I never meant for this blog to be geared towards the general fitness or health consumer, but I do realize that even we who are professionals still need to work daily on practicing what we preach. So, I decided to add a regular piece called “tricks of the trade” that discusses common practices that we as professionals use personally to achieve good health. This could be weight management practices, stress reduction strategies, healthy eating approaches, or other such things. Any tips or tricks you have that help you achieve the lifestyle necessary for optimal health.
I’m sure you are approached and asked for tips, tricks, and secrets for achieving well-being and a good quality of life. I’d like to solicit input and ideas from you. What is your go-to practice? Submit it to me to be featured here. I’d like to share some of mine that may work for you, or be helpful for an individual you are working with. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and different approaches work for different people.
One of my go-to nutrition practices is that I do not consume red meat, otherwise known as beef. I know there are people out there who may feel strongly about this (cue “Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner” commercial) and I would never outright tell any person to get rid of something in their diet completely – that would be beyond my scope of practice. However, you and/or your clients may benefit from reducing the amount you consume. I avoid it altogether, and it works for me. Here is why I do it:
- The average American diet consists of way more meat than is necessary. By cutting out beef it requires that I seek out more plant-based protein.
- Beef is hard for the body to digest, relative to fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.
- Beef is not as nutritiously dense as plant-based foods.
- Beef can be high in calories and saturated fat.
- Science has shown us that a diet high in beef consumption can increase risk for colorectal cancers.
- The quality of the beef that is raised now is like nothing of my mother’s generation (she’s 80). When she eats meat she always comments on the fact that it doesn’t taste anything like what she had growing up. (She has noted that the only thing that comes close is the beef she gets at Whole Foods). Cattle are increasingly raised in large numbers on grains that are not good quality.