My Philosophy

You all know me by now, Lucy Carr aka Social Nutrition.  I try and find interesting subjects to talk about every week which I hope will help you make healthy choices in your life, and/or help you to understand how food affects our bodies.

I have to say, it isn't easy to come up with an article every Thursday, so today I decided to talk to you about me.  What I believe is the way to achieve health and an ideal weight.

My philosophy:

It's all about health NOT about being skinny.  My job is to make you healthy, and if that means you need to lose weight in the process to achieve that goal, then I will make sure that you do.  But I will not take you from a size 2 to a size 0, just because you want to.

You HAVE TO EAT.  To me a diet is not about grilled chicken and lettuce.  To me a diet is about eating healthily for YOUR body and lifestyle and eating as deliciously as possible.

Any PROCESSED "food" is not, in my opinion... Food.  You have to think natural... our digestive tracts have not changed in over 10,000 years what makes you think your body knows what to do with vast amounts of salt and sugar?  This also means NO REFINED CARBOHYDRATES.  The refining process removes all the nutrients from natural foods, you must eat whole foods. So forget the junk food, processed foods and anything with a label - especially if the "ingredients" have a lot of E numbers and names you can't pronounce - that's not food.  Food is meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts and seeds.

EXERCISE is a must.  What ever your goal in life is you need to include exercise.  Exercise alone will not help you lose weight, but the winning combination of diet and exercise will.  Also, if you don't need to lose weight you still need exercise.  Exercise is good for the body AND the mind so find a sport you like - even if it's just a brisk walk, and include it into your daily schedule.

Don't count calories... it doesn't help at all.  The body processes calories from different sources in
different ways.  Protein is used for building (growth) and repair, carbs for INSTANT energy, etc...  So depending on what your calorie source is, it will be used in different ways by your body.  The calories from carbs will be stored as glucose in your muscles so that you have energy ready for when you need to... say... run for a bus.  The problem is, not many of us are running for buses lately.  Our sedentary lifestyles and the high content of carbs in our diets means we aren't using up that energy source and so the body stores it as fat... you know, just in case it's needed further down the line.  Now this would be ok if we:

A)  Used up our glucose stores by moving around all the time.

B)  Didn't continue to pour in carbs upon carbs augmenting the already existent stores of glucose.

If you have never learned to cook, learn now.  The best thing you can do for yourself and your family is to cook.  Learn how to feed yourself properly and you can have an amazing time doing just that.  Get the kids in the kitchen and teach them too.  That way, not only will they learn to cook, but they will learn what a healthy diet is, where meals come from, etc..  This is precious knowledge that will keep them healthy on all levels all their lives.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.  Most people groan when they hear this, but it is so true it's frightening.  Food affects every process in the body.  The digestive tract is the only other organ in the body that produces neurotransmitters, so your brain and your stomach are closely connected.  Treat them both well by feeding them what they need.  Nowadays, we are lucky to have more and more information about the affects of food on our bodies.  We know how Alzheimer's and Dementia can be affected by the lack of certain foods or their components or how Coconut Oil can HELP Alzheimer's patients.  More importantly we know that a healthy diet and exercise can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's or Dementia and how those two things can help people suffering from depression.

I think I have said in almost every post I have ever written that obesity causes; metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers to name but a few serious diseases caused by being overweight.  It isn't just about what size you are, it goes way beyond that and once your health is affected then things are more difficult to correct - not impossible, just more difficult.

Now, I treat each person as an individual.  No two people are the same, not even from the same family.  This why I believe so much in food intolerances.  It is easier to help someone and quicker to see the results if the diet is tailor made for that person.  Yes, you can suggest a weight loss program without doing an intolerance test, and if the person does it properly they will lose weight.  But with food intolerance testing we can speed up that process and better that person's health in the process as well as helping them to lose weight.  

Some of my patients don't even need to lose weight and come to me for help with digestive problems, migraines or other health problems.  

Finding out what YOUR body can't process and therefore can't benefit from is very important and by changing your diet, even slightly, we can improve your health on all levels.  Removing the foods that your body can't assimilate leaves a clear pathway for the foods you can, meaning more nutrients are assimilated by the body.

So, what are you waiting for?  It's up to you!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com