We’ve become conditioned to spend the first month of the year focused on our health. This usually includes committing to a diet and exercise regimen that typically never makes it out of January into February. We set ourselves up for failure when we start making health resolutions based on someone else’s health theories. Think about it, what does the person who developed Diet X know about you? You and your body are unique and have unique needs. According to Integrative Nutrition’s founder Josh Rosenthal, diets don’t work because ::
One person’s food is another person’s poison.
Your brain has its own sense of how much you should weigh.
Diets encourage you to put all your focus on external rules.
Additionally, making resolutions that require you to immediately cut out all the things requires discipline. Dan Buetter, the man who founded the Blue Zones, says, “Discipline is a muscle and muscles fatigue.” I agree. You can only deny yourself for so long before you fall off the wagon and abandon the resolution that was focused on someone’s theory who doesn’t know you or your body.
So what should you be doing instead? Honoring your bio-individuality, the unique nutrition needs of your body. You can do this by ::
Keeping a food journal. Keep a food journal for a month. Document what you eat and how you feel overall after eating. Are you bloated? Do you feel sluggish? Do you have energy? What does your skin look like? How do you feel mentally and emotionally? By documenting your meals and how you feel, you can start to better understand what foods and drinks don’t work for you - and what foods have a negative impact on your primary food.
Getting a microbiome test. Microbiome tests give you a full look at your gut health - and that is extremely important. Your gut has been said to be the real brain of your body. Gut health is important because the digestive fluids made in the gut control many bodily functions, including brain function. This is called the gut-brain connection. Getting a microbiome test will help you identify what’s going on in your gut and provide personalized suggestions on how to improve your gut health.
Armed with the information from your food journal and your test, you can then create a plan that will work for you. The personalized plan that you create will honor your bio-individuality and you will be more likely to stick to it because you created it just for you!
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