to a healthier future!
5. Try to keep your foods as natural and unprocessed as possible. Most people know that a typical bag of chips is highly processed and offers very little nutrition. But did you know that many yogurts are also super processed with tons of added sugar? Juices, meats, breads, spreads, salad dressings, sauces--they can all be heavily processed. When looking for more natural sources, read the ingredient labels. Choose foods that have the fewest possible ingredients that you can actually pronounce. A super long list of ingredients for a simple food suggests tons of added preservatives and other chemicals you don't necessarily want to fuel your body. With dairy products, I usually stick to full-fat yogurts and plain ol' butter rather than margarine. Low-fat yogurt is LOADED with added sugars, and margarine is heavily processed.
6. Keep lots of variety in your diet. This will allow you to get plenty of nutrients, genetic variety, and expose you to lots of new, yummy foods! I find I don't crave junk as much when I have more variety in my daily/weekly/monthly diet.
If you have any questions, I'd love to help you out!
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