The One Thing You Need to Know about Nutrition

Image description: A woman is looking out a sunny window while taking a bite out of an apple.

Hint: It has zero to do with macros

I’m continually surprised at how little credit we give to our bodies. Let’s face it, they have to put up with A LOT. And they do it with relative ease and fierceness. I remember reading that our bodies fight off 5 would-be cancer cells every minute. Our bodies go to bat for us every day. However, just like actually going to bat, it’s an imperfect process (or I’ll assume considering I know nothing about baseball). It’s in nature’s nature to make mistakes and our bodies are no exception. Our bodies are imperfect.

The same can be said of nutrition. There is simply no perfect way to eat. Not only because eating to perfection would mean that having a perfect body was possible (it’s not- none of us are immune to mortality with the exception of Nicholas Flamel), but also because if eating needed to be perfect, we would all be in trouble.

Can you imagine if not eating a vegetable for a whole day or week or month led to certain death? That kind of intense vulnerability is not grounds for a species’ survival not to mention evolution. And while that may seem like a bananas example- right Aly, like that would ever happen- isn’t that what the messages were getting around nutrition boil down to?

But, of course, it’s not that simple, you say. And you’d be right! It simply is not that simple. Because, in reality, our bodies are built for resilience. We are built to withstand all sorts of conditions: famine, stress, pandemics. Our bodies have intricate mechanisms with how to deal with not getting what we need 100% of the time. We absorb more of the vitamins we need. We crave iron-rich foods if we’re deficient. We are wired for survival.

Should we bank on that though- should we really let imperfection be enough? Isn’t that just giving up? No. Because perfection isn’t attainable. And striving for the unattainable produces more stress (which also contributes to poor health outcomes, lest we forget). A single-minded pursuit towards “perfect” nutrition or the “perfect” body does not guarantee a good well-rounded life. It guarantees that you’ll be thinking about nutrition 80% of the day and not have enough bandwidth for much else. Striving for perfection doesn’t guarantee a life full of great friends, time with family, passions - it only guarantees that food will be a focal point of your life.

So, the next time you find yourself worrying about a meal, consider taking a step back and reminding yourself that eating is imperfect. Our bodies are imperfect. It’s okay to be imperfect.

Need guidance with accepting the imperfect-ness of your relationship with food as you work towards making peace with your body and finding food freedom? Schedule a discovery call today to learn more about my nutrition counseling services!