Are you looking for more energy and more control over your weight?
The stresses and pressures of life leave many of us feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, with little time or energy to take care of our health and wellbeing and maintain our weight.
Marcelle Dubruel is a highly experienced nutritionist. She explains that many of her clients want to ‘do the right thing’ with their diet once and for all, but find themselves putting it off until they have more time… This could be after a home or work project is completed, or perhaps even until their kids are older. The problem with delaying making these healthy changes is that there will always be something else that comes up to delay your lifestyle changes. However, eating healthily doesn’t have to be hard!
“Many find it difficult to know what the right choices are because the media is full of confusing and conflicting messages – so it’s not surprising that many people flip-flop between the latest fad diets as a quick fix.”
The solution to modern-day problems like fatigue, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and other chronic diseases are strongly linked to our food and lifestyle choices.
We now know that low-fat diets and calorie counting are not the best way to stay physically healthy, mentally well, or maintain a stable weight and energy levels. We also know that diets which eliminate whole food groups are really difficult to sustain in the longer term, with an intense focus on restriction and cutting out different types of foods potentially damaging to your mental health and relationship with eating and fuelling your body properly. ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ foods don’t exist – only different foods with different nutritional indices.
What you need is an approach to eating that balances your physiology and blood sugar throughout the day, contributing to sustainable energy and stable moods while supporting weight management, all without deprivation or feeling very hungry.
JERF (Just Eat Real Food!) is not about cutting out food groups or following the latest fad diet, but instead focuses on eating real food made using quality ingredients and avoiding processed or pre-packaged foods (if food comes pre-packed it should contain whole food ingredients only, e.g., nuts or seeds). A JERF approach towards diet means keeping things as simple as possible, giving our bodies the nutrient-dense foods we need to function well! JERF embraces this philosophy and allows us to feed our bodies in a way that leaves us feeling satisfied, meaning we’ll be less likely to feel we need that processed, sugary pick-me-up mid-afternoon, for example.
Taking a JERF approach to the food you eat doesn’t need to be time consuming or expensive!
Some of our JERF top tips:
- Keep it simple. You don’t need to spend lots of money on the latest trendy superfood or ingredients. Go back to basics – focus on consuming more fruit, vegetables, and whole-grains.
- Buy in season. We may be able to get every ingredient all year around, but this comes at a cost. Often, when foods are out of season, they are more expensive and have done thousands of air miles to get to us. So, try to eat with the seasons when foods are more easily available, locally sourced, and kinder on your pocket!
- Be organised. Write a list and stick to it! Make sure you only buy what you need when you go to the shops. Avoid going food shopping on an empty stomach, as subconsciously you’ll reach for sugar and fat-rich foods.
- Make energising and healthy snacks available at home, at work, in the car… anywhere your snack craving might kick in! Being prepared is key to avoiding that mid-afternoon energy dip – something which is particularly important for the “hangry” amongst us! Try avoiding the biscuit tin and opt for protein-rich, whole-food snacks that satiate you and give you the energy boost you need.
Try these easy to assemble ‘real food’ energising snacks:
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- Crudités (small pieces of raw vegetable) with hummus.
- Fruit dipped in nut butter (100% nuts, with no additives) or spread on oat cakes.
- Celery sticks filled with nut butter or dipped into tahini (sesame seed paste).
- Boiled eggs with nuts and seeds.
- An apple or pear with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds.
- Greek or coconut yoghurt with fresh strawberries and a sprinkle of crushed hazelnuts.
Just JERF
Eating healthily doesn’t have to be hard. Opting for real, high-quality whole-foods can make the world of difference to your physical and mental health, keeping your energy levels stable, strengthening your immune system, and helping you to stay at a healthy weight.
What’s more? Eating healthily never has to be boring – and certainly doesn’t have to be expensive! Focus on diversity, vibrant colours, and staying away from heavily processed foods that can compromise your health. Take the JERF approach towards your diet and really feel the consequences today.
