Empowering yourself with knowledge is the key to making smart choices about what you feed your body. View our nutritional guides and suggested meal plans below.
Please note: These guides and plans have not been prepared by nutritionists, dieticians or other accredited professionals and MyBabySpinach disclaims liability from any losses you may suffer. If you require specific health or medical advice, please see a qualified professional.
Where do I start?
There are two things that should inform your nutritional planning, which we cover below:
- Dietary guidelines
- Your goals
1. Dietary Guidelines
Government nutritional guides outline general principles to be followed to look after one’s health. We take the approach of summarising guidelines from various governments below. We have canvassed:
Our approach is to focus on diet quality not quantity. We are not nutritionists or dieticians, so we can’t give measurements and quantities – plus, this sometimes makes it harder or puts people off. So take a look at the suggestions below and adopt what you like.
Five Food Groups (or alternatives)
| Vegetables |
| Fruit |
| Grains |
| Meat |
| Dairy |
Discretionary Food Groups to Reduce
| Added salt |
| Saturated fats |
| Alcohol |
Macronutrients
Macronutrients are the food groups which make up what we eat. Knowing your macronutrients is important for being able to formulate a balanced diet.
| Types | Function and Source |
| Carbohydrates | Starchy sugars – complex and simple |
| Fats | Saturated and unsaturated |
| Proteins | Complex molecules made of amino acids |
| Water | Needed for bloodflow and bodily function |
| Fibres | Undigestible carbohydrate |
| Vitamins | Organic substances (made of plants or animals) |
| Minerals | Inorganic elements – originate in the Earth |
2. The how: Implementing Changes
Our golden triangle approach to nutrition is based on three elements:
- Substitution – replacing certain foods with others
- Rebalancing – adjusting proportions of food groups on your plate
- Addition – supplementing your diet with macro nutrients, vitamins and minerals where necessary.
Substitution
One of the easiest tools to use to improve your nutritional intake is to substitute healthier foods for less healthy ones. Common substitutions include:
| Consume fewer carbs instead of more | Go from sandwiches to wraps or pitas |
| Try unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats | Change from butter and margarine to nut oils and butters |
| Move from simple to complex carbohydrates | Go from white bread or rice to brown bread or rice |
| Shift from sweet to non-sweet | Switch from sweet cereal to low-sugar cereal, have less sugary juice and soft drink and opt for water and fibrous juice. The best sweet fix when you need it is real fruit. |
Rebalancing
Rebalancing your diet is about adjusting the proportions of macro-nutrients on your plate. If you currently have half carbohydrates, quarter vegetable and quarter protein, try having one-third of each instead.
How much of a change you make depends on your particular goals and timeframes. Generally speaking, the fewer carbs and more vegetables and lean protein on your plate, the greater and quicker you’ll see change.
One way to achieve this is to cook different food groups separately rather than together in one cooking utensil. For instance, if making fried rice with egg, cook the rice, egg and veggies each separately. Then when you sit down to eat, grab only as much rice as you want. It is a bit more hassle, but potentially has massive pay-offs.
Addition
Adding to your diet is worthwhile where you have particular dietary constraints or nutritional deficiencies. They can be done to:
- Macronutrients – e.g. having a protein bar or shake after a workout
- Vitamins and micronutrients – e.g. take a blood test and take tablets to supplement nutritional deficiencies, as directed by your doctor
These small changes can create a big difference to your energy levels and bodily function
Body Positivity - an important side note
Throughout the process of trying to improve your nutrition and health, it is extremely important to stay positive. Approaching the task from a place of fear or loathsomeness can reduce your likelihood of success as the process will be less enjoyable. Frustration and pain may kick-start you into action, but most people find that maintaining a healthy lifestyle over the long term requires positive motivation. Here are a few suggestions to help to keep a positive mindset when approaching nutrition.
- Don’t compare yourself with others – our body shape is highly genetic and everyone is dealing with different challenges with their appearance
- You can control your end point, not your starting point
- There are fit people who are not happy and unfit people who are – happiness depends on a number of factors
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you have the right to see yourself however you want
Good luck and message or email us at any time!
