Eating with Purpose By: Dr. Nadine

Eating with Purpose ~
Laying the FOUNDATION part 1

By NADINE N.D., C.N.S

Creating RESULTS Holistic Center

Welcome back to the Eating with Purpose series.  We began exploring the concept that we create Heaven or Hell within our bodies with what we consume.  If you have not done so, please read that piece before starting this one. 

I believe that each of us truly want a healthy, energetic and vibrant body (heaven).  As parents you might also have the desire to raise healthy, energetic, clear minded and vibrant children (more heaven).  With that goal or end result in mind, we need to find out what is in the way of achieving that goal.  With knowledge and insight, healthy choices can then be made that are in alignment with the end result.

There is quite a bit of information I would like to pass along to you.  I am choosing to break this down in to digestible pieces so you can embrace these concepts and changes rather than go into overwhelm and resistance.  Creating a healthy body and lifestyle is is no different than putting your awareness on creating your dream home.  In fact, take a moment to close your eyes and visualize this dream home.  What does it look like?  How many windows does it have?  What kind of kitchen, bath, bedrooms etc?  Do you have that visual???   Great... now... imagine that beautiful house sitting right on top of the city landfill.  The foundation would be on smelly, rotten objects.  Before you even thought about building this gorgeous home, steps would be taken to clear the land of all the garbage and debris.  Next the hole would be dug, cement would be poured for the foundation, then the structure would go up.  Eventually there would be a roof and windows leading up to the time you could move into this beautiful home.

We have this desire to have a healthy body, with tons of energy and life force, yet that very same body is standing on the city landfill.  Part 1 in Laying the FOUNDATION will be to identify a few of the known allergens or toxins coming into our system with our food.  During this process you will also be identifying how you feel in your physical, emotional, and mental bodies.  We will look at where you place specific food items and their possible response in your body/system.  We will also begin the process of taking proactive steps to remove or replace those items with foods that will allow the body to heal itself.

Each part in this series will build upon itself.  I am asking you to work.  I am asking you to explore.  I am asking you to take ownership for what has been created so that the desired end result  can be achieved.  Let's begin to Lay the FOUNDATION in part 1.

Step 1: Becoming Aware with a Food Journal.  For the next seven days, track everything that goes into your mouth.

ñ Be very specific on your journal entries.

ñ Note the time of day, quantity (2 cups of salted peanuts), quality (whole wheat bread vs white or rye) of the foods you consume.

ñ Did you use condiments, sugars, milks? How much?

ñ How much water did you drink?  When?

ñ Did you drink soda? Coffee? How much?  When? Etc.

ñ Take the time to note how you FEEL within your physical body.  Are you aching or stiff in your joints?  Do you have swollen eyes, fingers etc.  How is your mental clarity?  Are you clear headed, foggy, have a headache etc.  What type of emotions are you experiencing; cranky, crying, manic, depressed etc.

Below is a example of how to track your day.  You can create your journal in any notebook that works for you.  Give yourself plenty of room.  For your convenience I will attach a tracking form you can print off to use. 

		DAY 1
Time of Day	Quantity	FOOD Description ~ Be Specific	How I Feel
10:00 AM	32 oz	coffee	drained
	4 TBS	French Vanilla FF creamer
noon	4 cups	Honey Nut Cheerios	Edgy, jumpy
	2 cups	Whole milk
	3 TBS	White sugar
	3 pieces	Whole Wheat toast
	2 TBS	Almond Butter
06:00 PM	7 oz	Steak with BBQ sauce	Hungry, tired
	4 cups	Roasted potatoes
	1 cup	Green beans
	10 oz	Ice tea with lemon
09:00 PM	2 cups	chocolate ice-cream	angry
	½ cup	Chocolate sauce
	1 cup	Peanuts (roasted salted)
		I did not drink water today	constipated

Step 2: Noticing Patterns. Now that you have a week's worth of data to work with, let's look for patterns.  During this step, do your best to remain neutral.  We are in the process of discovery.

ñ Do you eat consistently every day of the week?  If not, when do you change your pattern?  (one structure for week days and another for week ends, etc).

ñ Do you consume the same amount of food in each meal or feeding?

ñ Do you consume the same amount of food each day?

ñ What time of day do you bring nutrients into your body?

ñ Are these times consistent?  Are they Planned? Are they Happenstance? Etc

ñ Do you notice a pattern of when you are the most energized in your day?

ñ Do you notice a pattern of when you are tired, drained, fatigued, angry, etc during the day.

ñ Do you have headaches during the day?  WHEN do they happen?

ñ You are looking for any/all patterns that are happening with your body and emotions right now.

NOTE:  If you find yourself in overwhelm, STOP, take a day away from your list.  Then come back to them and do the next step.

Step 3: Nutrients. Let's make a third pass through your gathered information.  This time we are seeking information on the type of nutrients you are consuming.  Within each meal or feeding, look to see WHAT your meal is comprised of?

ñ Mostly carbohydrates? (bread, pasta, potatoes,  beans, etc)

ñ Mostly proteins? (chicken, turkey, beef, tofu etc)

ñ Mostly fats? (nuts, oils, seeds etc)

ñ Mostly caffeine (soda, coffee etc)

ñ Mostly sugar (cake, muffin, milk, cereals, candy,etc)

ñ Did your meal have Veggies? (broccoli, beans, lettuce etc)

ñ Did your meal have Fruits? (apple, berries, banana etc)

ñ How much Water did you drink?  DID you drink water?

Step 4: Toxins. In the fourth pass, take out a red pen or yellow highlighter and underline known toxins or allergens within the body.  The 2 big hitters in the majority of my clients are WHEAT and DAIRY products.  Blood type A and AB folks do not tolerate Corn and Red Meat.  Blood type B folks had difficulty with Chicken. (we will explore Eating for your Blood Type at a future date)

Step 5: Sugars. In this fifth and final pass through your list, circle any and all forms of Sugar.  Be honest with yourself.  Sugar will include white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, milk products, candy, ice cream,etc.  Look for the hidden sugars in sauces as well (BBQ, steak sauce, jams, toppings etc)

Step 6: Making Connections. Well Done.  You have now uncovered quite a bit of Awareness for yourself.  See if you can connect the dots.  Are you more tired and cranky or edgy when you have had an overload of carbohydrates?  Do you experience headaches because you have not had enough protein in your day/meal?  Do you wake up in a nasty mood because you ended your day with sugar (ice cream or cookies etc).  Do you have digestive issues (gas, nasty bowels, lack of bowel movements etc) due to all the Wheat and Dairy in your system?  Are you jittery due to an overload of caffeine in the system?  Are you 'not hungry' due to an overload of caffeine in the system?  See what other connections you can make.

WOW!!!  That was a LOT!!!  Now you understand why I said I wanted to put this into digestible pieces.  Our goal here was to uncover information.  Keep your lists handy.  When next we meet we will talk about why Dairy and Wheat create havoc within your system.  We will also explore how to construct a meal or feeding, so you experience Balance throughout your day.  Remember with knowledge and insight, healthy choices can be made that are in alignment with your end result.  Congrats on taking a step towards   Heaven

 ~ Dr Nadine

Note: the card you see above is part of the SOUL Food deck one app created by NADINE to Motive, Inspire, Encourage and Empower!  The app is available in iTunes http://bit.ly/kqnLcG for your iphone/ipad/ipod touch device.

NADINE is a Naturopath and Holistic Nutrition Specialist with over 30 years experience in the Health and Fitness Industry and teaches her clients the Art of building and maintaining lean muscle tissue as they drop body fat in a unique program designed for them.  Nadine has coached all levels and genre of people and has taught a variety of programs including but not limited to Personal and Sports Nutrition, Sports Psychology, and Weight Lifting/Bodybuilding. Nadine is available for seminars and workshops based on availability.  For more information contact Dr NADINE at 970-443-2541, email: Nadine@CoachNadine.com or visit www.coachnadine.com

	Join us for a live chat with Dr. Nadine right her on The Intentional Conscious Parenting Show on September 13th 9 Pm Eastern, 8 Central, 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific. To make entering the chat really easy visit theblogfrog.com and create a profile now. If you have any questions email Carol at intunedparenting.com