In my last article we talked about Systems Of Success, and in the following mini series I will be delving into each component, starting with Nutrition.

The essence of this series is that I would like to “give away the farm” so that you can see all the tools laid out before you, and help you see that knowledge alone is not the answer anymore.

In our digital age, there are no more secret, magical tools shrouded in mystery. 90s video game reference: Do you remember in the Legend of Zelda when you had to start out with the crappy Wooden Sword, and go through an arduous adventure to upgrade to the White Sword, and eventually to the Magical Sword? What a pain.

A good journey is fun, but in the real world busy people want solutions, not adventure. Fortunately, now all your “magical swords”/nutrition tools are available in a few clicks, often for free, sometimes for a monthly subscription. But — and this is a whole topic for another day — the trouble is that there is simply so much information that processing it all is exhausting and paralyzing. 

Try Google-ling whatever health goal is relevant to you, and you are immediately given a dozen or more varying opinions and tools. Given a large set of choices, most people walk away, as apparent complexity itself is a deterrent to action.

Here is a sample set of categories and tools, generally starting from the top with lower complexity:

1. Mindfulness & Awareness Tools
   1. Photo Journal (Picture of your plate)
   2. Written Journal: brief summary of each meal (+/- approximate quantities)
   3. Food Thoughts Journal: Writing down your feelings about your food
   4. Goal/Motivation Journal
   5. Vlog/Video Journal
   6. Daily Messaging w/ Coach
   7. Weekly Meetings w/ Coach
   8. Sleep Tracking
   9. Whoop (wrist device) tracking
2. Meal Timing Tools
   1. Setting Alarms/Reminders to eat or prep
   2. Daily schedule that includes food
   3. Intermittent Fasting (~18 hrs)
   4. Monthly Water Fasting
3. Meal Prep Tools
   1. Weekly Planning Tools
   2. Prep Calendar & Spreadsheet
   3. Scaling Preparation Easily (e.g. mass grilling, Instapot)
   4. Convenient Delivery Options (e.g. Territory, Thistle, Sun Basket, Blue Apron, etc.)
   5. Convenient Healthy Snack Choices
4. Wilderness Survival
   1. Eating Out Healthier
   2. Travel Go-Tos
   3. Healthy “Pre-partying”
   4. Navigating Social Events
   5. Thriving Within Your Own Family
   6. 1 Drink + 1 Water
5. Food Quantity Tools
   1. Water tracking (e.g. daily ounces goal)
   2. Plate Method
   3. MyFitnessPal app tracking basics
      1. How to log a food
      2. How to scan a bar code
      3. How to create a saved meal/recipe
   4. Setting Macro % Targets (including any macro %-specific diets e.g. keto/low carb)
   5. Hitting Macro Targets
      1. 2 Weekdays + 1 Weekend day
      2. Everyday
      3. Start of day techniques
      4. End of day techniques
   6. Adjusting Macro Targets
      1. Body Comp feedback loop (losing/gaining weight too fast or not losing/gaining)
      2. Performance and Recovery feedback loops (tired/sore, underperforming)
      3. Compliance feedback loops (how to adjust if you’re not hitting targets)
   7. High/Low Days
      1. Workout variability
      2. Pre- & Post-Workout adjustments
6. Testing
   1. Body Composition
   2. Circumference Measures
   3. Front/Side/Back Progress Photos
   4. Allergy Panels
   5. Lipid Panels
   6. Micronutrient Panels
   7. Live Blood Glucose Monitoring

As you can see, the number of tools at our disposal are pretty vast, probably even intimidating to look at. So, what makes a good system for your nutrition? The one that moves you closer to your goal in the context you’re in: your unique history with food and your body meets your present day goals.

This is important because as human beings we are wired for hierarchy: you see a ladder and you start climbing it, especially if you have a competitive streak. The assumption is that you’re moving towards the right over time, constantly “leveling up” in complexity and detail if you will. But this isn’t so.

It turns out that each person’s history is so unique that their context dictates that they start at… whatever tool moves you closer to your goal right now, and feels doable.

What I see often in good practice is that a client will, for example, start with something simple like taking photos of their plate without deliberately changing anything (though probably the act of photographing changes things anyway), moves to adding more vegetables and continuing to photo log, add a written exercise to provide a reflective activity around their food choices, increase their daily water intake, track their sleep for a period of time, see a meaningful improvement in the way their clothes fit, energy levels, and/or body composition, and… stick with those tools for a long time!

Not everyone is looking to maximize their process at every step, and I think doing so is a slippery slope to disordered behavior. Modest, consistent improvements over time with just a few tools that ask for a small commitment of time and energy is often better than constantly upping the ante, and leads to more sustainable habits that will last a lifetime. 

The secret is an analogy of the classic Serenity Prayer: to be able to identify the habits and tools that serve you, the ones that don’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Coach Mauricio