Making Nutrition Sustainable

Ashley Richmond -

Hello!

Welcome to Monday.

To celebrate the launch of The Optimal Health Blueprint, today you’re getting one module (of 57 so far) from the course. This module is focused on how to make nutrition sustainable.

Before we dive in: Pre-sale for The Optimal Health Blueprint is now live.

With this proven framework, you'll gain complete clarity on how to optimize your health and wellness, without wasting precious time and energy on trial and error.

With this course, you'll get access to my exact blueprint, a proven system that has helped hundreds of people achieve their health goals. And the best part?

You can get this step-by-step blueprint for 34% off here until the launch date.

3 Steps to Make Nutrition Sustainable

Getting nutrition right is the biggest challenge I see. Nutrition is confusing, and it can be really hard to stick to a diet for any length of time.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this before. You get motivated to eat healthfully, eat a few good meals, and then fall back into your old eating habits.

Today we’re going to talk about 3 ways you can make eating well simple and easy.

80/20 Principle

“What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn’t much better than tedious disease.” — George D. Prentice

I think this quote sums up the issue - stressing about your health is no better than being unhealthy. I think most of us know by now that the impact of stress is huge. So worrying about being unhealthy or not being able to maintain good habits is just adding to the problem.

We don’t need to eat well 100% of the time.

Unless you have allergies or intolerances or have to eat a certain way due to a medical condition, you’ve got more flexibility than you probably think.

As long as we’re eating well 80% of the time, we’re going to be okay.

This can look like many things. If you have 5 meals per day (3 meals and 2 snacks), one of those can deviate from the nutrition plan.

Or, you can take a week-by-week approach where you want your nutrition to align with the eating plan 80% of the time - so maybe 6 days per week you eat in alignment with your goals and you take one day off each week.

The idea is to allow some flexibility while still keeping you on track.

I believe this is a healthy approach to eating. Nutrition can be incredibly confusing and frankly, really stressful. Not knowing what we can eat or if we should have a piece of cake at our best friend’s birthday celebration can lead to a whole lot of anxiety, and it’s just not worth it.

Give yourself the freedom to eat something that deviates from your definition of “good” 20% of the time. Of course, some days are going to be 100% “good” eating. And that’s great. You don’t have to have something “bad” 20% of the time. But the freedom and flexibility that this option gives you is going to make things easier and ultimately more enjoyable in the long run.

Don’t cut out foods you can’t imagine living forever without - minimize them instead. It won't be sustainable to cut out your favorite foods because you won’t stick with it. A sub-optimal diet you can stick to is better than the optimal diet you can’t stick to. As long as the average balances out to be more “good” than “bad”, you’re on the right track.

It’s what you do most of the time that matters most. If you’re eating well 80% of the time, you can afford to eat less well 20% of the time.

This might help with sticking to a longer timeline. You don’t need to eat well 100% of the time. This helps nutrition be more sustainable.

Remember, this can be 4/5 daily meals that are “healthy”, or it could be 1-2 days per week where you’re more flexible. But you need to be strict with that other 80%.

Mindset

Mindset is a huge determining factor in whether or not you achieve your goals.

Here are some key points about mindset:

  • A food is not "good" or "bad". It either aligns with your goals or it doesn't. Get out of the mindset of seeing foods as good or bad. If you feel like you’ve failed or got off track, you’re more likely to completely get derailed. When you get off track, just get back on track for the next meal.
  • You need to adopt the identity as someone who can achieve your goal - whether you want to lose fat or build muscle (or both), you need to believe you can do it and you need to see yourself as someone who is capable of achieving that goal, because you are! The fact that you're reading this means you care and are willing to put in the effort to achieve that goal. You just need to stick to the plan, and you will get there.
  • The all-or-nothing mindset: “Too often, we fall into an all-or-nothing cycle with our habits. The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you can't do something perfectly, then you shouldn't do it at all.” - James Clear
  • This mindset is detrimental to our progress, and to our health in general. This is the reason so many people get off track with their nutrition - they think that one "bad" meal means they've blown it, and they'll completely lose motivation and will continue to eat in a way that doesn't align with their goals.
  • Remember, it's what we do most of the time that matters the most. Nutrition is not black or white, pass or fail. It's about eating to support your goals and nourish your body.

Eat the Same Foods

This is a great hack for weight loss. By eating the same foods, you'll know the calorie and macro content, you'll eat nutritious foods regularly (if your everyday foods are nutritious!), and you'll never have to think about what to eat.

Any time you need to make a decision about what to eat, there's a chance you'll make a decision that doesn't align with your goals.

It's much easier to stay on track if you eat the same few meals every day.

To take this even further, you can start planning and prepping your meals. Take 1-2 afternoons each week to plan what you’re going to eat for each meal and snack, create a grocery list, and go to the store. Then, come home and prep as much as you can:

  • Chop vegetables
  • Cook rice
  • Put meals into containers for later

This makes staying on track significantly easier. Having ready-made meals that align with your goals handy on days when you get home late from work and are too tired to cook will make your life a lot simpler.

Before You Go

Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you:

1. Send me an email.

Interested in losing 10-20lbs in the next 90 days? Reply to this email saying “Interested” and I’ll see if I can help you!

2. Join the FREE Facebook community.

Connect with like-minded individuals, get support, and learn more about how you can optimize your health and fitness.

3. Read my articles.

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  1. Get access to my Optimal Health Blueprint course.

If you’re struggling to take your health and life to the next level, this course will give you the exact blueprint you need. Grab it for 34% off until next week.