What Exactly is Nutrition Coaching?

 

Nutrition Coach Kate’s approach to diets is very individualized, but there are a few steps in the process that are consistent with each client.

The first step is a complimentary hour long assessment during which Kate gets to know your exercise and diet history, food restrictions and struggles, goals, medical history, liquid consumption, biofeedback (sleep, stress, recovery, performance), and more. This is a judgement-free process and is done to collect as much data as possible on your habits in order to cater a personalized approach to your goal.

After the assessment, you will get upwards of four 30 minute check-ins per month that are done in-person or virtually; of course, nutrition is 24/7 so Kate also encourages regular text messages and emails with questions or concerns! 

Throughout the coaching process, you will be asked to track all your food and caloric beverages. At this point, Kate will generally divide her clients into two categories: people who like tracking calories and macros, or people who prefer to track portions and habits. The former is done through apps like MyFitnessPal, while the latter can be done with pen and paper or food picture diary apps like Ate. With these weekly snapshots, Kate can make tailored recommendations to your diet to help you stay accountable and on track.

Nutrition coaching is not a meal plan or prescribed crash diet. This is a partnership that helps you discover a sustainable approach to nutrition that will allow you to live happily with your food choices, perform the best to your ability, and achieve your desired body aesthetic.

If that sounds good to you, send us a message to book your free assessment today!

4 Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Successful

1. You don’t have a plan:

First, set a realistic timeline for your diet and then make a weekly plan; what are you going to eat this week? Which groceries will you need? Which days can you cook? If you go into the week unprepared, you may find yourself scrambling to put a healthy meal together and will likely order takeout

2. Weekend binges:

Maybe you eat like a saint Monday to Friday, but what about Saturday and Sunday? Dinners out, drinks, brunches, treats—it doesn’t take much for it to all add up and put you in a calorie surplus for the week. You can allow yourself one higher calorie meal, but don’t let it turn into a cheat day(s)

3. You lack patience:

Figure out how much weight you want to lose then work backwards to determine how long your diet will take, knowing healthy weight loss is 1-2lbs per week (give yourself a few extra weeks for setbacks, plateaus, etc). Commit to that timeline, choose a sustainable diet, then stick with it. You didn’t gain weight overnight and it’s going to take just as long, if not longer, to lose what you gained

4. Focusing solely on calories instead of food quality:

While calories in/calories out is critical, the quality of your food also matters. Do you get most of your protein from shakes and bars? Are most of your carbs from crackers and chips? Eating a variety of healthy food will help your workouts, immune system, mental health, and you’ll feel fuller when your calories get low

Top 3 things successful nutrition coaching clients have in common

1. Consistency – They’re ready to play the long, patient game to get results. They understand that progress will not always be linear and that having a bad food week doesn’t mean they’ve failed. They adapt and get back on track without worrying about perfection.
2. Trust – Not only do my most successful clients trust the process, they also trust me and my experience. When I work with clients who need to raise their calories, it’s not an easy process. There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty, but they accept that I know it will help them in the long run. They also trust that making slow, stupidly easy changes, will be more beneficial than a quick cut or bulk.
3. Tracking – All of my most successful clients track their food in one way or another. It doesn’t have to be calories or macros, but at least a written food journal or photo diary. It helps with accountability and provides lots of data to make the most accurate and appropriate recommendations for their diet.

Maintaining a Healthy Relationship with your Scale

While weight is by no means the best marker of progress, it is the most commonly used. It’s simple, accessible, and reveals the trend in your body’s composition.

But for some, stepping on the scale and weighing in can be upsetting, disappointing, or addictive. Here are some tips to maintain a healthy relationship with your scale if you decide to track your weight:

– First, nothing says you have to track your weight! Health comes in many sizes and you can observe your progress by noting how you physically and mentally feel, how your clothes fit, your resting heart rate, measurements, bloodwork, before and after pictures, progress in the gym, habit tracking, and more.

– Acknowledge that the number on the scale is simply data. It does not define you. It is not a numerical value of your worth, health, or fitness level.

– Accept and understand that it is perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate, and that your maintenance weight is a sliding scale of 5-10lbs up or down. Just because you see a 2lbs increase does not mean it’s time to diet.

– Depending on your comfort level, consider weighing yourself daily at the same time. Record the weight every day and take a weekly average to even out the daily fluctuations and get a better understanding of your trend.

– If you find yourself obsessively weighing multiple times a day, it might be time to take a break from the scale. Put it somewhere out of sight and rely on other markers of progress, or try weighing in only once a day, then once a week, once a month, and then maybe not at all.

Hydration

Most people are chronically dehydrated and never even realize it. Oftentimes when people are tired or light-headed they reach for coffee or food, but in reality they may be better off having a glass of water.

All it takes is 1% of dehydration to reduce endurance, strength, and cognitive performance; in fact, if you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated! Symptoms can include dry skin, fatigue and weakness, increased body temperature, muscle cramping, headaches, nausea, darker urine, dry mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth), dizziness, moodiness, and difficulty concentrating and remembering.

Water can also help with weight loss since it makes you feel fuller, especially when consumed before a meal, and it replaces calorie laden drinks like pop and juice, which make up over 400 calories a day in an average person’s diet.

So how much water do you need?

There are many recommendations out there: 8 cups a day, 30-40mL of water for every kilogram of bodyweight, 16 cups of water a day for men and 11 cups for women from fluid and non-fluid sources, half your bodyweight in ounces—the list goes on. Your best bet is to stay ahead of your thirst and sip often throughout the day while drinking a glass or two of water with your meals. It’s also important to drink at least 1-2 cups of water before, during, and after exercise, and increase water intake by a cup or two when the weather turns hot.

Although water is the optimal way to hydrate, you can still get your H2O from coffee, tea, fruits, vegetables, juices, and even soda, but recall the disadvantages that may come with those beverages, namely sugar, sodium, and caffeine.