say “woosah!” to your nutrition woes
“Woo-sah!” A phrase popularized from the movie Bad Boys II, which means to calm yourself down by taking deep breaths when stressed. Actually saying the word itself can be calming, because of the shape your mouth makes and the sound that travels through your belly and throat.
But that is besides the point (Airplane moment for anyone who is a fan of the film).
Only sort of.
If we apply the woo-sah to the way you eat, what would it look like if you allowed your diet to take a deep breath?
Call me crazy, but there is infinite room to simplify your nutrition, and I am going to show you how to do that in today’s piece, sister.
getting clear: do you need a diet clean up?
Here is my easiest way to gauge this. Ask yourself: are you stressed about the way that you eat?
If your instinctive answer was yes, then the answer is yes.
If your instinctive answer was no, then the answer is no.
So like one of those beautifully cute map quizzes I used to read in Teen Vogue magazine, if your answer was ‘yes’, please keep on reading and if your answer was ‘no,’ ditch the article and get on with your life 😜.
I’m covering big rocks here. Meaning, I’m giving you the big, sweeping principles and practices that will help you clear the stress from your dietary lifestyle. Not the minutia. That’s not my way. Enjoy what’s on the “Woo-sah!” Menu, dears.
3 ways to give a giant “woo-sah!” to your diet today
Follow the 80/20 rule.
Again, we are not getting into the minutia here. The 80/20 rule encourages you to circle 80% of whatever you are applying it towards and allow 20% to “roam free.” For your diet, this means staying in between the lines/on course 80% of the time and with 80% of the content of what you are choosing to eat, and allowing for 20% to be different.
To go 80/20, you must use your intuition—your gut sense, to recognize and feel into whether you are living 80/20.
I recommend that you go 80/20 in these ways (there are more, but start here):
Eat until 80% full, a.k.a. satisfied not stuffed. In Japanese culture, this is expressed through the phrase hara hachi bu.
Eat 80% whole foods (not the grocery store). Foods that do not come in a wrapper or package, but a peel and a bunch (like oranges and kale). Be kind here: some foods you might acquire do come in packages (i.e. chia seeds), but would still fit in to the whole foods structure.
Eat the same 10-15 foods 80% of the time. This one may be controversial, but from a Holistic Stress/Wellness standpoint, it is a no-brainer, genius principle. This is especially wonderful for people who are anxious and uncertain about their diet all the time.
If this is you, consider talking to me here. I have questions and resources lined up for you to simplify your diet.
2. For once, treat yourself like a human being.
For real.
Most people who want to ‘optimize’ their nutrition are going around like chickens with their head cut off creating more stress in their bodies and lives than progress in fine-tuning their food choices. That’s the hard facts, yo.
Fueled by the desire to keep up with society’s dietary trends and keep up with society’s ideal body standards, you swing from the right to the left, Paleo to Vegan, Intermittent Fasting to 6 smaller meals a day, so much yo-yo’ing that eventually you burn out and throw your hands to the sky. Where did the joy in eating go?
I recommend that you treat yourself like a human being in regards to your food choices by choosing ONE of these ways (there are more, but start here). P.S. You can’t go wrong, they all move the needle forward:
Snip the crazy hard rules (unless you have some food allergy of course)—such as “zero carbs” or “no fat” or “no food after 7 pm.” Instead, give yourself the space to notice what your body wants and craves for optimal functioning.
Return to a generally balanced macronutrient diet of 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat. Take the stress out of having to eat for peak performance, and just eat for vibrant health.
Eat the rainbow (you’ve heard me say this before). Not in candies and color-dyed things. Go for mangoes and chard leaves, black eyed peas and red lentils, yellow bell peppers and blueberries. Paint the sky that is your plate with these bountifully nutritious foods, that communicate their wealth in color.
3. Stop doing the things that add stress to your diet.
For real, again.
Much like I’d have a client who was addicted to the scale stop weighing in and continuously disappointing herself, I suggest you ditch the triggers for feeling dismayed and discouraged about how you eat. They are only nourishing a poor story about who you are.
However, if you’ve been repeating patterns of self-talk that really tear yourself apart instead of build yourself up, it won’t happen overnight. It takes hard work and cognizance, much like Sisyphus’ relentless pushing of the boulder up the hill. If your self-talk is getting in the way of eating the way you deserve to, you may consider hopping on a call about stress management.
So how can you do it?
I recommend that you stop doing the things that add stress to your plate (there are more, but start here):
Stop eating meals with people who shame, judge, criticize and overall do not respect your food choices. Who wants to be enjoying a meal where someone is nagging at them to “change how you eat”? The very stress that this adds to your plate can interfere with you receiving the nutrition in the food you are eating.
Stop spending hours thinking about the perfect thing to eat for each meal. Go back to The 80/20 Rule and Treating Yourself Like A Human Being. Pick one of the human being practices and allow 80/20 to guide your decisions.
Stop spending time in tempting places. Don’t torture yourself by hanging out in the kitchen after 9 pm where there are cookies that you know you will eat. Don’t torture yourself by choosing a restaurant that has no healthy options. Don’t torture yourself by abandoning your nutrition needs to only cook what the rest of the family needs every single night.
closing remarks
I believe in you, and I mean that.
You have everything you need to thrive.
Most people, however, are abandoning those resources and stressing themselves the f*ck out to the point where eating becomes “a chore,” “a burden,” “a total twisted experience that was designed to be quite simple, intuitive, and constructive to your wellness.
If you are struggling with your diet—overwhelmed about what is right and wrong, good and bad, well and unwell, let’s chat.
You deserve to eat in a way that feels sustainable and stress-free.
To Saying “Woo-Sah!” To Stressed Out Eating,
Coach Abby