How would you respond if someone asked you, “Why do you eat?” Would you say you eat because you get hungry? Because you like the taste of food? Because you crave certain foods?

While all of these answers may be accurate, I think we often overlook the most important answer: You eat because your body requires food to survive.

In order to be truly healthy and to reach an ideal weight for our body, I believe we need to shift the way we think about food. We need to view food as fuel for our bodies.

When we begin to adopt this view, we realize that every time we eat we have an opportunity to nourish our body in some way.

Fuel Your Body With Food

Think for just a moment with me…what is the food that we have been designed to eat?

Hopefully, you’re thinking about real, whole foods that have been minimally processed. Foods like good quality animal protein, leafy greens, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, fats, and even naturally occurring sweeteners like honey.

These whole foods are what we as humans are meant to eat. Why? Because these foods have all of the nutrients that our bodies require in order to be healthy. They contain the macronutrients we need (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) as well as other essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and enzymes.

And here’s the good news…we are all meant to be in a relatively good state of health and at an ideal body weight. When we fuel our body with all of the nutrients we require, then our cells, tissues, organs, and body systems can function the way they are supposed to. As a result, we feel better. In addition, we have a much easier time maintaining our ideal weight.

Results of Using the Wrong Fuel

Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet does not consist primarily of real, whole foods. Picture for a moment what you’ve eaten so far today. If you are like the majority of Americans, you have probably eaten a lot of processed foods. Food like cereals, breads, frozen meals, granola bars, and so on.

The problem lies in the fact that processing food destroys many of the naturally occurring nutrients in it. This explains why food manufacturers “fortify” food with synthetic vitamins. However, our bodies cannot use these synthetic nutrients as efficiently as the naturally occurring ones found in whole foods.

As a result, eating a lot of processed food causes a person to become prone to nutrient deficiencies. And what happens when we are deficient in a vital nutrient? All kinds of bad things…

Serious health problems can occur by becoming deficient in just one nutrient. For example, it is estimated that 2 million sailors died of scurvy between 1500 – 1800. What was the cause? A lack of vitamin C. By supplementing with lemon and oranges, this disease stopped devastating sailors.

And this is just one example of how deficiency in a nutrient can lead to a serious disease.

Nourish Your Body

The best way to achieve any health or weight loss related goal is to recognize that your body needs all of the nutrients found naturally in food.

So guess what this means? Every time you eat, you have an opportunity to nourish your body with some of the nutrients it needs in order to be healthy. Each time you eat, you can choose good quality foods that are as nutrient dense as possible.

By eating nutrient dense foods throughout the course of the day, week, and months, you will be making nutrient deposits that support your health.

I know that you might be wondering…what are nutrient dense foods? Well, the foods that will provide the most nutrition for your body are real, whole foods that have been minimally processed.

I’ve created a handy, 1 page graphic that lists out examples of real, whole foods. You can download this list so you can see exactly what types of foods will be most nourishing to your body.

Benefits of Nourishing Your Body

Once you begin to adopt this approach of nourishing your body by eating the most nutrient-dense foods available, you might just be amazed by how much better you feel!

Because here’s what happens…once your body has the nutrients in needs in order to be healthy, all of the systems in your body can begin to function better.

I know from my own personal experience and the experience of other women who I have worked with that some of the following improvements are possible:

• • More energy

• • Less joint pain

• • Fewer headaches

• • Clear thinking

• • Fewer PMS symptoms

• • Reduced risk of preventable diseases

• • Improved blood work

• • Weight loss

• • Fewer sugar cravings

• Less irritability

Your body is designed to be healthy when it receives all of the nutrients it needs. This is good news! By eating the best quality and most nutrient-dense food available to you, you will be giving your body the building blocks it needs to build a healthy, well functioning body.

So, what are you waiting for? Download the list of real foods and get started today! 🙂

I’d love to hear from you! What is one change you can begin making to incorporate more nutrient dense foods into your diet?