3 things I encourage my clients to do each day when looking to improve their nutrition!

It’s easy to become overwhelmed when it comes to improving your nutrition whether that be for health, performance or both! I see this commonly with clients trying to turn their normal diets upside down in order to put together what they believe to be the perfect diet for their goals! If this sounds like you and you feel you just can’t find something that works - then this article is for you!

Starting off - I like to encourage clients to develop a baseline. What foods do they normally consume day to day. Starting out, we can use these foods/meals as our starting point. It is here where we can assess things like protein intake, fibre, food quality and other important variables. This will help to address major pitfalls - maybe it’s low fibre for example, which might mean adding a small serving of fruit/veg to each meal as needed. In this instance it becomes a lot easier to sustain - you are having the meals as normal but adding some fruit or veg to each meal which is a much more manageable task for most!

Secondly I like to look at how many calories they are eating on a daily basis. Before I offer some recommendations  - I think it is prudent to first assess what the individual is consuming normally. In my opinion, this approach can be much more helpful in terms of influencing long term change and helps to meet a client where they are at. This helps to prevent abrupt drastic changes to calorie intake and allows for a more gradual increase or decrease in calories as needed. For example - if someone is normally consuming 3000 calories but their predicted maintenance calories is 2000 calories, the last thing I want to do is to push them straight down to 2000 calories. This change is likely too sudden and is likely to be productive and/or helpful to the client long term! In this case I would recommend a higher calorie intake initially, observe changes and adjust as appropriate.

Thirdly - I like to educate on food quality. This usually involves discussions around foods they currently consume and suggestions for potential swaps that could be incorporated to improve the overall quality of their diet and help to better orientate macronutrients to align with their goals. This might involve swapping in some homemade potato wedges instead of some oven chips for example, maybe some chicken breast instead of breaded chicken. Just small things to work on that will help the client build their nutritional awareness when they decide to leave and independently manage their nutrition moving forward.

If you are on the fence about online coaching and want to know a little bit more about the process - just email me the word “ready” and I will be in touch! Please get in touch through the contact information below to check availability and avoid disappointment as spaces are limited! Please visit my new website www.coachedbycashel.com for more info!

Lastly, I would also like to clarify that I am not a registered dietician. All advice disclosed here is simply advisory based on my qualifications as a fitness professional and personal experience and knowledge gained working with individuals and helping them reach their goals. The advice given is not designed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health. 

I hope someone out there found some of this information useful here, just some food for thought. For any questions in relation to this topic or training, nutrition, etc. or for coaching inquiries simply message me on my business page on instagram @coachedbycashel_ or by email - contact@coachedbycashel.com