How to Eat Healthy 101 | For Energy, Mental Clarity, and Performance
Hey, Remi here!
Today, we're going to talk about healthy eating and how these habits will improve your energy, mental clarity, and performance. There are no easy "tricks" and "hacks" to give you the body and the energy you want in a flash.
You can’t expect results without putting in the work, it just doesn't work like that.
Fitness and wellness take dedication and self-control. It's so much easier to not eat well than it is to eat well — unhealthy foods are available EVERYWHERE. (Don't get Nate started on Postmates — he can't stand the idea of a takeout food delivery service). Unhealthy foods are also cheaper, more surgary, and our bodies become quickly addicted. If you're about to start changing your diet, know that it will be HARD at first.
But not impossible, and so worth it. Nate recently made a vlog about some healthy eating tips for overall lifestyle and performance. In the video, he shares how we can start eating healthier and change our life for more energy and mental clarity! He is not a nutritionist but has experimented for the past 8 years cutting and bulking as a professional athlete! These aren't "health hacks" — this is REAL advice that will help you change your habits so that you can change your life.
“We want everything now — convenient. We don’t want to spend time meal-prepping. … We want to grab it now. We want to have it in our [reach]. Now we want five-minute abs. I’m sorry. It doesn’t work like that. Would you want to learn how to fight from someone who read a book about fight, or do you want to learn how to fight from somebody who’s had their ass kicked? I didn’t just read a bunch of books about diet and nutrition. I spent eight years trying out different things … and I’ve learned a lot about the way, fueling for performance and fueling for lifestyle.”
— Nate
We hope this post today will give you a better idea of where to start and gets you excited to eat more fruits and vegetables! It doesn't have to be boring, it can be tasty, enjoyable, and even exciting!!! Let's get into it!
The Basics: What Are "Unprocessed" Foods?
When you go to the grocery store, you'll notice that some foods have nutritional facts while other foods don't. The foods that don't have labels are typically fruits and vegetables. If you pick up a tomato, you're not going to find a list of ingredients. It's a tomato. If you picked up a box of cookies, you'll see a list of ingredients with names you have no idea how to pronounce. Here’s something to think about:
“[Eat] wholesome, unprocessed foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Your fats can come from avocados, nuts, seeds, cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables. [There’s not] a bad vegetable or bad fruit that you can eat. … It’s healthy for you. It is close to its natural state. If you can take in more fruits and vegetables, that’s going to be highly beneficial to your overall wellbeing.”
— Nate
Health Tip #1: Where to Find Healthy Fats
Avocado
Salmon
Flax
Ghee
Cottage Cheese
Eggs
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Nuts
And if you’re looking for more protein to build muscle, don’t forget about the lean meats and beans! We prefer lean meats like chicken, turkey, and salmon. You can also supplement those lean meats with beans, legumes, or lentils for additional sources of plant-based protein.
Heath Tip #2: Where to Find Healthy Proteins
Legumes
Beans
Lentils
Chicken
Turkey
Salmon
Kale
And you can’t forget about the carbohydrates! There are tons of unprocessed foods that contain healthy carbohydrates that your body needs to produce energy. Here are some examples!
Health Tip #3: Where to find Healthy Carbohydrates
Sweet Potatoes
Jasmine Rice
Black Rice
Rice Cakes
Quinoa
Bananas
Jasmine rice, black rice, and quinoa are also some great examples of simple grains. Nate especially loves rice cakes and uses them as "crouton substitutes" in his salad for a good crunch. Processed grains like white bread and pasta will raise your blood sugar and make you feel lethargic and are not as healthy.
Whenever you're eating the correct balance of foods, that's [when] you can really experience [energy], instead of that slow, lethargic, sleepy, feeling."
— Nate
If you can start with these four things — fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and simple grains — then you'll notice a change in your overall wellness and performance. Make sure that you don't just stick to one category — have a variety of food with each meal so that you can get the best out of every dish you make!
How to Cut Out Those Bad Food Habits
So you may be thinking, well Remi, this would work if only I could STOP eating all those sugary, processed foods. Cutting these unhealthy foods is half the battle, so I asked Nate if he had any advice on how to do this effectively:
“Do you need sugar? Will you die without fulfilling your sugar craving? No, you will not. Therefore you don’t need it. It’s very simple in theory. It’s more difficult in practice. What I want you to really think about is [how] to change your environment to work for you. A lot of us, we have already pinpointed our problem — chips, chocolate, soda, fries. You’ve pinpointed them already. That’s half the battle in itself. Those are your barriers getting in the way of you and your long term goal of this sustainable, healthy lifestyle. I’m sure you could go get in your car, and go buy it, and you can immediately have it. But that’s where that self-discipline comes in. … If you find yourself stuffing your face when you’re bored ... get a hobby, do something productive, go outside, clean something — get your mind off of it.”
— Nate
He says it as it is, but that’s what I need to hear sometimes. What helps me cut unhealthy eating habits is intentionally creating a healthier environment.
Health Tip #4: Create a Healthy Environment to Stop Unhealthy Eating Habits
This could look differently for different people! It could mean emptying out the snack drawer. It could mean doing something productive with your downtime, like going on a walk with the dogs, brainstorming ideas for your next creative project, or calling one of your girlfriends to catch up! Find out what works for YOU, and make that a habit instead of going for the chips.
Health Tip #5: Fill Your Fridge with Yummy Fresh Produce
The second step to breaking unhealthy eating habits is to simply buy the healthy foods. That way, then next time you're hungry, you can put something together that is going to satiate you rather than eating pizza bites. This process is going to be difficult — but if you’re getting a steady flow of protein and fiber throughout the day your blood sugar will be more balanced and you will be craving less junk.
"It's these simple little things that just come down to self-discipline. … When people say, I want to eat better, I want to make these changes, but how do I do it easier? … It's bullshit. It's like saying that you want to run a marathon, but you don't want to train for it. It doesn't work like that. … The first week to two weeks [are] a little bit of an adjustment period, but that's going to be your test to kind of see [if] this is something that you really want to do now."
— Nate
Adjusting to healthy whole foods may take some time getting used to, but if you stick with it you'll start tasting the simple delicious flavors real foods has to offer
As Nate said, it takes self-discipline. It takes patience. You have to be willing to be uncomfortable for a little while so that you can be comfortable and healthy for the rest of your life!
Why Eating Healthy Is SO Worth It
Maybe you still have some hesitations because it is more expensive to eat healthier. Nate understands the financial struggle in healthy eating. But food quality has always been at the top of his priority list. Why? Because the food you eat fuels the life you live.
Ask yourself this question: Is X more important to me than living a healthy lifestyle and reaching my health and fitness goals? X could be a lot of things — it could be alcohol, binge-watching Netflix, or even money.
Nate works the 9 to 5, and every morning, he's up at 4AM preparing his food for the day. To some, it might seem INSANE to get up that early, but to him, it's essential. Why? Because as a high-achiever, energy is everything, and those wholesome foods give him the mental clarity and performance boost he needs to CRUSH IT every day.
“If you can prioritize your life, lay out your meals, you’re going to eat better produce. You’re going to get better energy. You’re going to have improved cognitive function. Some people go to sleep tired. They wake up tired. That doesn’t matter. If they sleep 10 hours, 12 hours, they’re going to go to sleep tired. And they’re going to wake up tired. A lot of these baseline issues come from your you’re just not fueling your body correctly. … My general rule of thumb is cook more than you don’t. This should not be a task. It shouldn’t be a chore. It should be enjoyable. Make it a ritual, a routine, something that you enjoy.”
— Nate
Nate and I love cooking together, and it's honestly such a fun activity for the both of us. And what's even better is that we know EXACTLY what's going into our food. There aren't any surprises, and there's something SO satisfying about making your own food instead of ordering takeout or eating one of those frozen meals.
And if you're wondering about cheat meals, know that Nate has a couple "cheat foods" that he likes! If he wants something sweet, he goes for a banana, some almond butter, greek yogurt, and granola (his favorite brands are Purely Elizabeth and Gr8nola). Lol, Nate has like four bags of granola a week. He eats a ton of granola, and it's honestly hilarious.
I hope this post gave you the boost you needed to start eating healthy foods and prioritizing your health. Remember — there isn't a quick, easy fix to start magically feeling better. It takes dedication and self-discipline, but if you care about your body enough, I KNOW you can do it.
If you want to learn more healthy eating advice from Nate, be sure to check out this vlog! We'd also love it if you could tag us on Instagram (@rrayyme and @nates_beard) and let us know how you're working towards a healthier lifestyle! We'd love to support you!
LOVE YOU LOTS!
